THE MAN WHO INVENTED AZTEC CRYSTAL SKULLS
THE MAN WHO INVENTED AZTEC CRYSTAL SKULLS
The Adventures of Eugène Boban
Jane MacLaren Walsh and Brett Topping
First published in 2019 by
Berghahn Books
© 2019, 2020 Jane MacLaren Walsh and Brett Topping
First paperback edition published in 2020
All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written permission of the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Walsh, Jane MacLaren, author. | Topping, Brett, 1947- author.
Title: The Man Who Invented Aztec Crystal Skulls: The Adventures of Eugène Boban / Jane MacLaren Walsh and Brett Topping.
Other titles: Adventures of Eugène Boban
Description: First edition. | New York: Berghahn Books, [2019] | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018047588 (print) | LCCN 2018048818 (ebook) | ISBN 9781789200966 (ebook) | ISBN 9781789200959 (hardback: alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Boban, Eugène. | Archaeologists--Biography. | Crystal skulls--History. | French--Mexico--Biography. | Mexico--Antiquities--Forgeries. | Swindlers and swindling--Biography. | Art dealers--Biography. | Archaeology--Latin America--Miscellanea. | Latin America--Antiquities--Collectors and collecting--History.
Classification: LCC CC115.B59 (ebook) | LCC CC115.B59 W35 2019 (print) | DDC 930.1092 [B] --dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018047588
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-78920-095-9 hardback
ISBN 978-1-78920-478-0 paperback
ISBN 978-1-78920-096-6 ebook
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION: ON THE TRAIL OF CRYSTAL SKULLS
5 THE EMPEROR’S ANTIQUARIAN: A COLLECTION TAKES SHAPE
6 CONFRONTING A DIFFERENT PARIS
10 THE RUE DU SOMMERARD DECADE
12 FROM STUDENT TO TEACHER: DEALER TO CURATOR
15 FINGERPRINTS ON CRYSTAL SKULLS
17 OF FAKES, FORGERS, AND FRAUDS
ILLUSTRATIONS
3.2. Artifacts from Oaxaca drawn by José Luciano Castañeda (Smithsonian Libraries).