Date of Award
2021
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Social Sciences
First Advisor
Harvey, David
Area of Concentration
History
Abstract
The British Museum has displayed a majority of non-British artifacts since its inception in 1753. This thesis explores the messages implied in the way the British Museum displayed non-European artifacts in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Specifically, this thesis argues that the British Museum's display of artifacts from non- European cultures reflected the theory of unilineal evolution. This argument is expanded on through three case studies on the display of three specific non-European collections in the museum: the Benin Bronzes, the Amaravati Marbles, and the Rosetta Stone. Through the use of British Museum guide books and newspaper articles from The Illustrated London News, this thesis reconstructs the past display of the three collections. Additionally, the display of each collection is viewed within the contexts of the different opinions about non-European civilizations that were present among multiple groups of Britons in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This thesis therefore aims to recognize part of the imperialistic and problematic foundations of the British Museum.
Recommended Citation
Courtade, Jenna, "UNILINEAL EVOLUTION ON DISPLAY: THREE CASE STUDIES ON BRITISH MUSEUM DISPLAY" (2021). Theses & ETDs. 6045.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/6045