The crystal skull
What is it?
A life-size carving of a human skull made from a single block of
rock crystal (a clear, colourless variety of quartz). It was
acquired by the Museum in 1897 purporting to be an ancient Mexican
object. However scientific research conducted by the Museum has
established that the skull was most likely produced in the
nineteenth century in Europe. As such the object is not an
authentic pre-Columbian artefact.
How did it enter the collection?
The skull was purchased by the Museum from Tiffany and Co,
New York in 1897. At the time of its purchase, the skull was said
to have been brought from Mexico by a Spanish officer before the
French occupation (in 1863). It was sold to an English collector
and acquired at his death by Eugène Boban, a French antiquities
dealer, later becoming the property of Tiffany and Co. The skull
was exhibited for many years at the Museum of Mankind in Piccadilly
(which housed the British Museum’s Ethnographic collection), it is
currently on permanent display at the British Museum in the
Wellcome Trust Gallery.
What scientific research has been undertaken?
The British Museum has examined the skull several times between
1950 and 1990. In 1996 an on-going collaborative project focusing
on the British Museum’s skull and a skull in the collection of the
Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC was started. Contrary to
popular belief there are currently no scientific techniques which
can be used to accurately establish when a stone or mineral object
was produced. Research has therefore focused on how the skulls were
carved, where the quartz originated from and what is known about
the early history of the skulls. Observations made under a
binocular microscope and in a scanning electron microscope suggest
that the techniques of carving used to produce the skulls
post-dated the Aztec period. The tool marks on the skulls do not
match those on other Aztec period rock-crystal objects, which were
invariably carved by hand. It is most likely that the British
Museum skull was worked with a rotary wheel (or jeweller’s wheel),
which was unknown in the Americas before the arrival of the
Europeans. The research also suggests that the rock crystal used in
the manufacture of the British Museum’s skull may have come from
Brazil, an area outside of the ancient trade network of Mexico.
Do others exist?
There is a larger white quartz skull in the collection of the
Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC and a number of other large
skulls in private ownership. There are also a number of smaller
rock crystal skulls. It seems highly unlikely that any are genuine
Aztec objects. Large rock crystal skulls first began to surface in
public and private collections, during the second half of the
nineteenth century, and an increasing number of large and small
quartz skulls have become known in recent decades, mostly in
private hands. However, no such skull has ever been reported from
well-documented official archaeological excavation. Archival
research has, in addition, produced a link between the British
Museum’s skull and another rock crystal skull (in the Musée du Quai
Branly, Paris). Both skulls passed through the hands of the French
dealer Eugène Boban, raising suspicions regarding their provenance.
Why were the skulls produced?
It is impossible to be sure why the skulls were produced. It
maybe that they were produced to satisfy demand in the US and
Europe in the nineteenth century when interest in collecting
Mexican material was at its height.
Are there any genuine Aztec crystal skulls?
It seems unlikely, since no quartz crystal skull has ever been
found on any of the many well-documented official archaeological
excavations of ancient sites.
Did the Aztecs make these kinds of objects?
Skulls and skull imagery feature in Aztec art at the time of the
first contact with the Spanish in 1519. However they were usually
carved in relief in basalt as architectural elements rather than
produced in rock crystal or white quartz.
Do they have special powers?
There are some who claim that crystal skulls have healing
qualities, emit energy, have the ability to convey vital
information or are repositories of ancient wisdom. Large quartz
crystal skulls have generated great interest and fascination since
they began to surface in public and private collections during the
second half of the nineteenth century. The British Museum views the
skull in its collection as an enigmatic object of great interest
but with no supernatural properties.
What is the British Museum’s response to the new movie?
As entertainment the movie will surely appeal to the public, but
it is very much a work of fiction. We hope, however, that it will
encourage visitors to see the skull at the British Museum and to
learn more about Aztec culture.
If you require images or wish to request an interview please
contact:
Hannah Boulton on +44 (0)20 7323 8522, hboulton@thebritishmuseum.ac.uk
or
Katrina Whenham on +44 (0)20 73232 8583, kwhenham@thebritishmuseum.ac.uk