Curating empire : museums and the British imperial experience / edited by Sarah Longair and John McAleer.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Longair, Sarah, editor.

McAleer, John, editor.

Series:

Studies in imperialism (Manchester, England)

Studies in imperialism

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Museums--Great Britain--History.

Museums.

Great Britain--Colonies--Museum--History.

Great Britain.

Great Britain--History.

Imperialism--History.

Imperialism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 240 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

MSI edition.

Place of Publication:

Manchester, UK : Manchester University Press, 2012.

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Recent cultural studies have demonstrated the weakness of some of the fashionable theoretical positions adopted by scholars of imperialism in recent times. This book explores the diverse roles played by museums and their curators in moulding and representing the British imperial experience. The British Empire yielded much material for British museums, particularly in terms of ethnographic collections. The collection of essays demonstrates how individuals, their curatorial practices, and intellectual and political agendas influenced the development of a variety of museums across the globe. It suggests that Thomas Baines was deeply engaged with the public presentation, display and interpretation of material culture, and the dissemination of knowledge and information about the places he travelled. He introduced many people to the world beyond Norfolk. A discussion of visitor engagement with non-European material cultures in the provincial museum critiques the assumption of the pervasive nature of curatorial control of audience reception follows. The early 1900s, the New Zealand displays at world's fairs presented a vision of Maoriland, which often had direct Maori input. From its inception, the National Museum of Victoria performed the dual roles of research and public education. The book also discusses the collections at Australian War Memorial, Zanzibar Museum, and Sierra Leone's National Museum. The amateur enthusiasms and colonial museum policy in British West Africa are also highlighted. Finally, the book follows the journey of a single object, Tipu's Tiger, from India back to London.

Contents:

General editor's introductionIntroduction: Curating empire: Museums and the British imperial experience - Sarah Longair and John McAleer1. The case of Thomas Baines, curator-explorer extraordinaire, and the display of Africa in nineteenth-century Norfolk -John McAleer2. Visiting the Empire at the provincial museum, 1900-50 - Claire Wintle3. Carving out a place in the Better Britain of the South Pacific: Maori in New Zealand museums and exhibitions - Conal McCarthy4. Curiosities or science in the National Museum of Victoria: Procurement networks and the purpose of a museum - Gareth Knapman5. Narrative as history, image as memory: Exhibiting the Great War in Australia, 1917-41-Jennifer Wellington6. 'The lady curator's style': Negotiating curatorial challenges in the Zanzibar Museum -Sarah Longair7. A Museum for Sierra Leone? Amateur enthusiasms and colonial museum policy in British West Africa - Paul Basu8. Edgar Thurston at the Madras Museum (1885-1909): The multiple careers of a colonial museum curator - Savithri Preetha Nair9. Sir William Gregory and the origins and foundation of the Colombo Museum - Philip McEvansoneya10. Tipu's Tiger and images of India in British museums, 1799-2009 - Sadiah Qureshi Afterword: Objects, empire and museums - Sarah Longair and John McAleerIndex

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 24 Apr 2026).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Restricted: Printing from this resource is governed by The Legal Deposit Libraries (Non-Print Works) Regulations (UK) and UK copyright law currently in force.

ISBN:

9781784993467

1784993468

9781526118295

1526118297

OCLC:

1467874546