UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Artefacts of excavation: the British collection and distribution of Egyptian finds to museums, 1880 – 1915

Stevenson, A; (2014) Artefacts of excavation: the British collection and distribution of Egyptian finds to museums, 1880 – 1915. Journal of the History of Collections , 26 (1) pp. 89-102. 10.1093/jhc/fht017. Green open access

[thumbnail of Stevenson_Main Text revised.pdf]
Preview
Text
Stevenson_Main Text revised.pdf

Download (264kB) | Preview

Abstract

This paper explores the collection of artefacts from British excavations in Egypt and their dispersal to institutions across the world between 1880 and 1915. The scope, scale and complexity of these distributions is reviewed with a view to highlighting the complex, symbiotic relationship between British organizations that mounted such excavations on the one hand and museums on the other, and also to providing a basis from which to argue that both field and museum collecting practices were enmeshed within the same processes of ‘artefaction’. These shared processes together created a new form of museum object, here referred to as the ‘excavated artefact’. It is further suggested that the collection of artefacts for museums was one of the primary motivating factors in the establishment of a scientific archaeology in Egypt. Case-studies of the activities of the Egypt Exploration Fund and Flinders Petrie’s work are presented in order to throw these arguments into relief. An online Appendix tabulates the original distribution of objects from EEF excavations to other institutions.

Type: Article
Title: Artefacts of excavation: the British collection and distribution of Egyptian finds to museums, 1880 – 1915
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1093/jhc/fht017
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jhc/fht017
Language: English
Additional information: This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in the Journal of the History of Collections following peer review. The version of record, Stevenson, A; (2014) Artefacts of excavation: the British collection and distribution of Egyptian finds to museums, 1880 – 1915. Journal of the History of Collections, 26 (1) pp. 89-102, is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jhc/fht017.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Institute of Archaeology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Institute of Archaeology > Institute of Archaeology Gordon Square
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1496065
Downloads since deposit
964Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item