Cambridge's 'Shrine of the Muses'. The display of classical antiquities in the Fitzwilliam Museum, 1848-1898

The display of the classical antiquities in the Fitzwilliam Museum changed dramatically between 1848, when the Museum opened, and 1898. At first sight, it appears to be a transition from disorder to order, 'muddle' to scientific classification. This paper investigates that transition. Draw...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the history of collections 2012-11, Vol.24 (3), p.289-308
Main Author: Beard, Mary
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The display of the classical antiquities in the Fitzwilliam Museum changed dramatically between 1848, when the Museum opened, and 1898. At first sight, it appears to be a transition from disorder to order, 'muddle' to scientific classification. This paper investigates that transition. Drawing on Museum and University archives, it outlines the history of the growth of the classical collection over the first fifty years of the Fitzwilliam, in the context of the history of the Museum in general. It argues that - far from disorder to order - we see a shift between two different regimes of museum display and 'ways of seeing', one focused on the history of the objects through their donors to the museum; the other focused on archaeological context and provenance. (Author abstract)
ISSN:0954-6650
1477-8564
DOI:10.1093/jhc/fhr032