sigmund freud's collection an archaeology of the mind
sigmund freud's collection an archaeology of the mind
sigmund freud's collection an archaeology of the mind
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uncover layer after layer <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> patient’s psyche,<br />
before coming to <strong>the</strong> deepest, most valuable<br />
treasures.’ 6<br />
Freud was justifi ably proud <strong>of</strong> his <strong>collection</strong>.<br />
He protested when his friend Stef<strong>an</strong> Zweig, <strong>the</strong><br />
prolifi c Viennese writer, neglected to mention it<br />
in <strong>an</strong> essay on Freud: ‘I have sacrifi ced a great<br />
deal for my <strong>collection</strong> <strong>of</strong> Greek, Rom<strong>an</strong> <strong>an</strong>d<br />
Egypti<strong>an</strong> <strong>an</strong>tiquities [<strong>an</strong>d I] have actually read<br />
more <strong>archaeology</strong> th<strong>an</strong> psychology.’ 7 In a fr<strong>an</strong>tic<br />
schedule that involved teaching at <strong>the</strong> University<br />
<strong>of</strong> Vienna, running a private practice, writing <strong>an</strong>d<br />
tr<strong>an</strong>slating, developing a network <strong>of</strong> international<br />
connections, travel <strong>an</strong>d <strong>the</strong> dem<strong>an</strong>ds <strong>of</strong> a large<br />
family, Freud also made <strong>the</strong> time to haunt<br />
<strong>an</strong>tiquities shops in Vienna, Berlin, A<strong>the</strong>ns <strong>an</strong>d<br />
Rome.<br />
Home with a new prize, Freud would bring it<br />
with him to <strong>the</strong> dinner table, ‘placing it in front <strong>of</strong><br />
him as a comp<strong>an</strong>ion during <strong>the</strong> meal.’ 8 Nor could<br />
he bear to be parted from <strong>the</strong> <strong>collection</strong>, even<br />
on holidays. Finishing ‘<strong>the</strong> dream book’ in <strong>the</strong><br />
mountains near Berchtesgaden in 1899, Freud<br />
told a friend he was accomp<strong>an</strong>ied by ‘(m)y old<br />
<strong>an</strong>d grubby gods ... [who] take part in <strong>the</strong> work as<br />
paperweights for my m<strong>an</strong>uscripts.’ 9 As time went<br />
by, travelling with <strong>the</strong> gods became <strong>an</strong> imperative.<br />
During <strong>the</strong> 1930s, most <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>collection</strong> would be<br />
packed by his wife Martha <strong>an</strong>d Paula Fichtl, <strong>the</strong><br />
maid, <strong>an</strong>d tr<strong>an</strong>sported to his summer residences<br />
near Vienna.<br />
In his study, Freud created a shrine to <strong>an</strong>tiquity,<br />
a private gallery kept alo<strong>of</strong> from <strong>the</strong> mund<strong>an</strong>e<br />
world: none <strong>of</strong> his artworks was permitted<br />
<strong>an</strong>ywhere else in <strong>the</strong> apartment he shared with<br />
Martha, <strong>the</strong>ir six children <strong>an</strong>d Minna Bernays,<br />
Martha’s sister. Among his family, it seems<br />
only Anna Freud, his youngest daughter <strong>an</strong>d<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>essional heir, shared her fa<strong>the</strong>r’s taste,<br />
selecting Egypti<strong>an</strong> <strong>an</strong>d Rom<strong>an</strong> items to st<strong>an</strong>d<br />
on her desk. While <strong>the</strong> apartment’s decor was<br />
comfortable, bourgeois <strong>an</strong>d unremarkable, Freud’s<br />
study was opulent, exotic <strong>an</strong>d idiosyncratic.<br />
It was a contradiction that typifi ed Freud.<br />
6<br />
Describing himself as ‘a godless Jew’, his<br />
writings dismiss <strong>the</strong> consolations <strong>of</strong> religion yet<br />
he was enthralled by magical <strong>an</strong>d sacred objects.<br />
Regarding <strong>the</strong> occult, Freud wrote ‘if I were at <strong>the</strong><br />
beginning ra<strong>the</strong>r th<strong>an</strong> at <strong>the</strong> end <strong>of</strong> a scientifi c<br />
career ... I might possibly choose just this fi eld<br />
<strong>of</strong> research, in spite <strong>of</strong> all diffi culties.’ 10 Freud<br />
relished such dichotomies <strong>an</strong>d proposed dualistic<br />
<strong>the</strong>ories about hum<strong>an</strong> behaviour <strong>an</strong>d culture.<br />
Eros (<strong>the</strong> libido) struggled against <strong>the</strong> death drive.<br />
Statues <strong>of</strong> Eros, <strong>the</strong> god <strong>of</strong> love <strong>an</strong>d desire, are<br />
well represented in Freud’s <strong>collection</strong>. Though<br />
Freud developed revolutionary <strong>the</strong>ories about<br />
powerful, instinctual sexual urges that determined<br />
<strong>the</strong> destiny both <strong>of</strong> civilisation <strong>an</strong>d <strong>the</strong> individual,<br />
he was a traditionalist regarding women’s role <strong>an</strong>d<br />
cynical about social ch<strong>an</strong>ge.<br />
Freud loa<strong>the</strong>d modern art. The Surrealists<br />
insisted Freud was <strong>the</strong>ir patron saint while he<br />
regarded <strong>the</strong>m as ‘complete fools.’ But when<br />
Salvador Dali visited Freud in 1938 <strong>an</strong>d sketched<br />
his portrait, he was impressed by ‘<strong>the</strong> young<br />
Sp<strong>an</strong>iard ... with his c<strong>an</strong>did f<strong>an</strong>atical eyes <strong>an</strong>d his<br />
undeniable technical mastery.’ 11<br />
For Freud, <strong>the</strong> great enterprise <strong>of</strong><br />
psycho<strong>an</strong>alysis <strong>an</strong>d his art <strong>collection</strong> developed<br />
simult<strong>an</strong>eously, a symbiotic, nourishing<br />
relationship, each informing <strong>an</strong>d enriching <strong>the</strong><br />
o<strong>the</strong>r. Freud was never a wealthy m<strong>an</strong>. In his early<br />
years <strong>of</strong> collecting, he had a growing family, as<br />
well as <strong>an</strong> extended family who <strong>of</strong>ten required<br />
fi n<strong>an</strong>cial assist<strong>an</strong>ce. Nor was his practice, given<br />
his controversial <strong>the</strong>ories, thriving. After <strong>the</strong> fi rst<br />
world war, it was <strong>of</strong>ten patients from Engl<strong>an</strong>d <strong>an</strong>d<br />
America who were making <strong>the</strong>ir way to Berggasse<br />
19, not <strong>the</strong> Viennese.<br />
Freud did not allow privation to limit his<br />
compulsion to be surrounded by beautiful things.<br />
He was <strong>the</strong> collector par excellence. Enough was<br />
never enough. ‘The taste for collecting’, writes<br />
Maurice Rheims, ‘is like a game played with utter<br />
passion.’ 12 Collecting c<strong>an</strong> also be <strong>an</strong> aggressive<br />
<strong>an</strong>d compulsive urge, privileging competition <strong>an</strong>d<br />
possession, <strong>the</strong> need to be fi rst, to snatch <strong>the</strong>