No evil in acquisition

Peter Roe says he has one of the top 10 -- maybe top five -- collections of his particular passion in the world. What he collects might surprise visitors to Collectors' Day on Saturday at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale, but the cultural significance he attributes to "Hear No, See No, Speak No Evil" monkeys might surprise the uninitiated even more.

And the international popularity of the sometimes beautiful -- but not always -- collectibles is even weirder. There's an international convention for collectors, Roe explains. It alternates between Europe and the United States annually.

Roe's collection is just one of many on display Saturday at an event that started as the museum's annual "Cabin Fever Reliever" open house -- a celebration of the New Year, says Susan Young, the museum's outreach coordinator and the event's wrangler. Also scheduled to be shown are Frisco railroad memorabilia, candy containers, compacts, seashells, plushies stuffed animals, cameras, perfume bottles, woodworking tools, Disney's Goofy character collectibles, hotel "do not disturb" signs, Western Union telegraph items, rocks, hand fans, cat collectibles, G.I. Joe toys, vintage clothing, American Indian baskets, boxes and models of World War II planes and ships.

"It's hard to tell who has the most fun -- the visitors who come to see the crazy mix of items on display, or the collectors who, by their nature, enjoy sharing the stories behind their stuff," she muses.

Roe started collecting the traditional "Hear No, Speak Nos" -- three monkeys, one with hands over its ears, one with hands over its eyes and the third with hands over its mouth -- as a way to woo the great love of his life, wife Beth Barham. She had two sets, he remembers -- one a replica of what is arguably the oldest incarnation of the collectibles, dating to an ancient tomb in China.

"More than one is the start of a collection," the Fayetteville resident says with a laugh. Raised to enjoy thrift stores and flea markets by his mother -- who collected paper cut-out silhouettes -- the search for the monkeys gave Roe a mission, he explains. When he bought his first set, however, he also became the primary collector. Barham -- who has apparently spent a lot of time rolling her eyes in the 30 years since -- remains the authority on the history of the "Hear No, Speak Nos," but Roe is the one who has accumulated thousands of objects. "She entertains my obsession," he says.

"I have all the images in my head," he adds of knowing his collection. But being invited to Collectors' Day encouraged him to begin to catalog it -- with the dream of a museum at some time in future.

Among his collectibles are the three-monkey figurines people would expect, fashioned from "every imaginable" material -- carved wood, cast iron, brass, copper, glass, leather, feathers and even delicate porcelain crafted in Japan. "I have a set made out of animal hair of some kind," he adds, "and probably three sets made out of coconuts."

But Roe speaks with obvious, eye-shining delight of the expansive options beyond that. There are photographs of humans doing the "Hear No, Speak No, See No" gestures, images created in needlepoint and crewel, paintings and more. There are also variations of four monkeys -- that one has hands over its private anatomy and is generally tagged "Have No Fun." And five monkeys make up the rarest set, Roe says, and the sweetest, in his opinion. That set includes hands over the head -- "Think No Evil" -- and over the heart -- "Feel No Evil."

That brings Roe to what he believes is the cultural significance of the "Hear No, Speak Nos" -- as he refers to them to be brief.

"The theme is universal," he says. "You can find an adaptation of it in every country and culture, on every continent. Japan is dominant, with China second, but you see it in Russia, Ukraine, Nicaragua, in Native American culture. Once the collection began to grow, I began to see the breadth of what it meant to the world culturally."

Even India's famous champion of peace, Mahatma Gandhi -- who kept only a few personal possessions -- had a set of "Hear No, Speak Nos," Roe says. "Imagine the significance of that!"

Asked about bringing his treasures to the Shiloh Museum Collectors' Day, Roe says he has a goal.

"I would like people to understand the impact this concept has made worldwide. We see other cultures as so different, but to see this unifying thread is just fascinating."

NAN Our Town on 01/12/2017