Collecting is not hoarding (especially when it comes to kiffas!)
Re: Is hoarding beads an illness? -- Frederick II Post Reply Edit Forum Where am I?
Posted by: Will Mail author
05/14/2015, 23:19:24

Historically, a hoard has been a concealed treasure. And etymologically, the word "hoard" is closely connected with the verb "to hide."

Actually, I think there is something sick about accumulating wealth or beauty in order to hide it away. But collectors, generally, want to show their things to friends, to rivals, and where possible to the public. In the past, we could only show them to a relatively small group, but now, with the internet, our collections can be seen around the world. That's what's wonderful about this forum, with all of the work that Joyce and David have put into it, and all the other sites that are similar though seldom as good; they are places for sharing, not just the objects themselves but information and discussions about them.

I think in fact that collecting groups like this are frequently the best places for interesting and beautiful objects to be displayed, even though collectors have come under so many attacks in recent years from the cultural property purists. In my experience the really unjustifiable hoards are in museum vaults and the storerooms of archaeology departments where a good 95% of the material will never be made public.

On a personal note, I’ve sometimes said that I don’t collect beads, I try to study them as an important element in the research I do into early patterns of trade in Asia. That’s why I came to this forum - to find out more about a group of Asian artefacts I knew almost nothing about. But as a result of hanging out here and learning so much from so many of you, I’ve come to appreciate beads in and for themselves - as a… collector. Without this experience, I wouldn’t have known about Thomas/TASART’s amazing collection of kiffas; I wouldn’t have bought my first kiffa from him; I wouldn’t have ended up with enough to make a necklace that I will never wear but will use constantly as an example of the genius of the women who made them.

With gratitude,

Will

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