CQ1 Cahn’s Quarterly 2/2022 English Edition Editorial Discovered for You The Blossoming of Empires The Late Bronze Age in the Eastern Mediterranean By Gerburg Ludwig The Late Bronze Age in the eastern Mediterra- nean is one of the most fascinating periods in history. Its rich, not yet fully evaluated find- ings provide archaeologists with many tough nuts to crack. As excavation work continues, new discoveries make it necessary to keep revising our understanding of the complex events of that time. The following overview highlights some of the major developments in this distant era. As of ca. 3000 B.C., new empires and city- states emerged that emulated the model pro- vided by the advanced civilisations of the Sumerians, Akkadians, Elamites and Egyp- tians. A centralist government headed by a loyal collectors at the fair. The next TEFAF Maastricht will be held as usual in March 2023. We are now looking forward to an eventful autumn, commencing with the exhibition The Schmassmann Collection of Ancient Sil- ver at the Cahn Kunstraum from 1–4 Sep- tember 2022. The collection, which is pub- lished in a monograph by Gerburg Ludwig, will be shown in its entirety and offered for sale as a whole. You are cordially invited to the opening on 1 September from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. For an introductory text and photos of some of the major pieces on display, see pp. 4-8. I would also like to draw your attention to an exciting project with Ulrike Ottinger that we will be showing in Paris in October. The film director and photographer was awarded the Berlinale Camera in 2020 and a retro- spective of her work will be held at the Cen- tre Pompidou parallel to our project. We will send you details of this exhibition and other projects by the Cahn Gallery at a later date. Dear readers It was a pleasure for me to participate in two major events before the summer break. During Art Basel, Cahn Contemporary, in collaboration with Jocelyn Wolff of Paris, presented a very enriching project by art- ist Katinka Bock at the Cahn Kunstraum in Basel. It is extremely exciting for me to see how every artist works differently with ancient art. Sometimes it is fully integrat- ed, sometimes only quoted. Katinka Bock's way of working differs greatly from that of Laura Lamiel; she has her very own, sub- tle and reserved way of interacting with the objects. The solo exhibition with her works set a very high standard. It fascinated viewers and generated a great deal of in- terest, particularly amongst professionals, including museum curators. The texts by Jocelyn Wolff and myself, and the photos by François Doury on pp. 9-14 provide an insight into this exhibition. The second important event was TEFAF Maastricht, which was held again for the first time after a long break, albeit in a shorter form. I was pleased to see that our policy of presenting high-quality art works, which are nonetheless within the scope of small or me- dium-sized budgets, continued to appeal to collectors. We were able to record a sales fre- quency similar to that before the Covid cri- sis and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you, dear clients, for your loyalty. I was delighted to welcome both new and old, A FEMALE IDOL OF THE PLASTIRAS TYPE, ATTRIB- UTED TO THE DOUMAS MASTER. H. 18.9 cm. Mar- ble. Early Cycladic I, Plastiras Phase, 3200-2800 B.C. Price on requestCQ Cahn’s Quarterly 2/2022 2 as diplomatic, religious, mythological, histor- ical and literary texts. In short, they grant us a profound insight into the rich and diverse society of Ugarit. The Uluburun shipwreck, discovered off the Turkish coast in 1982, is like a time capsule that can be used to reconstruct trade routes. The goods on board came from at least seven countries and included Mesopotamian glass, tin, copper oxhide ingots, and many different types of ceramics. The evidence provided by the ceramics, a golden scarab inscribed with Nefertiti's name and the scientific analysis of the wood and plant remains were used to obtain a date of ca. 1300 B.C. for the ship’s last voyage. It was probably sailing from the south along the Levantine coast via Cyprus towards the Aegean. Was the ship’s destination Mycenae? Its in- habitants, the Achaeans (Hittite: Ahhiyawa), maintained close trade relations with the south-east, especially after they conquered Crete and thus secured an important strate- gic base. Numerous clay tablets in Linear B, a syllabic script that may have been a pre- cursor of the Greek alphabet, were found in palaces such as those of Pylos and Mycenae. The evidence furnished by these inscriptions is invaluable for the reconstruction of the palatial economies. Mycenaean pottery, with its distinctive decoration that was initially influenced by the Minoans, has been found throughout the Mediterranean. It features plants, sea and land animals, human figures and patterns painted boldly in dark colours on a pale buff background, the designs grow- king or prince had control of politics, diplo- macy, religion, trade and the distribution of goods. The driving force of the time was the bronze casting process, which spread through the Ancient Near East from the 3rd millen- nium B.C. onwards. The import of raw ma- terials such as copper from Cyprus and rare tin from Badakhshan/Afghanistan, amongst other places, had a positive effect on trade, which by 1500 B.C. had developed into a flourishing international network. Important centres of power (fig. 1) included the Hittites/Hatti (capital Hattuša), Troy (Wilu- sa) in Anatolia, the kingdom of Mitanni and the Kassites in the Near East, Levantine city- states such as Ugarit and Megiddo, Cyprus/ Alashiya, the Minoans in Crete (political cen- tre Knossos) and later the Mycenaeans on the Greek mainland (political centre Mycenae?). These empires competed with each other and engaged in territorial disputes, especially in the east. Small states, such as Ugarit, were at times pawns of the major powers, but there were also periods in which they were able to assert their autonomy. One perennial force to be reckoned with was the great power of Egypt. With the ad- vent of the New Kingdom (as of 1550 B.C.), the country once again experienced a gold- en age. Queen Hatshepsut, for instance, pro- moted trade, diplomatic contacts and cultural exchange. The Minoan frescoes, painted in wonderfully bright colours, which were found in the palace of Thutmose III in Tell el-Dab’a, testify to this cross-pollination. The funerary statuette (fig. 2) on offer at the Cahn Gallery is impressive testimony to Egypt's prosperity. The deceased civil servant is depicted together with his wife. They are both seated on a chair with their arms around each other. Their distinctive attire comprises a pleated robe and an elaborate wig. The stone- mason succeeded in teasing out the finest de- tails of the faces, wigs and robes from the ser- pentine. The panel on the reverse is decorated in sunken relief and places the sculpture in a religious context as it shows the wife mak- ing a sacrifice. Her husband, wearing a long apron and standing in front of her, partici- pates in the ritual act. Egypt's key role is demonstrated by several phases of territorial expansion in the north- east and its control of Levantine areas (fig. 1). A military highlight: in the Battle of Megiddo (1479/1457 B.C.) Thutmose III, Hatshepsut's suc- cessor, defeated the rebellious Ca- naanite princes after the siege of Megiddo. When, about 200 years later, the Hittites surging south- wards faced the Egyptians at Qadesh (1274 B.C.), the conflict ended in a draw – the two mighty powers were evenly matched. Ugarit on the Levantine coast was also temporarily under Egyptian control (fig. 1). The city’s location predestined it for maritime trade and repeatedly aroused the covetousness of the great empires. In the 14th century B.C. Ugarit was allied with Egypt, though not long afterwards the Hittites conquered it and turned it into a vassal state. The numerous inscribed clay tablets found there are a treasure trove of information. They document the regular import and export of goods and also in- clude private correspondence as well Fig. 1: Overview over the kingdoms and states in the Late Bronze Age, ca. 1500 B.C. © Enyavar, Wikimedia Commons Fig. 2: A FUNERARY STATUETTE WITH A SEATED COUPLE. H. 24.5 cm. Serpentine. Provenance: From the estate of the artist Margo Veillon (1907−2003), Lausanne. Egypt, New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, 13th cent. B.C. CHF 38,000CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 2/2022 3 ing increasingly abstract in the course of time. The kylix (fig. 3) presented by the Cahn Gal- lery is a typical Mycenaean drinking vessel that came into vogue around 1400 B.C. The conical shape of the bowl is based on Mino- an models of the 15th-14th centuries B.C., whereas the tall, slender stem is a feature introduced by the Mycenaeans. Two vertical strap handles run from the offset lip to the wall of the cup. On the foot, traces of the pale orange slip that originally covered the light buff fabric are clearly visible. The Mycenaeans expanded into Asia Minor. Hittite clay tablets from Hattuša bear witness to the diplomatic exchanges with the Ahhi- yawa. However, their relations deteriorated when the Hittites became a major power for the last time (ca. 1350 B.C.). The archaeo- logical finds document a strikingly low level of trade between the kingdoms during this period. Furthermore, in 1225 B.C. the Hittite king reacted to the growing threat posed by the Assyrians by contractually prohibiting trade between Mycenae and Assyria in what amounted to an ancient trade embargo. Towards the end of the Late Bronze Age the Near East and Mediterranean could boast an extensive economic, diplomatic and cultural network. The desire for territorial expansion and the instrumentalisation of trade nev- ertheless created potential for conflict. How dramatically the situation finally came to a head will be the subject of the next issue. Fig. 3: A KYLIX. H. 15.4 cm. Clay. Mycenaean, Late Helladic IIIB, 1300-1190 B.C. CHF 6,600 My Choice A DRUNKEN HERAKLES. H. 8.9 cm. Silver. Late Hellenistic, 1st cent. B.C.-1st cent. A.D. CHF 26,000 By Lillian Bartlett Stoner A Drunken Herakles While he might be small in scale, our drunken Herakles in silver is the very embodiment of hedonistic excess. The hero stands with much of his weight planted on his right foot, but gives the impression of being slightly un- balanced with his long torso drooping backwards and to the left. His right hand is outstretched and cupping a deep kantharos, whereas the other is held at hip level and might have orig- inally held a club. His hair is worn neatly curled against the head, but the deeply set eyes are slightly askew giv- ing this erstwhile hero a stupefied ex- pression. The broad fillet tied around his head to trail over his chest indi- cates that he is in the mode of sym- posiast, recalling his famous drinking contest with Dionysos that left the hero somewhat worse for wear. Herakles behaving badly had been a favourite subject in the Greek world since the Archaic period, with the lat- er Classical period seeing his super- human misdeeds (incorrigible wom- anizing, gluttony, drunkenness, and general carousing) beginning to over- shadow his heroic feats. The image of the hero banqueting (e.g. Lysippos’ Herakles Epitrapezios) or his comedic excesses while stumbling home after- wards (sometimes stopping to casually urinate) became a favoured choice to decorate gardens and triclinia by the 1st cent. B.C. It is striking to me that this popularity co- incided with a political turning point when the desire to emulate the eastern decadence (tryphe) of Hellenistic kings and to maintain a sense of traditional Roman decorum collid- ed in public and private discourse. Nothing about this was subtle. Alongside his con- sort Cleopatra, Mark Antony deliberately assumed the luxurious persona and lifestyle of semi-divine Hellenistic kings (becoming quite portly through his enjoyment of the good life), which was diametrically opposed to the “traditional” Roman austerity promot- ed by his young rival Octavian. Yet throughout this political turbulence and high-stakes virtue signalling, Romans re- mained captivated by the Hellenistic model of luxury and excess, decorating their pri- vate spaces and entertaining their guests with the most evocative imagery they could manage. The small scale of our Herakles makes it a likely candidate for display in one such setting, perhaps in a space used for banqueting, and most likely upon a table. Whatever the dubious moral implications of his indulgences, they are instantly offset by his prior heroic feats; his incorrigible appe- tites become charming rather than ugly. All is forgiven. While it would be unwise to read ownership of such a statuette as a political statement, it seems logical that the display of this drunken Herakles in such a costly and flashy material can best be explained by an alignment with and light-hearted long- ing for the unattainable riches and ribaldry of Alexander the Great and his Successors, even for an evening. Imprint Publisher Jean-David Cahn Malzgasse 23 CH-4052 Basel www.cahn.ch ISSN 2624-6368 Editors Jean-David Cahn Yvonne Yiu Authors Jean-David Cahn Ulrike Haase Gerburg Ludwig Lillian Bartlett Stoner Joceleyn Wolff Translations Yvonne Yiu Photos Niklaus Bürgin François Doury Ulrike Haase Design and Layout Michael Joos Yvonne YiuCQ Cahn’s Quarterly 2/2022 4 Exhibition in Cahn Kunstraum, Basel, 1–4 September 2022 The Schmassmann Collection of Ancient Silver In this exhibition at the Cahn Kunstraum the spectacular private collection of ancient sil- ver built up by Christian und Hedy Schmass- mann in the course of several decades will be shown to the public for the very first time. The collection is published in a monograph by Gerburg Ludwig: Argentum – Silber aus der Antike. Die Sammlung Christian und Hedy Schmassmann. Basel 2018. I have known Mr and Mrs Schmassmann for many years. From the very beginning, they were fascinated by ancient silver and it was a pleasure for me to accompany and advise them in the process of assembling a repre- sentative collection. Their acquisition strat- egy was based, among other things, on the wise principle of concentrating on a very specific area. By means of this precise focus, they succeeded in gaining a deeper insight into the mentality and mores of past cultures. The objects in this collection were used dur- ing religious activities. Religion was omni- present in ancient societies and most strik- ingly expressed by its rich and complex imagery. The people who looked at and used the silver objects now on display were in- timately familiar with this visual language – indeed it was part of their daily lives. We modern beholders will never be able to fully grasp the ideas and concepts governing past cultures, and thus topics such as religiosity remain elusive. Nevertheless, the objects pre- sented here invite critical engagement with this theme and give us an approximate sense of the beliefs of Antiquity. A collection is, by definition, a group of ob- jects brought together on the basis of certain principles of selection. At the same time, the collection itself is an artefact in its own right whose status quo is defined by the collector and also reflects the zeitgeist of the period in which it was built. In most cases, private col- lections are of a temporary nature. The owner of the objects is free to make changes at his own discretion, for instance augmenting or By Jean-David Cahn reducing the size of the collection, bringing it into a new context or even dissolving it. Thus, the nature of a collection evolves con- tinuously as does the foundation for the be- holder’s engagement with it. The mutability of private collections con- trasts starkly with the stasis of many muse- um collections, where the overriding aim is to accumulate ever more objects. This policy, in which almost all of the objects are perma- nently hoarded and consequently removed forever from the cycle of ownership change, goes hand in hand with a finality that needs to be critically debated. In my opinion, the dynamic approach of pri- vate collections in which objects are not only acquired but also released again, represents one of the keys to the responsible and sus- tainable handling of antiquities. By changing owners with a certain regularity, the objects in question satisfy the collectors’ desire for a rich, lively and legitimate market. When objects are permanently removed from this cycle, as often happens when they enter mu- seum collections, this leads to a scarcity of art works available on the antiquities mar- ket and may, unfortunately, encourage trade with illegally excavated artefacts. Against this background, private collections and their active management are undoubtedly a pres- ent-time necessity. The structure of the exhibition is governed primarily by aspects related to content, re- flecting Mr and Mrs Schmassmann’s curiosi- ty and open-mindedness: they never focused solely on the objects’ decorative value, but always brought their content to the fore. I am delighted to invite you to delve into the world of ancient silver in which the smallest everyday object is imbued with religiosity. The Schmassmann Collection 1-4 September 2022 Opening: 1 September 5-9 p.m. Exhibition: 2-4 September 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Cahn Kunstraum Steinentorstrasse 19, Basel A GORGONEION. Dm. max 6.7 cm. Silver, gilding. Greek, late 6th-early 5th cent. B.C.CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 2/2022 5 A LARGE SERVING PLATTER WITH MAGNIFICENT FOLIATE SCROLLWORK FRIEZE. Dm. max. 50 cm. Silver. Gallo-Roman, 2nd half of 3rd–1st half of 4th cent. A.D.CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 2/2022 6 A HERM OF PRIAPOS (ANASYRMA TYPE). H 4.6 cm. Silver. Roman, 1st cent. A.D. A STATUETTE OF VENUS PUDICA. H. 9 cm. Silver. Roman, 2nd cent. A.D.CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 2/2022 7 A LID OF A BOX WITH THE SLEEPING ARIADNE AND EROS. L. 25.5. cm. Silver, traces of gilding. Roman, late 4th-early 5th cent. A.D. A SKYPHOS WITH BIRDS ON SPIRAL TENDRILS. H. 8.7 cm. Silver. Roman, late 1st cent. B.C.-1st half of 1st cent. A.D.CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 2/2022 8 A BOWL WITH HANDLE. L. 29.8 cm. Silver. Roman, Campanian, 1st cent. B.C.-1st cent. A.D.A RHYTON. H. 22 cm. Silver. Pontic, 4th-3rd cent. A.D. AN OVAL LANX WITH SACRO-IDYLLIC FRIEZE. L. 25.8. cm. Silver. Roman, mid-2nd half of 2nd cent. A.D.CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 2/2022 9 Exhibition at the Cahn Kunstraum, Basel, 14 June–2 July 2022 Katinka Bock – Some and any, fleeting A “Stress Test” of Contempo- raneity By Jocelyn Wolff Some and any, fleeting is our sixth exhibition in partnership with the Cahn Gallery, and the second solo show dedicated to the work of Katinka Bock. For this exhibition, the artist chose to integrate archaeological objects in her work by means of photography. Thus, what we witness is not the classical confron- tation between the work of a contemporary artist and carefully chosen archaeological objects, but rather a more subtle relationship. To me this suggests a reversal of classical concepts of contemporaneity akin to that de- scribed a few years ago by Giorgio Agam- ben in his essay What is the Contemporary? Keenly appropriate is his particularly inspired observation: “Contemporariness inscribes it- self in the present by marking it above all as archaic. Only he who perceives the indi- ces and signatures of the archaic in the most modern and recent can be contemporary.” (Giorgio Agamben, “What is the Contempo- rary?" In: What is an Apparatus, and other Essays trans. D. Kishik and S. Petadella, Stan- ford University Press, 2009, p. 50). There is a quality inherent in Katinka Bock’s work, namely the will not to yield to the temptation of a form that would be the embodiment of a (very fleeting) zeitgeist – something that advertisers are experts in – that appears to offer an alternative to this dialectic between the contemporary and the archaic. This parallel path, with its ethical dimension, may characterise an aesthetic, which, although it has not yet been given a name, appears to have established a meth- odology and a formal vocabulary of its own. Thus, every time the Cahn Gallery makes its rich collections available to contemporary artists, authorising appropriations, misap- propriations, dialogues or confrontations, we can observe a deepening of that critical exploration of contemporaneity that Giorgio Agamben calls into question. We now invite you to a new chapter of this undertaking, a form of “stress test” of contemporaneity. With their exceptional perceptiveness, artists are subtle seismographs of our environment. Their encounter with objects of the past of- ten has a sensual and instinctive dimension which is not necessarily influenced by his- torical or archaeological interpretations. This can lead to surprising perspectives, giving new life to the objects when they are exhibit- ed. Once the event is over, they then return to their usual context. Artists do not impose scientific or museolog- ical interpretations on archaeological objects, nor do they expect them to please. Rather, they let them take on a new appearance and become a reflection of the viewers’ interpre- tation. Would it not be fascinating to take part in this sensual experience through the eyes of an artist? Archaeology should not have a monopoly on the interpretation of artefacts from the past. The pieces are remnants of human activities, be they functional or ritual. They have not ceased to live, but change with the passage of time and are interpreted anew by each epoch. Katinka Bock has always pursued a very free approach to the distribution of objects in space, sometimes placing them contrary to their usual purpose or in surprising contexts, generating unexpected effects. Ultimately, she strips away certainty from things we take for granted. Why Should Archaeology Engage in Projects with Contemporary Artists? By Jean-David CahnNext >