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The Man Who Invented Aztec Crystal Skulls : The Adventures of Eugène Boban / Brett Topping, Jane MacLaren Walsh.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York ; Oxford : Berghahn Books, [2018]Copyright date: ©2018Description: 1 online resource (348 p.)Content type:
Media type:
Carrier type:
ISBN:
  • 9781789200959
  • 9781789200966
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 972.081092
LOC classification:
  • CC115.B59 W35 2019
Other classification:
  • online - DeGruyter
Online resources:
Contents:
Frontmatter -- Contents -- Illustrations -- Acknowledgments -- Authors’ Note -- Abbreviations -- Introduction: On the Trail of Crystal Skulls -- 1 Caveat Emptor -- 2 Between Old World and New -- 3 Mexico: Ancient to Modern -- 4 Mexico at Mid-Century -- 5 The Emperor’s Antiquarian: A Collection Takes Shape -- 6 Confronting a Different Paris -- 7 Marketing a Collection -- 8 A Premier Collection -- 9 Narratives of Provenance -- 10 The Rue du Sommerard Decade -- 11 Of Fakes and Fakers -- 12 From Student to Teacher, Dealer to Curator -- 13 Good Deals and Bad -- 14 Back in Business -- 15 Fingerprints on Crystal Skulls -- 16 Courting the Smithsonian -- 17 Of Fakes, Forgers, and Frauds -- 18 “El Tocayo’s” Triumph -- 19 Later Life -- 20 Afterlife -- Epilogue -- References -- Index
Summary: Eugène Boban began life in humble circumstances in Paris, traveled to the California Gold Rush, and later became a recognized authority on pre-Columbian cultures.  He also invented an entire category of archaeological artifact: the Aztec crystal skull. By his own admission, he successfully “palmed off” a number of these crystal skulls on the curators of Europe’s leading museums. How could that happen, and who was this man? Detailed are the travels, self-education, and archaeological explorations of Eugène Boban; this book also explores the circumstances that allowed him to sell fakes to museums that would remain undetected for over a century.

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Illustrations -- Acknowledgments -- Authors’ Note -- Abbreviations -- Introduction: On the Trail of Crystal Skulls -- 1 Caveat Emptor -- 2 Between Old World and New -- 3 Mexico: Ancient to Modern -- 4 Mexico at Mid-Century -- 5 The Emperor’s Antiquarian: A Collection Takes Shape -- 6 Confronting a Different Paris -- 7 Marketing a Collection -- 8 A Premier Collection -- 9 Narratives of Provenance -- 10 The Rue du Sommerard Decade -- 11 Of Fakes and Fakers -- 12 From Student to Teacher, Dealer to Curator -- 13 Good Deals and Bad -- 14 Back in Business -- 15 Fingerprints on Crystal Skulls -- 16 Courting the Smithsonian -- 17 Of Fakes, Forgers, and Frauds -- 18 “El Tocayo’s” Triumph -- 19 Later Life -- 20 Afterlife -- Epilogue -- References -- Index

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Eugène Boban began life in humble circumstances in Paris, traveled to the California Gold Rush, and later became a recognized authority on pre-Columbian cultures.  He also invented an entire category of archaeological artifact: the Aztec crystal skull. By his own admission, he successfully “palmed off” a number of these crystal skulls on the curators of Europe’s leading museums. How could that happen, and who was this man? Detailed are the travels, self-education, and archaeological explorations of Eugène Boban; this book also explores the circumstances that allowed him to sell fakes to museums that would remain undetected for over a century.

Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.

In English.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 25. Jun 2024)