In 1980, the Donald Cordry book, "Mexican Masks" was published by the University of Texas Press with the assistance of his widow, Dorothy. The multifaceted artist, ethnographer and collector had passed away two years earlier but most of the documentation had been completed before his death. The large, attractive book quickly found its way to the coffee tables of many collectors of Latin American ethnic art and it was for a short time regarded as the most complete work ever written on Mexican Masks. The photography was good and at first glance the masks seemed diverse and interesting. Cordry had been respected in the academic community - particularly for his works on textiles and costumes - yet soon after the new book was released, rumors began to circulate that many of the masks pictured were either misrepresentations, artistic fantasies or downright fakes. The
lively discussions that ensued between collectors, ethnic art historians
and mask dealers resulted in causing most to scrutinize their own
mask collections more carefully, culling out dubious material. Some
of Cordry's friends were said to have insisted that it had not been
the author's deliberate intention to deceive, but rather that he had
been the victim of a few unscrupulous purveyors and artisans who had
bamboozled him into believing the questionable pieces were genuine.
He may not have been the only victim; in 1979, one year before his
book was published, the Arizona State Museum (University of Arizona)
purchased about 500 masks from
the Cordry collection (click here) at relatively high retail prices.
Their apparent buyer's remorse was later expressed in the kindest
possible terms; “Donald Cordry recorded information provided
by dealers about the masks he acquired for his collection. Mexican
mask scholars now question the reliability of this information about
the makers, dances and provenances...”
Cordry's book did in fact contain dozens of superb, old collector's
masks, but the book's credibility as an authoritative work could never
be repaired.* In
the book, one of Cordry’s favorites is shown on the second page
of Chapter One (page 13), a handsome bearded man, intricately carved
with a sumptuous patina. Cordry states the piece is from the “Dance
of the Marquez”, in Coatepec Costales, Guerrero. In fact, much
of Cordry’s collecting had been done in this state, which later
became well known as the axis mundi of mask fakery. In his praise
for the Marquez mask, the author gushes, ”This superlative,
late eighteenth or nineteenth century mask was carefully hidden and
protected in the home of an old Indian who owned three or more of the
original set...”; yet story has it that when someone actually
went to Coatepec Costales to check, the alleged provenance could not
be validated. At about the same time Cordry’s book was published, a surprising number of masks from the Dance of the Marquez became available through the efforts of Mexico City and Cuernavaca mask dealers. These masks sometimes sold for more than $1,000 USD and people paid the price because they were so beautifully detailed and finely patinated. The mask shown above is one of them, and in case you’re wondering, this Mask Monger did not pay anywhere near $1,000 for it, thank you. *This book's credibility may have never recovered, but its value as a collectable has risen steadily from the original price of $39.95. If you have one, hang on to it. A used hardbound copy of Cordry's "Mexican Masks" in excellent condition can cost $300 at Amazon.com. Gosh...I wonder how much money the Arizona State Museum could have made if it had purchased 500 copies of Cordry's book instead of all those colorful masks? Let's see; 500 X ($250 current value - $39.95 cost) = $105,025 profit. ©
2002 www.mexicanmasks.us - All Rights
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