Updated Sept. 15 with result of auction
Picture Cave and the 43 acres surrounding it sold Tuesday for $2.2 million during the Selkirk auction. The that the bidder declined to be named.
Selkirk did not respond to a request yesterday seeking comment on the sale.
Original story from Sept. 9
A vintage pool table, dollhouse miniatures, Chinese snuff bottles 鈥� as of this writing, the colorful banner on St. Louis-based Selkirk Auctioneers & Appraisers鈥� website displays an assortment of pieces up for grabs. But one slide in the digital series stands out: 鈥淧icture Cave & 43 Acres,鈥� it reads, featuring an image of ancient indigenous rock art.
Clicking on the image takes you to , which Selkirk describes as 鈥渙ne the most significant North American archeological sites,鈥� a place whose cultural importance rivals that of or Chaco Canyon.
The morning of Sept. 14, the site is set to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, as. And Carol Diaz-Granados, a research associate at Washington University, along with her husband, James Duncan, are appalled by that prospect. The pair have devoted years of time and anthropological research to Picture Cave.
They believe that the property should be entrusted to an entity that specializes in preservation 鈥� and that it ultimately belongs in the care of the Osage Nation. (A representative from the Osage Nation Historic Preservation Office declined an invitation to appear on the program at this time.)
Duncan, whose scholarship includes Osage oral history, said the cave has long been considered by some to be 鈥渢he womb of the universe.鈥�
Located in Warren County, Missouri, about 60 miles west of St. Louis, it鈥檚 the site of more than 290 pictographs that are 1,000 years old. Duncan and Diaz-Granados worked inside the completely dark, hard-to-get-to cave for 20 years (photographing, measuring and studying the imagery).They also arranged for gating the two entrances to the cave (located on private land) and paid for most of the expenses.
In conversation with St. Louis on the Air host Sarah Fenske on Thursday鈥檚 show, Diaz-Granados described the site as 鈥渁 very unusual cave.鈥�
鈥淪tate archaeologists who came into the cave many, many years before we did thought they were graffiti, because they鈥檙e so detailed,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o we had to get them dated 鈥� we got a grant from Monsanto and brought up the analytical chemists from Texas A&M University, and they took pigment samples and they dated them to that 1,000-year-old [estimate].鈥�
Beyond the age factor, Duncan emphasized the meaning behind the pictographs.
鈥淭he artists who put them on the wall did it with a great deal of ritual, and I鈥檓 sure there were prayers, singing 鈥� and these images are alive,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd the interesting thing about them as far as artists are concerned is the tremendous amount of detail and the quality of portraiture of the faces. Most of them are people 鈥� humans 鈥� but they鈥檙e not of this world; they鈥檙e supernaturals.鈥�
Reached for comment about the upcoming auction, Selkirk executive director Bryan Laughlin noted that 鈥渢here鈥檚 always reason for concern when something historical is at stake.鈥� But he added that Selkirk has 鈥渄one a very good job here, as is the wish of the family, to clearly vet out potential buyers and bidders.鈥�
Laughlin said bidders also must demonstrate they are in 鈥渢he appropriate financial realm for the responsibility that鈥檚 at stake here.鈥� He also cited state law () as existing protection for a site like this.
鈥淲hat all that is saying and is ensuring is that nothing can happen to the cave. We鈥檙e not wanting something to happen to the cave; we don鈥檛 want to change the property,鈥� he said, adding that Selkirk鈥檚 hope along with that of the current owners of the property is for further education and stewardship for generations to come.
On the show, Diaz-Granados and Duncan expressed concern as well as some optimism about how the situation will turn out.
鈥淲e鈥檙e hopeful that a couple [private] agencies are working to try to secure the cave for the Osage nation,鈥� Diaz-Granados said.
The auction house estimates the winning bid to be $1 million to $3 million.
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