Regimes of value in museum practices

A networked biography of the MacGregor field collection from British New Guinea

Bibliographic Data

ID21834515
AuthorsRobin Torrence (0000-0001-8519-2395, The University of Sydney, corresponding author), Elizabeth Bonshek (0000-0002-2791-0907, British Museum), Anne Clarke (0000-0002-2273-510X, The University of Sydney), Susan M Davies (0000-0001-8630-7078, Queensland Museum), Jude Philp (0000-0002-1122-1808, The University of Sydney), Michael Quinnell (0000-0001-5564-3167, Queensland Museum)
Year2020
Volume13
Issue2
Pages111-131
Publication date2020-07-02
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueMuseum History Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1936-9816 • E-ISSN: 1936-9824
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/19369816.2020.1807122
OpenAlexW3088107722
LanguageEN
Citations received2

Between 1888 and 1898 Sir William MacGregor, first Administrator of British New Guinea, orchestrated the collection of over 15,000 cultural objects. Using Appadurai's notion of ‘things-in-motion’, we trace the networked biography of the MacGregor collection through ‘regimes of value’ as it moved from the territory to museums in Australia and Britain and then repatriated to Papua New Guinea. We show how collection management practices in these institutions were shaped by attitudes about anthropology as an emerging discipline, British New Guinea, and Sir William himself. The social history of the MacGregor collections highlights the multifaceted roles that ethnographic collections have played in sustaining cultural values, strengthening personal ties, re-enforcing self-identity and supporting nation building

Art · Art history · Biography · Ethnology · New guinea · Computer Science · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · History · Medicine · Museums and Cultural Heritage · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies · Optometry

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