The story of Sir Austen Henry Layard's rediscovery of ancient Assyria and its fabled capital, Nineveh, is one of the great tales of the 19th century. No less remarkable is the story of the collection, dispersal and then re-acquisition in the 20th century of the world's greatest Assyrian collection ever to be in private hands. In this history of the reception of ancient Assyrian art in England and subsequently in America, John Malcolm Russell recounts that story of the huge collection of artefacts that Layard brought back to England. Much went to the British Museum, but much also to the Lady Charlotte Guest and then, via a Manhattan dealer and numerous competitive curators and millionaires, to the Metropolitan Museum. The last of Layard's Assyrian sculptures, discovered by the author in a private British school, was sold for #7.7 million at auction in 1994 - a figure that tripled that highest price ever paid for a work of antiquity. This book is based almost entirely on unpublished archives, including the 10,000-page diary of Lady Charlotte Guest, the cousin of Layard and the richest woman in England. At her country house, Canford Manor, Guest commissioned from Barry, architect of the Houses of Parliament, the "Nineveh Porch" to display the sculptures. This established a whole new decorative and architectural fashion for "Assyrian Revival". Russell explores the events that led to the creation of the Porch, casting light on the archaeological, cultural and architectural politics of the day. The dispersal of the collection after World War I and the initial reluctance of any American museum to acquire the sculptures, forms another story - illuminated by the schemes of the dealer Kelekian to sell them to John D. Rockefeller Jr and others. Assyria's admission to the family of world art, and ethical questions surrounding the appropriation of antiquities, form another strand of the tale, culminating in Saddam Hussein's attempted intervention at the Christie's sale in 1994. With previously unpublished photographs, illustrations from 19th century sources and extensive passage from Guest's diary, this book provides a look into the history and meaning of Assyrian art of 19th and 20th century taste, dealing and collecting.
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Indiana Jones, move over. In John Malcolm Russell, you have met your match. All right, so Russell doesn't roam the world with a bullwhip in his hand; nevertheless, the adventures outlined in From Nineveh to New York are the very stuff of fiction--except that they're all true.
Start with one forgotten city from ancient times, Nineveh, and the swashbuckling 19th-century archaeologist, Sir Austen Henry Layard, who discovered its ruins. Add a pinch of passion in the form of Layard's patroness and close friend, Lady Charlotte Guest, and her jealous husband, Sir John, and voila! A perfect romance. Now jump ahead a century and see what happens when modern archaeologist John Malcolm Russell, himself an expert on Assyrian artifacts, discovers a forgotten relief where nobody expected to find one, and you have the added bonus of a thriller. From the deserts of present-day Iraq to Lady Charlotte's country estate, then to America and finally to the hallowed halls of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Russell follows a particular set of stone reliefs, explaining as he goes the shifts in aesthetics, in art dealing, and in museums that have influenced their fate.
From Nineveh to New York is a history of Nineveh, of British and American artistic tastes, and of archaeology, all rolled into one entertaining package.
From Kirkus Reviews
All the elements for a great art-history drama are here, but this falls disappointingly short of entertaining. The great marble statues and wall reliefs of ancient Assyria (704612 b.c.) and its capital, Nineveh, were largely excavated by adventurer Henry Layard, who was deemed their legal owner. Accordingly, he shipped some of his finds to the British Museum and others to his cousin and patron, Lady Charlotte Guest. Two of the pieces--colossi of a lion and a bull--were so large that Lady Guest had nowhere suitable to display them at her home, Canford Manor. With the help of noted architect Charles Barry and Layard, she built the ``Nineveh Porch,'' designed specifically to showcase the Assyrian statues and reliefs. The porch was decorated with Assyrian-style engravings and shared other features of the artworks' original palace context. Russell's exposition of these events reads more like dry art history than the compelling human- interest story promised in the title. But the section on the colossi's circuitous path to New York City's Metropolitan Museum moves quickly and dramatically. After Canford Manor was sold and became Canford School, much of the art was sold and the porch transformed into a store for the students. Art patron John D. Rockefeller Jr. bought the sculptures from an art dealer and eventually settled on the Met as the recipient of a major gift. The author creates tension about Rockefeller's pending choice and uses it to explore the works' merits--are they historic remnants or beautiful objects? Years after the sale of Canford Manor, some remaining Assyrian pieces were discovered. Russell, an art historian and archaeologist at Columbia University, was called in to determine their authenticity. Iraq, which now comprises ancient Nineveh, tried to block their sale, claiming they were stolen. But Russell addresses only cursorily the important contextual issue of cultural appropriation. This will hold the greatest appeal for fans of ancient Assyria. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great story...Dry Telling,
By A Customer
This review is from: From Nineveh to New York: The Strange Story of the Assyrian Reliefs in the Metropolitan Museum & the Hidden Masterpiece at Canford School (Hardcover)
John Malcolm Russell has written some fine books on Assyria, one of them "Final Sack of Nineveh" is a superb tome on the history of the excavations and modern destruction of Nineveh. But unfortunately this work was terribly dry, rather boring, and most frustrating in that he spends way to much time going over Lady Charlotte Guest's diary and all the who-what-when and why of the time she lived in and not hardly enough time on Layard and the excavations. And as far as how the Met acquired the reliefs, it basically came down to agreements made with the Rockefeller family. Not very exciting. I suppose i'm more interested in the digs themselves and would have preferred more on them and less on the lifestyles of the rich and famous. The first chapter on the layout of two key palaces was great, but after that it turned into a long, dull read. Great story...just not told so great.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Nineve, Layard, and Assyria,
By AKS "AKS" (Seville) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: From Nineveh to New York: The Strange Story of the Assyrian Reliefs in the Metropolitan Museum & the Hidden Masterpiece at Canford School (Hardcover)
A dissapointing account about Sir Austen Henry Layard's exploits.The author quest for detail makes it cumberson reading and he is far too obsessed with telling about his own small part in recovery of one of the long-lost Bas-Reliefs from Nenievh. There are many other sources including Layard's own works that are far more enjoyable to read.
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