A tribute to Roy Sieber: Part 2

Sophie's favorite remains a Yoruba ibeji twin figure (Fig. 8) collected by her husband in Nigeria in 1958. A classic example of its type, the sculpture has a well-worn surface that demonstrates its acceptance and use within Yoruba society, key elements in determining its authenticity and value within the culture that produced it. While Ellen maintains that the newest object in the collection was always the one her father liked best, these two early acquisitions remained her parents' sentimental favorites over their decades of collecting.(11)

The Ijo mask and the Yoruba ibeji exhibit formal and aesthetic criteria that Sieber would later articulate as guiding principles in African art connoisseurship--in his classroom teaching and public lectures, and informally whenever new objects were brought to him for inspection. These criteria constitute seven guidelines for the acquisition of tradition-based works by the National Museum of African Art,(12) where Sieber served as Associate Director for Research and Collections from 1983 until his retirement in 1994, when he assumed the title Emeritus:

1. Work must have been used in a traditional context, whether ritual, ceremonial, or mundane. Work must reflect known use patterns through evidences of aging and patination.

2. Work must be a product of traditional artists using traditional media and techniques.

3. Work must be morphologically central to its type. [Sieber defined "central" as within parameters of known variations; a classic example.]

4. Work must fit a known historical sequence.

5. Work must be stylistically central to a major style or substyle, and, if possible, by [a known] artist.

6. Work should have been of highest aesthetic value to African users.

7. Work must be of highest aesthetic esteem from a contemporary Western aesthetic.

The last two points were particularly critical in Sieber's estimation.

In building his own collection, Sieber often acquired outstanding artworks from categories that were the focus of his previous exhibitions, such as furniture and household objects. Naturally, many of them were, in his words, "a total known" in terms of form and style and, thus, over the years, became "less exciting" than some more problematic works. "I love to have a piece that I can say, 'I don't know, and I'm challenged by it.' ... I've reached the point [in my life] where I like surprises." Sieber described how he had seen a Kwele figure (Fig. 9) and been "haunted by it" before he finally "succumbed" and purchased the piece some years later, despite lingering questions about its form and function (in Nyden 2000). Once an artwork was acquired, Sieber was often loath to part with it, whether by trade, sale, or donation. That said, generous donations from the collection of Roy and Sophie Sieber grace a number of museum collections in the United States, including the National Museum of African Art (Figs. 10, 11).

Authenticity

Although it is extremely difficult to
establish legitimacy for an object, it
is often possible to point out what's
wrong with it.
(Sieber 1984:6)