Great Plains Studies, Center for
Date of this Version
Fall 2001
Citation
Great Plains Quarterly Vol. 21, No. 4, Fall 2001, pp. 346.
Abstract
Written to accompany an exhibition of the same name at the Ethnologisches Museum Berlin (once known as the Museum fur Völkerkunde), Native American Art provides a broad sense of the exhibition and the museum's holdings. Its authors' stated intention is to answer the frequently asked question: "How have all the Indian things in the museum gotten there!" The catalog does so in a manner that illuminates and extends our understanding of the Berlin Museum, anthropology museums in general, and American Indian cultures.
The catalog's first chapter, "Indians and Germans: A Relationship Riddled With Clichés," discusses some of the stereotypes of American Indian peoples, in particular those celebrated in German writer Karl May's romantic American Indian Winnetou adventure books. This is followed by a much too brief consideration of German Indian hobbyists and their continuance of stereotypes and clichés, as well as their occasionally more authentic understandings of American Indian cultures. The second introductory chapter, "Origins and History of the Collection," provides the historical contexts for the acquisition of North American Indian collections beginning in 1819, and ends with the present day (with some of this discussion concluding in the last chapter, "Modern Indian Painting"). An important segment tells the collections' history during and since World War II-their packing and protection from allied bombing, their removal by Soviet troops as war booty, and their subsequent mistreatment resulting in the apparent loss of important specimens. In an emotional conclusion to this story, Peter Bolz recounts the near miraculous return of the vast majority of the collections to Berlin.
In the Plains chapter, Bolz-who has traveled to the US frequently, spending time with Lakota people-demonstrates his understanding of Plains art by concentrating on the oldest collections (pre-1870), assembled by Prince Maximilian zu Wied, Friedrich Kohler, and Duke Paul. Readers will find details about the character and history of the collections, as well as their return from the Eastern Bloc.
The bulk of the book examines the collections by culture area, successfully bringing together specific objects with their collection history. Not intending the catalog as a definitive work, its authors focus instead on a responsible reporting of the collections' holdings and the potentials for continuing and future research. Their citation of German language publications, rather than a use of quotations or paraphrases, may frustrate non-German readers. Regardless of this, or a few quibbles over some identifications, or the desire for larger illustrations, the book is the first comprehensive overview of the Berlin collections, arguably one of the outstanding assemblages of American Indian art in Europe. The catalog and exhibition honor two blissful circumstances: the celebrated return of 46,675 ethnological objects removed from the museum at the end of World War II in 1991- 1992, and the first permanent exhibition installation of the North American Indian collections in over sixty years.
Comments
Copyright 2001 by the Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln