Creating authenticity : authentication processes in ethnographic museums / edited by Alexander Geurds & Laura Van Broekhoven.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Geurds, Alexander, 1974-

Van Broekhoven, Laura.

George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

Series:

Mededelingen van het Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, Leiden ; no. 42.

Mededelingen van het Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, Leiden ; no. 42

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ethnological museums and collections.

Physical Description:

vii, 168 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 26 cm.

Place of Publication:

Leiden : Sidestone Press in cooperation with the National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden, [2013]

Summary:

'Authenticity' and authentication is at the heart of museums' concerns in displays, objects, and interaction with visitors. These notions have formed a central element in early thought on culture and collecting. Nineteenth century-explorers, commissioned museum collectors and pioneering ethnographers attempted today bare the essences of cultures through collecting and studying objects from distant communities. Comparably, historical archaeology departed from the idea that cultures were discrete bounded entities, subject to divergence but precisely therefore also to be traced back and linked to, a more complete original form in de (even) deeper past. Much of what we work with today in ethnographic museum collections testifies to that conviction. Post-structural dunking brought about a far-reaching deconstruction of the authentic. It came to be recognized that both far-away communities and the deep past can only be discussed when seen as desires, constructions and inventions. Notwithstanding this undressing of the ways in which people portray their cultural surroundings and past, claims of authenticity and quests for authentication remain omnipresent. This book explores the authentic in contemporary ethnographic museums, as it persists in dialogues with stakeholders, and how museums portray themselves. How do we interact with questions of authenticity and authentication when we curate, study artefacts, collect, repatriate, and make (re)presentations? The contributing authors illustrate the divergent nature in which the authentic is brought into play, deconstructed and operationalized. Authenticity, the book argues, is an expression of a desire that is equally troubled as it is resilient. Book jacket.

Contents:

Culture Sketching: The Authenticity Quest in Ethnographic Museums: An Introduction / Dr. Alexander Geurds Geurds, Alexander, Dr. 1

Real, Fake or a Combination?: Examining the Authenticity of a Mesoamerican Mosaic Skull / Martin E. Berger Berger, Martin E. 11

When is Authentic?: Situating Authenticity in the Itineraries of Objects / Prof. Rosemary Joyce Joyce, Prof. Rosemary 39

Authentic Forgeries? / Prof. Oliver Watson Watson, Prof. Oliver 59

From Lukas to Liefkes?: Age and Authenticity of Gold Jewellery from Sumba, Indonesia / Francine Brinkgreve Brinkgreve, Francine 73

The Real Stuff: Authenticity and Photography from East Greenland in the Netherlands / Dr. Cunera Buijs Buijs, Cunera, Dr. 101

Alternative Authenticities (and Inauthenticities) / Prof. Sally Price Price, Prof. Sally 137

Authenticity and Curatorial Practice / Dr. Laura N.K. Van Broekhoven Broekhoven, Laura N.K. Van, Dr. 151.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

ISBN:

9088902054

9789088902055

OCLC:

868824064

Publisher Number:

99957898744