The Crystal Skull at the British Museum
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is released to
cinemas on 22 May 2008. With Crystal Skulls being the one enigma in the
new film; here is some information about the Crystal Skill at the
British Museum in London.
What is it?
A life-size carving of a human skull made from a single block of rock
crystal (a clear, colourless variety of quartz). It was acquired by the
Museum in 1897 purporting to be an ancient Mexican object. However
scientific research conducted by the Museum has established that the
skull was most likely produced in the 19th century in Europe. As such
the object is not an authentic pre-Columbian artefact.
How did it enter the collection?
The skull was purchased by the Museum from Tiffany and Co, New York in
1897. At the time of its purchase, the skull was said to have been
brought from Mexico by a Spanish officer before the French occupation
(in 1863). It was sold to an English collector and acquired at his
death by Eugène Boban, a French antiquities dealer, later becoming the
property of Tiffany and Co. The skull was exhibited for many years at
the Museum of Mankind in Piccadilly (which housed the British Museum’s
Ethnographic collection), it is currently on permanent display at the
British Museum in the Wellcome Trust Gallery (room 24).
What scientific research has been undertaken?
The British Museum has examined the skull several times between 1950
and 1990. In 1996 an on-going collaborative project focusing on the
British Museum’s skull and a skull in the collection of the Smithsonian
Institute, Washington DC was started. Contrary to popular belief there
are currently no scientific techniques which can be used to accurately
establish when a stone or mineral object was produced. Research has
therefore focused on how the skulls were carved, where the quartz
originated from and what is known about the early history of the
skulls. Observations made under a binocular microscope and in a
scanning electron microscope suggest that the techniques of carving
used to produce the skulls post-dated the Aztec period. The tool marks
on the skulls do not match those on other Aztec period rock-crystal
objects, which were invariably carved by hand. It is most likely that
the British Museum skull was worked with a rotary wheel (or jeweller’s
wheel), which was unknown in the Americas before the arrival of the
Europeans. The research also suggests that the rock crystal used in the
manufacture of the British Museum’s skull may have come from Brazil, an
area outside of the ancient trade network of Mexico.
Do others exist?
There is a larger white quartz skull in the collection of the
Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC and a number of other large skulls
in private ownership. There are also a number of smaller rock crystal
skulls. It seems highly unlikely that any are genuine Aztec objects.
Large rock crystal skulls first began to surface in public and private
collections, during the second half of the nineteenth century, and an
increasing number of large and small quartz skulls have become known in
recent decades, mostly in private hands. However, no such skull has
ever been reported from well-documented official archaeological
excavation. Archival research has, in addition, produced a link between
the British Museum’s skull and another rock crystal skull (in the Musée
du Quai Branly, Paris). Both skulls passed through the hands of the
French dealer Eugène Boban, raising suspicions regarding their
provenance.
Why were the skulls produced?
It is impossible to be sure why the skulls were produced. It maybe that
they were produced to satisfy demand in the US and Europe in the
nineteenth century when interest in collecting Mexican material was at
its height.
Are there any genuine Aztec crystal skulls?
It seems unlikely, since no quartz crystal skull has ever been found on
any of the many well-documented official archaeological excavations of
ancient sites.
Did the Aztecs make these kinds of objects?
Skulls and skull imagery feature in Aztec art at the time of the first
contact with the Spanish in 1519. However they were usually carved in
relief in basalt as architectural elements rather than produced in rock
crystal or white quartz.
Do they have special powers?
There are some who claim that crystal skulls have healing qualities,
emit energy, have the ability to convey vital information or are
repositories of ancient wisdom. Large quartz crystal skulls have
generated great interest and fascination since they began to surface in
public and private collections during the second half of the nineteenth
century. The British Museum views the skull in its collection as an
enigmatic object of great interest but with no supernatural properties.
What is the British Museum’s response to the new movie?
As entertainment the movie will surely appeal to the public, but it is
very much a work of fiction. We hope, however, that it will encourage
visitors to see the skull at the British Museum and to learn more about
Aztec culture.
More information can be found by visiting this site.
