Annam Antiques and Gifts: From Bangkok With "Love"

As I, and others, have discussed numerous times before, Bangkok and Singapore have long served as major transit points for Southeast Asian antiquities to reach online markets far and wide. Yet, encountering examples of galleries based in either of these cities with active online sales is rather difficult, as many do not have active websites, but instead rely on walk-in traffic, telephone calls, or private email orders...spread by word of mouth on online dealer/collector forums, such as the Yahoo "Dong Son" forum. As a counter-example, I will discuss Annam Antiques and Gifts, a stark example of the "middle" step in the regional antiquities trade.

Located in Bangkok, in the Silom Galleria, and run by "Tom Chicago" (which certainly sounds like a pseudonym to me), they appear to have been in business since 2007, and are registered members of Trocadero; known hosts for several other online antiquities dealers. Very little about the organization or its history is made available, nor is a biographical statement about the owner/dealer. We are able to glean that they are self-proclaimed "specialists in Southeast Asian art with an emphasis on artifacts from Lao, Cambodia, Vietnam." They also offer Chinese ceramics, and one can email privately to request more information about the "Extremely RARE and absolutely Magnificant Champa artifacts in our collection!" When you're dealing in the illicit, it's best to shy away from public scrutiny as much as possible...

While the company's catalog mentions a few examples of contemporary and recent historic art and antiques (paintings, ceramics, sculpture etc.), the focus appears to be on the prehistoric/ancient historic...mostly metal and ceramic artifacts. Within that category, distinctions are made between Dong Son pieces (especially drums) originating in Vietnam, and those claimed to have come into their hands from "excavations" in Cambodia...undoubtedly coming from a site just like Prohear, or even Prohear itself. Some catalog entries, like this "assortment of Dong Son axes," are marketed for later resale by other dealers (with a bonus bracelet included)! Artifacts such as these are quite frequently encountered in antiques or 'souvenir' shops throughout Vietnam, and can usually be bought in bulk. Several different examples of Dong Son drums can be purchased (with Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Yunnan "provenance"), as can bells, classic Dong Son orange wear ceramics,Cham earrings, Khmer influenced ladles etc. They're even hawking ceramics from the Hoi An Hoard, which suffered some illicet "salvaging" until divers could get to it. Annam helpfully warns buyers that it's now or never for these purchases.

I'm not surprised anymore that no information is given for any of these objects pertaining to previous ownership, and that many prices are only available through email contact. Indeed, chances are that not only would the seller and Mr. Chicago have no clear idea where the objects are deriving from (beyond "Cambodia" or "Vietnam"), but wouldn't care. As purchases at village level by middle men are done with cash in person, Annam Antiquities would then likely be the first point of sale from which a paper trail would begin, assuming these artifacts end up in Western markets....and if any subsequent dealers or collectors would care to follow up. As has been demonstrated, chances are slim that due diligence is performed.

To close, I highlight this brazen example of the flagrant dismissal of ethics in regards to where Annam Gifts gets its loot from. The only piece clearly from Thailand in this Thai gallery, it is stated to have been assembled after many days or weeks of burial looting around central and northeast Thailand. The 72 pieces strung on this necklace represents an unknown number of burials destroyed to "recreate" this item...and they've even had to offer it at a discount! What's worse is that they admit that these beads come from burials, and even provide a page from a book (this textbook) on prehistoric Thai archaeology to demonstrate this fact. Perhaps this "gruesome" origin will keep it unsold?

The take home lesson is that much of the small, easily portable loot stemming from Southeast Asia will first pass through galleries like this one. If it doesn't stay in-country (a growing possibility as Southeast Asia's middle class rises and gains more disposable income), then more often than not, artifacts will then end up in Australia, or New Zealand, the US, Europe...on into the shadowy world of online trading networks. It is important for monitors and responsible collectors (should any actually collect Southeast Asian materials...) to realise that fraudulent statements of provenance for a prehistoric Southeast Asian object in the catalog of any major online gallery will be covering up residence in a gallery like this one where, as far as prehistory is concerned, it's apparently anything goes.

Soo Tze Oriental Gallery: A small contribution from Tasmania?

Another gallery, dealing in a mixture of contemporary, recent historic, and ancient art and antiquities, has come to my attention as needing mention here; another member of the Southern Hemisphere (and more specifically, Australian) trading "scene." Soo Tze Oriental Galleries is currently based out of Hobart, Tasmania (since 2005), but previously operated out of a Melbourne shop since 1983, with an online presence since June, 2003. To quote from their online homepage, it "is now Australia's premier private gallery dealing in a broad range of Buddhist and related art and ethnographic materials from Tibet, Mongolia, Nepal, China, and Bhutan, in addition to works from the rest of Asia." Furthermore, they highlight the "broad time span" and "high quality" of their products, and the self-stated fact that "items from our inventory [are] now found in many of the best private collections, galleries and museums around the world."

All signs point to this dealer operating a very small enterprise, or at the very least running a very controlled on-line store, as only six categories of artifacts/contemporary art are listed, each with very few items on display at any one time. These categories are "sculptures," "paintings," "objets d'art" (i.e. "small functional and decorative items...dating from 1000BCE to the 19th century"), "rugs & textiles," and "Tsakali and miniature thangkas." Leaving aside those objects that are being sold as contemporary art, ethnographica, or recent pieces (very few of which have displayed provenance regardless....provenance DOES matter, even for recent acquisitions), I will now turn to those few pieces recognizable as suspect antiquities.

What first made me determined to report about this gallery is this vessel, said to come from the site of Ban Prasat, northeast Thailand. Nearly identical examples are also on display at the Phimai museum. As is all too common, no provenance information, collecting history, or even price, is given for this artifact on sale. Without holding it in my hands, determining its authenticity just from photographs is difficult, but the form, color, and shape all match... Other artifacts, like this "Liao Dynasty copper funerary mask," this "repousse copper Linga cover," c. 17th century Nepal (albeit with provenance stated as from a 1994 Christie's auction), or this fragment of "Yuan Dynasty silk," are all equally suspicious to me. Although China has long been known for a thriving fake antiquities industry, most dealers naturally try to do their best, and stake their reputations, on the fact that they only offer genuine artifacts to the best of their knowledge. The fact that no prices are given, to me, points to even more suspicious dealings...artifacts, albeit in small quantities, bought and sold for a select group of favourite customers perhaps?

The burden of proof is now on Soo Tze Oriental Gallery to either provide evidence that due diligence has been conducted on these objects (and, ideally, make this information available as part of the listing for each artifact offered), or admit that they haven't, and remove from sale anything demonstrated to be a forgery or a recently surfaced artifact. If they can't and won't comply with these basic ethical standards to foster a licit and non-destructive trade, preferring to continue with business-as-usual, then they will be further exposed as such.