| Burnished to look old | |
The third period of fakes began in the 1970s, when the last roads linking even the most remote villages were built, Han migrants to Taiwan began rediscovering their insular roots and developing a cultural movement of localization, in opposition to the Sinicization of the post Chinese Civil War migrants.
In the process, a few private Taiwanese collectors of aboriginal artifacts began to appear. Buying for themselves or to resell at a profit, they created demand and supply, thus igniting a small industry of fakes to compensate for the scarcity of authentic objects. Inspired by real artworks displayed in reference books, these new fakes were good quality.
|
|
necklaces are made with old authentic tribal pearls and
bells imported from Burma, but the strings are synthetic.
The mostly hunter/gatherer societies were gradually becoming sedentary and converted to modern agriculture. In the same spirit, the Japanese encouraged the development of craftsmanship as a basis for trade. As a result, some aboriginal artists began in the 1930s and 1940s to produce craftwork for Japanese tourists and long term residents—very often police officers, teachers, civil servants—who wanted to keep colonial souvenirs.
This is the first period of 'fakery', and these objects are sometimes of high quality, created by the master carvers of the time. Despite the fact that their styles were traditional, such artifacts were made for sale to outsiders. It is quite common to see these kinds of artifacts brought back from Japan these days, and they are not easy to distinguish from authentic pieces, but usually there is some proof of the fact that they were not intended for tribal use.
The second period of fakes is from the 1950s to 1960s, when a lot of United States military and advisory personnel were stationed on the island. They were good customers for lower quality aboriginal artifacts, which, although not industrially produced, were nevertheless fakes. This kind is usually easier to discover, as the style is 'decadent' and often betrays a mix of different tribal styles.
The Tourist Trade
|
|
Objects made since then should be described as either contemporary art, with artworks signed and easily attributed to a named aboriginal artist, or craftsmanship, for tourists or aborigines themselves and often characterized as a revival of traditions in a quest of an identity. The costumes, ornaments and accessories used in tourist shows have resulted in a ‘folklorization' that has confronted collectors with fakes, made in Taiwan or abroad.
|
|
The Real Thing ?
Authenticity is another issue important to collecting Taiwanese aboriginal art ; it is not as popular or well known as other forms of ethnic art, such as that from Africa or Oceania, so there are more reasons for caution. How to define the authenticity of an object from the aboriginal people of Taiwan ? It needs to have been used by them in a traditional context, and, since traditional life styles have all but disappeared, that it must not be too recent. Objects may have been initially borrowed from other cultures but later adapted by Taiwan aborigines.
As traditions have largely disappeared, two turning dates can be identified that help evaluate authenticity. The first of these is the departure of the Japanese from Taiwan in 1945. It is not that what was made after 1945 is inauthentic, but these objects have to be considered with the utmost caution. The second date is the beginning of the 1970s, a turning point in aboriginal life as the last roads linking the most remote villages were opened. That's the time when the last authentic objects came down from the mountains.
When we began collecting Taiwanese aboriginal art, we didn't ask ourselves that many questions—our newfound passion outweighed reason. This didn't last for long, fortunately, as it became obvious that we had to be particularly careful about quality.
By quality, we are talking not only about esthetic value, but also the rarity and provenance of pieces.
for the american troops stationed on the island.
