Clarence Cook

In 1882 Clarence Cook, whom Marangou's index calls an American journalist, poet and art critic¹, published a pamphlet, Transformations and Migrations of Certain Statues in the Cesnola Collection, which put in print the charges that the dealer Gaston Feuardent had begun in the Art Amateur in August 1880². Marangou says Cook had first written a glowing Herald review of Luigi Palma di Cesnola's first New York exhibition, and that Cesnola had sent him a letter with photographs of Salamis finds¹. According to Marangou, Cook later "moved over to Feuardent's side"; the pamphlet, published by Feuardent, shows statue no. 39 in the catalogue, the "Aphrodite and Eros", in five versions¹.

Cook argued that locality is basic to archaeology and that Cesnola could not prove a temple at Golgoi, citing Johannes Doell, who wrote of the "so called temple of Golgoi". He argued that the statue was a patchwork, possibly made to supply a goddess for the supposed temple¹. He printed a letter in which Cesnola asked his help in getting a Philadelphia museum to buy a collection assembled from some 2000 vases and finds from 6,000 unopened tombs; the photographs were captioned "Salamis" in Cesnola's hand, and Cook argued from the book's own admission of poor results at Salamis that the objects came from elsewhere¹. The six conclusions end with Feuardent's belief that the Trustees could claim at least $30,000 from Cesnola¹. Hermary quotes the pamphlet as denouncing "the impudent restorations" of the bull-head "priest", now MMA 74.51.2463³.

By spring 1882 the Museum had put the two statues Cook named on public view¹. Feuardent sued Cesnola for libel in 1883, and the Cesnola side prevailed².