Craft and the Kingly Ideal: Art, Trade, and Power

301 Pages·2013·13.742 MB·English

by  Mary W. Helms

CRAFT AND THE KINGLY IDEAL
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Craft and the I(ingly Ideal
ART, TRADE, AND POWER
Mary W. Helms
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS PRESS AUSTIN
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Copyright© 1993b y the University of Texas Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First edition, 1993
Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sent to
Permissions, University of Texas Press, Box 7819,A ustin, TIC 78713-7819.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Helms, Mary W.
Craft and the kingly ideal : art, trade, and power/ Mary W. Helms. - 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN0 -292-73074-8
ISBN0 -292-73078-0 (pbk.)
1. Political anthropology. 2. Commerce-History. 3. Workmanship.
4. Exchange. 5. Quality of products I. Title.
GN492.2.H46 1993
92-26296
ISBN 978-0-292-75822-3 (e-book)
ISBN 978-0-292-75823-0(cid:13)(individual e-book)
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... the world
Goesr ound in the climateso f the mind
And bearsi tsf loraisonso f imagery.
-WALLACE STEVENS
"The Sail of Ulysses" (Opus Posthumous,
ed. Samuel French Morse [New York:
Alfred A. Knopf, 1957], p. ro2)
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Contents
Preface X1
1 Introduction to the Problem I
Prelude I
The Activities of Gilgamesh 2
Professional Perspectives 6
PART I SKILLED CRAFTING II
2 What Skilled Crafting Means 13
Qualities of Skilled Crafting 13
Crafting as Transformation 18
Crafting and Creation 24
3 Skilled Artisans in Time and Space 28
Artisans and the Ancestors 28
Artisans and Geographical Distance 32
Travelers, Traders, and Artisans 37
Traveling as Skilled Craft 43
The Authenticity of Distance 46
4 Qualities of Skilled Artisans 52
Flawed Creators or the Epitome of Humanness 52
Aesthetics 61
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Vlll CRAFT AND THE KINGLY IDEAL
5 Skilled Crafting and PoliticalA uthority 69
Crafting and Politics in Egalitarian Societies 69
Power over Things as Power over People 75
The Kingly Craft of Building 77
PART II ACQUISITION 89
6 Exchange)T rade) andAcquisition 91
Acquisition Defined 91
Acquisition Explored 100
7 Acquisition in Time and Space 109
Original Travelers and Original Trade 109
Craft and the Conduct of Acquisition II6
8 Qualities ofA cquisition 128
The Flawed and the Ideal 128
The Accumulation of Wealth 135
Wealth and the Ancestors 140
9 Naturally Endowed Goodsa nd Skillfully Crafted 146
Goods
The Tangible and the Material 146
Hunting 153
The Skillfully Crafted vs. the Naturally Endowed 157
10 Acquisition and PoliticalA uthority 160
Elites and the Outside 160
Elites as Acquirers 163
Acquisition and Ancestral Conditions 167
PART III CENTERS AND ORIGINS 171
11 SuperordinateC enters 173
Outside Centers and Ancestral Powers 173
Superordinate Centers 179
12 AcquisitionalP olities 192
Characteristics of Centers-Out-There 192
The Acquisition of "Civilization" 200
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ix Contents
13 Conclusions
2IO
Notes 221
References 247
Index 279
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