Merry Meet!

weaponizedwit:

Sat, 22 Sep 2012 20:12:02 -0400

*I TRY ALL THE TIME

culturalsecurity: Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts urged to return...

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 15:13:43 -0400

Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts urged to return Looted Artifacts to Nigeria

The National Commission for Museums and Monuments, the governmental body in Nigeria that regulates the nation’s museum systems, is demanding the return of 32 artifacts recently acquired by theMuseum of Fine Art in Boston. Consisting of various bronze and ivory sculptures looted during the Benin Massacre of 1897, the Director-General of the commission, Yusuf Abdallah Usman, states that the pieces were illegally taken by the British Expedition as spoils of war.

The MFA in Boston acquired the pieces last month as a gift from New York banker and collector Robert Owen Lehman, who purchased the Benin pieces in the 1950s and 1970s. But the pieces were originally looted by British soldiers in the late 1890s, following the Benin massacre of 1897. In a statement made by Usman, the commission stated: “Without mincing words, these artworks are heirlooms of the great people of the Benin Kingdom and Nigeria generally. They form part of the history of the people. The gap created by this senseless exploitation is causing our people, untold anguish, discomfort and disillusionment.”

According to Huffington Post blogger and Princeton art history professorChika Okeke-Agulu, the laws governing cultural heritage in the United States are lenient toward museums holding works like those from the Benin Court. Commenting on the ethical imperatives associated with the looted art acquisitions, he has stated that “calls for the resolution of the problem caused by British looters of Benin royal art collection will not go away — especially now that Nigerian/world-citizen voices have learned to harness the popular power of the Internet to demand action.” Read more

For similar news stories visit http://culturalsecurity.net/newssummary.htm

thecurveinmyclavicle: Only the classiest of archaeologists...

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 15:12:50 -0400

thecurveinmyclavicle:

Only the classiest of archaeologists drink their water in the field using a martini glass.

If only…not where I dig, with all of the poison ivy XD

genoveval: One of the strongest impressions my first museum...

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 15:07:35 -0400

genoveval:

One of the strongest impressions my first museum visit left me with were the cigarette boxes. Rows and rows of them on the shelves, protecting delicate blades, beads and other small items. They always are the kind the workmen smoke, cheap and strong tobacco, no filter. From rough hands used to the pick-axe more than the trowel they move to indifferent conservators and end up forgotten in unsuitable storage spaces smelling like dust or damp, the obsidian in them surprisingly sharp after millennia in the ground. They seem to me like a very good metaphor, although I can’t put my finger on what for.

When anyone suggests aliens built the pyramids:

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 15:05:21 -0400

egyptologifs:

Finding a significant artifact during a grueling day of excavation:

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 15:04:55 -0400

egyptologifs:

When I mention archaeology and someone tells me it's awesome I'm digging up dinosaurs:

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 15:03:14 -0400

egyptologifs:

Archaeology≠Paleontology!!! Seriously.

When someone asks me about "King Tut's pyramid":

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 15:02:34 -0400

egyptologifs:

But….but…it’s not a pyramid!!!!
Whyyyyyyy does this always happen?

Me with my friends in pretty much any Egyptian exhibit:

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 15:02:12 -0400

egyptologifs:

When my professor says we'll still be excavating in record breaking heat:

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 15:00:12 -0400

egyptologifs:

How the bajillion variations in spelling of one person's name in Egyptian history make me feel sometimes:

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 14:59:55 -0400

egyptologifs:

When people say history is stupid:

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 14:59:12 -0400

egyptologifs:

Granted, not the most mature response…hahaha. Usually followed by a more intellectual discussion. Sometimes.

egyptologifs: Because this is exactly how we study...

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 14:56:49 -0400

egyptologifs:

Because this is exactly how we study hieroglyphics :P May be inaccurate, but amusing nonetheless.

Whenever I overhear people at museums making blatantly false comments, I want to be like:

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 14:55:59 -0400

egyptologifs:

Know-it-alls who actually don’t know it all are the worst.

Every time I read about the Assyrian sack of Thebes:

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 14:55:34 -0400

egyptologifs:

Or the Assyrian sack of any place really. But in this case, it’s nearly as bad as discussing the Library of Alexandria burning to the ground.

When the person I'm talking to doesn't know what continent Egypt is on:

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 14:55:06 -0400

egyptologifs:

This happens more often than one would think.

Watching the scene in Indiana Jones where all the Egyptian antiquities are destroyed:

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 14:53:52 -0400

egyptologifs:

I know it’s fake, but I cringe every time…you know, that one scene with all the tumbling statues and snakes at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark…yeah.

Every time I have to say a really long Egyptian name aloud for the first time:

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 14:53:09 -0400

egyptologifs:

After about 10 times, it’s fine…

Reading about looting of archaeological sites:

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 14:52:26 -0400

egyptologifs:

How I feel when a professor adds an extra assignment for the semester at the last minute:

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 14:51:16 -0400

egyptologifs: