Tag: Jeff koons

Gold and Silver Worthless? Just Ask Nebuchadnezzar

Tutankhamun's Death MaskFrom the shimmering death mask of King Tut to the swinging penile replacements of 50 Cent, Gold and silver have been as staple pursuits of humanity as food, drugs and celebrity gossip. But while the dripping opulence of the ancient world may not seem a million miles away from the crass overindulgence of our own ‘enlightened’ age, you might be surprised to find that the two metals have almost exactly the same value now as they did then. According to economist Jeff Clark, that is. When faced with the notion gold was a dead investment, Clark looked at historical valuations of both metals, concluding their value has changed very little since the first known pricing of gold during the 1st Dynasty of Egypt in 3,100 BC – and the subsequent gold crush that gripped the empire for millennia.

First let’s go back a little less far, to the 6th century AD and Muhammed, founder of Islam. During his time, a chicken cost one silver dirham, or three grams. Skip forward 1,400 years, says Clark, and you can still get a chicken in the Middle East for around the price of three grams of silver. Jumping back another 600 years, Clark claims that an ounce of gold bought a Roman citizen his toga, leather belt and a pair of sandals. Again, an ounce of the good stuff today would get you around $953 (578), which would buy you a great designer suit, belt and shoes (Mr Clark clearly doesn’t buy his suits from the supermarket!). So far so workable, if a little flimsy.

Clark’s next stop takes him back to the reign of the irrepressible Babylonian tenure of Nebuchadnezzar. It’s the turn of the 7th century BC, and Old Neb is famed for his ostentatious gold statues and decadence. According to ‘some scholars’, an ounce of gold was enough to buy you 350 loaves of bread. Working on the rounded figure of $950 (575) for the gold ounce, Clark reckons you can still buy almost exactly 350 loaves today. And at around $2.73 (1.65) per loaf, it’s hard to argue with his working.

kate moss

You might think OTT gold statues were a thing of the ancient past. Think again.

The final historical frontier in Clark’s theory sees him dashing back to the 10th century BC when Solomon, King of Israel, bought a huge number of horses in Egypt for 150 shekels, or 55 Troy ounces of silver (Troy weight is one of a few traditional units for measuring gold and silver; named after the French city of Troyes). I think you can guess where Clark is going he claims you can still buy a riding horse for 55 ounces of silver, or around $780 (473). After taking a brief peek at the wonderfully-named website HorseMart, Clark’s assertion seems to hold sway. 473 wouldn’t buy you a National winners’ pancreas, but you can get the cheapest nags for about 500.

It seems there’s more than a little to Mr Clark’s theory, and I’d certainly be waving the white flag were I the person who ticked him off! Gold’s been making more than a cameo appearance at HK not least in the tangled beauty (or gaudiness) of Marc Quinn’s ‘Siren’ (Kate Moss to you and I). Jeff Koons’ Michael Jackson statue was another example of humanity’s unending love affair with the bright stuff. Think OTT dripping gold ornaments are consigned to the ancient world? Think again.

Jeff Koons’ Michael Jackson – A Modern King Tut?

Michael Jackson and Bubbles

Jeff Koons, one of the most controversial, and respected, artists of our time, is set to launch his first British solo exhibition in London this week at the Serpentine Gallery.

He is thought to epitomise modern art but is Koons more than a little in debt to the ancients?

Graco-Roman Sex Cults

Raunchy Koons would have been well at home in one of Caesars Venus sex cults. In fact, he is reported as having said that he is inspired by the ancient Greek sculptor Praxiteles. An article in the Guardian reports:

‘Koons is fascinated by sex – it keeps coming into our conversation, in a conversation about beauty for instance. “If I think of the word beauty, I think of a vagina”, he replies. “I think of the vaginal – personally. That’s what comes to mind for me, or Praxiteles’ sculpture, the ass…” The ass he’s referring to is that of the Venus of Knidos, carved by the ancient Greek sculptor, Praxiteles, and displayed in a temple that allowed pilgrims to view the goddess of love from all angles.’

Venuses seem to raise their bare bottoms and missing arms throughout Koons’ work, and he seems able to spot aphrodital potential in the most unlikely of places. Speaking of his sculpture Aqualung – basically a piece of diving equipment, bronzed – he said:

“This is one of the bronzes that was there to seduce as a tool for equilibrium, and this always reminded me of the venus of Willendorf. Very voluptuous with all of these curves just like the Venus, and if you turn it around in the back you have your emergency ripcord so, if you go for equilibrium and you panic, you can resurface.”

Sexy curves and handy in a life and death diving situation – bonus.

The artists 1988 life-size sculpture ‘Michael Jackson and Bubbles’ (in which both are fully clothed) was displayed for some time in the Chateau de Versailles in France. No doubt Koons got a kick out of the grand historical setting, as well as the name of the area in which the sculpture was displayed the Salon de Venus.

Jeff Koons on Versailles:

The King Tut of Our Times

But with his ornate gold gilding, mask-like face, full dress and tomb-like encasement (complete with an animal), Koons Michael Jackson looks more like King Tut than a coquettish Venus. The ancient Egyptians were well-known for their love of gold, with King Tuts golden mask being the most famous example. Michael Jackson had a similar love of the shiny stuff, and had even taken, in later years, to wearing a mask in front of his face.

A sculpture of Kate Moss by Mark Quinn also drew parallels with the ancient Egyptians and Greeks when it was revealed last October at the British Museum. It was the biggest statue to have been made entirely out of gold since ancient Egyptian times, and was displayed alongside ancient Greek goddesses in a purposeful nod to the past.

Mark Quinn on Siren (and King Tut):

See For Yourself

Koons exhibition, entitled Popeye, runs from July 2 to September 13 at the Serpentine Gallery in London, and features new work never exhibited before. If you look closely, somewhere between the aluminium pool toys and the giant lobster, you may spot some of Koons ancient world influences.

Image of Michael Jackson and Bubbles by Tybo.