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TOPIC: ARGUMENT56 - Collectors prize the ancient life-size clay statues of human figures made on Kali Island but have long wondered how the Kalinese artists were able to depict bodies with such realistic precision. Since archeologists have recently discovered molds of human heads and hands on Kali, we can now conclude that the ancient Kalinese artists used molds of actual bodies, not sculpting tools and techniques, to create these statues. This discovery explains why Kalinese miniature statues were abstract and entirely different in style: molds could only be used for life-size sculptures. It also explains why few ancient Kalinese sculpting tools have been found. In light of this development, collectors should expect the life-size sculptures to decrease in value and the miniatures to increase in value.
WORDS:537 TIME: 0:45:00 DATE: 2007-3-21
The author concludes that the ancient life-size clay statues of human figures found in Kali Island are made by the molds of actual bodies, thus decrease in value of these sculptures. However, such assertion is totally based on a series of unfirm evidence, for which I can hardly agree with the argument.
First, the mere fact of discovery of molds of human heads and hands on Kali does not necessarily mean that they are used by ancient artists. Since the author never mentions any evidence about the age of such mold, it is entirely possible that they are produced recently. Also, even the molds are products in ancient years, they may never be used by ancient artists. After all, little evidence show that molds of other parts of human body have been found, if so, we can never conclude that ancient artists depicted the whole sculpture with molds. Even though we admit that the ancient artists did used molds of actual bodies to make sculpture, we can never indicate that they never used sculpting tools and techniques. Maybe they always had to do lots of modification, for example to make the eyes more detailed, or to modify the hands which are not so perfect, with help of sculpting tools after utilizing the molds.
Further, even if we admit that the ancient artists did use mold to make sculpture, this may not be able to explain why few sculpting tools have been found, and that the miniature statues were abstract and completely different in style, because there can be various alternative explaination to those facts. Without providing more convincing evidence, the author can not convince me the causal relationship between them. It is of high possiblity that ancient artists considered their sculpting tools so precious that they tended to hide them in secret places, which makes it much more difficult for researchers to find them. As for the abstraction and diverse styles of miniature statues, there is little evidence to indicate similarity between life-size statures and miniature ones. So it is entirely possible that ancient artists lack the capability to make miniature more detailed, as a result, they tried to produce different styles of miniature to make up this drawback.
Finally, even though all the above conclusions have been ture, there is little convincing evidence to support the decrease in value of those life-size sculpture and the increase in value of the miniatures. Perhaps collectors are still crazy about those life-size sculptrues in spite of their being made by mold, because the beauty of such sculpture is unique in the world. Also, even the decrease in value of those life-size ones, miniatures may never increase in value because there are many ancient miniatures found anywhere much beautiful than those in Kali. Since nowadays the collectors never prize the miniature in Kali, they may never be interested in them in the future.
In sum, the arguer fails to make logically convincing conclusion with the evidence in hand, thus the argument totally unwarranted. In order to make it more persuasive, the author has to provide detailed evidence showing that ancient artists did making life-size sculptures by mold. Even so, the other conclusions can never be made in spite of it. |
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