The museum and the object
Cultural commodities in flux at the museum of Islamic art in Cairo
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5717869 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Marie-Jeanne Berger (SOAS University of London, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 395-414 |
| Publication date | 2017-08-08 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Museum Management and Curatorship (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0964-7775 • E-ISSN: 1872-9185 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/09647775.2017.1347807 |
| OpenAlex | W2739105182 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 8 |
This article uses elements of Arjun Appadurai’s and Igor Kopytoff’s notions of object value to examine the historical ‘value’ placed on Cairo’s Museum of Islamic Art and its collection. Contradicting Appadurai’s position that object value is suspended within the museum, the article argues that ‘value’ is re-activated during momentous events – be they political, social or physical – opening an important channel for the negotiation and construction of object value through the mechanisms surrounding such antiquities: museum curation, staff, ownership, funding bodies and the building itself. In effect, the museum takes on the role of commodity mediator, while operating as an object in its own right. Focusing on three critical junctures in the museum’s history – founding, renovation, and the 24 January 2014 bombing – this thesis argues that value is never static, but rather reconsidered and reframed in response to dynamics external to the institution
Archaeology · Art · Islam · Visual arts · Archaeological Research and Protection · Architecture and Cultural Influences · Computer Science · History · Museums and Cultural Heritage · Artificial Intelligence
| Citations per year | 0.5 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2024 - 2024 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |