Identifying Old Collection Marks on Hellenistic and Roman Terracottas Associated with the Collection of Daniel Marie Fouquet

Abstract

Close examination of fifty-six terracottas in the Menil Collection associated with the collection of Daniel Marie Fouquet (1850-1914) has revealed a series of previously unstudied old labels. These labels, primarily occurring as three- or four-digit numbers in black ink directly on the object, appear to have been added in the early 20th century. These old labels, which were present when the pieces were acquired by the Menil Foundation in 1971 and 1972, do not match with current accession numbers, and are not connected with any known publications. After distinguishing these labels on objects in the Menil Collection, similar ink marks have been identified on objects associated with the Fouquet Collection in other institutions. While approximately half of these old labels occur on objects confirmed as previously belonging to the Fouquet Collection through the publication history, the other half are on objects that are only ‘said to be from’ the collection without similar supporting evidence. This artice serves to document these old labels, to share the data publicly aiding in the recognition and identification of additional labels in other institutions, hopefully leading to additional provenance knowledge of these objects. Recent archival research has identified some of these numbers on a handwritten list accompanied by photographs from Fouquet, including a number of objects only formerly putatively connected with the Fouquet Collection. This research provides a potential avenue for provenance research into his collection and supports a stronger association of objects with similar ink labels to his collection.

Keywords: Daniel Marie Fouquet; terracottas; provenance research; ink labels; art market