But it’s broken… Item Number: 100100 $0.00

DescriptionWe often encounter pieces that come to us broken and/or incomplete. Does that mean they have less artistic value, or should be avoided by the “advanced” collector? I have a strong opinion on this. Let me elucidate.

Most collectors are taught early on to “Buy the best example you can for the money!” That is certainly very sound advice and advice we have passed on over the years on many occasions. Some of our clients have taken this so far as to mean never buy anything that isn’t perfect. One client in particular is well known around the antiquities world for returning pieces that have so much as a tiny “flea bite” on the surface. But then again, I also know many dealers have stopped selling to this same client. Perfection is always desirable – I was lucky to find that in my wife – but in ancient art, is it really necessary?

Okay, to begin with, ancient art is – well ancient! It has spent the greater part of the last 2000 or so years under ground in some cramped, dirty space probably shaken and stirred by countless earthquakes, bull-dozers, armies, insects, small animals and clumsy humans. Things do break and pieces fall off and get lost. Further, some pieces actually were broken (sometimes intentionally, sometimes by accident) prior to being interred. So if a piece is broken, fragmented, missing piece/parts, has it lost its appeal? Depends!

I’ll be the first to look at a busted up piece of common Chimu pottery and say, “throw it on the bottom shelf, and maybe someday we’ll get around to doing something with it.” That shelf is usually really full, and one day I may send some of this stuff off to eBay, or a local school that wants to show students busted up old stuff. Busted glass is another item that just doesn’t work for me – especially when there really are so many perfect examples still surviving. So, unless it’s an incredibly special piece of broken glass, we avoid it like the plague.

But there are plenty of examples where broken, to my eyes, detracts little if any from the beauty and interest of a piece. In some cases, it actually gives the item a more “sculptural” appeal. We recently had a Roman marble head fragment. It was broken diagonally such that only a small portion of one eye, the lips and about half the chin remained. Teresa hated it (which is why we no longer own it). But when the light hit it just right, this marble came to life and told a story. This piece personified ancient art and life in general. It showed what time does to all things – yet still retained this element of artistic perfection. We have a couple other pieces on our site that, while not complete, are powerful and visually amazing despite their obvious flaws. The first is a Roman bronze leaping panther. It conveys such a sense of motion and strength that you can’t help but be drawn to it. Another is a Luristan bronze dagger missing the reverse side of its hilt. The missing section simply shows how delicate and refined this piece is.

Art does not have to be perfect. It simply has to speak to us. Imperfection can sometimes speak incredibly loudly. Don’t be afraid to listen!

Happy Collecting!
Bob