John Marshall (1862-1928) was a connoisseur of Classical art and a cultivated intellectual. He spoke several European languages fluently and was well versed in ancient Greek and Latin literature, which he studied at New College Oxford. His enthusiasm for Classical culture found its highest reward in the study of art, and sculpture in particular. After his first university degree, as was customary at the time, he attended lectures by leading scholars in Germany and trained his eye for antiquities by touring the major European museums. His aspirations were probably directed at the world of academia, from which, however, he received little recognition. To them he was but one of the most talented and successful dealers of antiquities in Europe.

In 1892 he began his career as an art collector: during the next decade he travelled extensively between Greece and Italy, in the company of his close friend and patron, Edward Perry Warren (1860-1928). Warren, belonging to a wealthy family of New England, met Marshall at Oxford and introduced him to the collecting of antiquities. At the Sackler Library in Oxford several boxes containing their notes from their travels are deposited: thoughts, ideas, names of local dealers, lists of merchandise and prices; all mixed up together. These confusing collections of memos are representative of hectic, yet exciting, circumstances and the passionate and spontaneous approach that Marshall and Warren had to collecting. It was only when they returned periodically from their journeys to Warren’s residence in Lewes, Sussex, that accurate scholarly notes were taken. Artefacts were given inventory numbers and annotated on the “Register”: each item had a description, provenance, typology, and price recorded. Most objects were destined for the Museum of Fine Arts of Boston, with which Warren was connected as a seller and benefactor. The remainder were donated to other North American or European institutions, or kept in Lewes.

In 1905, the director of the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), Boston, Edward Robinson, moved to the rival Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art (MMFA) and, upon accepting the post of Assistant Director, hired John Marshall as his official buyer in Europe. At the same time, the Italian government and the Roman nobility were suffering a period of economic distress. Both tried to exploit antiquities for monetary relief: the former by permitting the export of artefacts for a custom fee and occasionally selling objects; the latter by dismembering their family collections and putting them up for sale to the highest bidder. During the same period, feverish building activities were taking place in Rome. Large-scale plans for the urban renovation of the city involved entire neighbourhoods which were razed to the ground to make space for housing districts, office buildings, or public infrastructures. The dismantling of old houses (often built on top of or within ancient remains) to allow for the laying of foundations and sewage pipes and the construction of new streets, led to the discovery of an immense quantity of archaeological material. Most objects ended up in the collections of the Museo Nazionale Romano; many others were regularly offered on the art market.

In spite of the implementation of subsequently tougher laws in 1902 and 1909 against the commercialisation and export of Italian antiquities, Marshall guaranteed the finest masterpieces available on the market for New York. He was, in fact, very much admired for his knowledge of the trade and his connections. The director of the MMFA had entrusted him with an annual fund and the absolute freedom to make the best use of it. Freedom of action and large funds made Marshall an overtly confident dealer in a market infested with crooks, false experts, pseudo-academics, and forgers. He was admired by his colleagues as a scrupulous detector of forgeries even though he was not immune from them on several occasions. His expertise in the procurement of masterpieces was widely recognized and was his main source of personal gratification. For it he died penniless; his possessions – an archive and a collection of scholarly books – he bequeathed to the British School at Rome. His archive is one of the richest sources of information on the provenance and movement of artefacts across the Atlantic. But, above all, it offers an insider’s view of the early 20th century trade of antiquities in Europe.

This biography has been kindly provided by Dr Guido Petruccioli, Project coordinator of the John Marshall Archive Research Project.