
Trophies, Relics and Curios?
Missionary Heritage from Africa and the Pacific
Sidestone Press
1st Edition
Published on 12. March 2015
Book
Paperback/Softback
200 pages
978-90-8890-271-0 (ISBN)
Description
The British Missionary movement, which began in earnest in the early 19th century, was one of the most extraordinary movements of the last two centuries, radically transforming the lives of people in large parts of the globe, including in Europe itself.
By exploring a range of artefacts, photographs and archival documents that have survived, or emerged from, these transformations, this volume sheds an oblique light on the histories of British Missionaries in Africa and the Pacific, and the ways in which their work is remembered in different parts of the world today.
Short contributions describing the histories of particular items, accompanied by rich visual imagery, showcase the extraordinary l items that were caught up in histories of conversion, and are still controversial for many today. By focusing on the varied forms of missionary heritage, this volume aims to question the often used categories of trophies, relics or curios, and highlight the complexity involved in the missionary encounter.
This volume is the result of a research networking project bringing together specialists of missionary collections, i.e. artefacts, photographs or archival documents. These specialists are academics of various disciplines, museum curators and indigenous stakeholders who aim to show to a wide audience what missionary heritage constitutes and how varied it is. The heritage in focus is based in museums, archives, churches and archaeological sites in Britain, the Pacific and Africa.
With contributions by Ben Burt of the British Museum, Sagale Buadromo of the Fiji Museum, Ghanaian artist, art historian and curator Atta Kwami, Jack Thompson of the University of Edinburgh, Steven Hooper of the Sainsbury Research Unit, Joshua Bell of the Smithsonian Institute, Samoan artist Greg Semu and many more.
By exploring a range of artefacts, photographs and archival documents that have survived, or emerged from, these transformations, this volume sheds an oblique light on the histories of British Missionaries in Africa and the Pacific, and the ways in which their work is remembered in different parts of the world today.
Short contributions describing the histories of particular items, accompanied by rich visual imagery, showcase the extraordinary l items that were caught up in histories of conversion, and are still controversial for many today. By focusing on the varied forms of missionary heritage, this volume aims to question the often used categories of trophies, relics or curios, and highlight the complexity involved in the missionary encounter.
This volume is the result of a research networking project bringing together specialists of missionary collections, i.e. artefacts, photographs or archival documents. These specialists are academics of various disciplines, museum curators and indigenous stakeholders who aim to show to a wide audience what missionary heritage constitutes and how varied it is. The heritage in focus is based in museums, archives, churches and archaeological sites in Britain, the Pacific and Africa.
With contributions by Ben Burt of the British Museum, Sagale Buadromo of the Fiji Museum, Ghanaian artist, art historian and curator Atta Kwami, Jack Thompson of the University of Edinburgh, Steven Hooper of the Sainsbury Research Unit, Joshua Bell of the Smithsonian Institute, Samoan artist Greg Semu and many more.
More details
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
Leiden
Netherlands
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 257 mm
Width: 182 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
490 gr
ISBN-13
978-90-8890-271-0 (9789088902710)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Dr. Karen Jacobs is Senior Lecturer at the Sainsbury Research Unit for the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas, University of East Anglia. She has worked on various international research projects, focusing on the Kamoro region in West Papua, on Polynesian Visual Arts, the Arts of Fiji, and material heritage of British missions in Africa and the Pacific.
Her research resulted in a range of exhibitions and publications. Exhibition projects include Pacific Encounters: Art and Divinity in Polynesia 1760-1860 (Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, 2006; Paris Musee du quai Branly- Jacques Chirac, 2008), Art and the Body (Fiji Museum, 2014) and Fiji: Art and Life in the Pacific (Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, 2016-17).
Book projects include Collecting Kamoro (Jacobs 2012) and Trophies, Relics and Curios? Missionary Heritage from Africa and the Pacific (Jacobs, Knowles & Wingfield 2015).
Her research resulted in a range of exhibitions and publications. Exhibition projects include Pacific Encounters: Art and Divinity in Polynesia 1760-1860 (Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, 2006; Paris Musee du quai Branly- Jacques Chirac, 2008), Art and the Body (Fiji Museum, 2014) and Fiji: Art and Life in the Pacific (Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, 2016-17).
Book projects include Collecting Kamoro (Jacobs 2012) and Trophies, Relics and Curios? Missionary Heritage from Africa and the Pacific (Jacobs, Knowles & Wingfield 2015).
Content
Introduction
Karen Jacobs and Chris Wingfield
Part One - Trophies?
Giraffe, South Africa
Chris Wingfield
The Family Idols of Pomare, Tahiti, French Polynesia
Maia Nuku
Female Statuette, Tonga
Andrew Mills
Illustration of an Exhibition and Sale at the Wesleyan Centenary
Hall, United Kingdom
Steven Hooper
"Livingstone's Loom", Malawi
Sarah Worden
Bird Specimen, Papua New Guinea
Joshua A. Bell
Slit drum, Vanuatu
Chantal Knowles
Sorcerer's kit, Papua New Guinea
Tabitha Cadbury
Brass Necklet, Uganda
Rachel Hand
A Bird of the Net, Solomon Islands
Ben Burt
Interview
François Wadra and Julie Adams
Part Two - Relics?
David Livingstone's Magic Lantern, United Kingdom
T. Jack Thompson
Wood image, Fiji
Steven Hooper
Thomas Baker's Shoes, Fiji
Sagale Buadromo and Katrina Talei Igglesden
Bishop Patteson relics, Solomon Islands
Ben Wate
Mask, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
Jill Hasell
"African Church", Botswana
Paul Lane
Ship's bell, United Kingdom
Chris Wingfield
A green dress, Vanuatu
Carol E. Mayer
Interview
Greg Semu and Jacqueline Charles-Rault
Part Three - Curios?
Moffat's model house, South Africa
Catherine Elliott Weinberg
Wooden doll, Fiji
Karen Jacobs
Drum, Torres Strait, Australia
Anita Herle
Chess Piece, Botswana
Ceri Ashley
Communion Tokens, Vanuatu
Eve Haddow
Photograph, Democratic Republic of Congo
Jocelyne Dudding
"Bowl", Solomon Islands
Nick Stanley
Parade knife, Democratic Republic of Congo
Johanna Zetterstrom-Sharp
Interview
Atta Kwami and Chris Wingfield
Karen Jacobs and Chris Wingfield
Part One - Trophies?
Giraffe, South Africa
Chris Wingfield
The Family Idols of Pomare, Tahiti, French Polynesia
Maia Nuku
Female Statuette, Tonga
Andrew Mills
Illustration of an Exhibition and Sale at the Wesleyan Centenary
Hall, United Kingdom
Steven Hooper
"Livingstone's Loom", Malawi
Sarah Worden
Bird Specimen, Papua New Guinea
Joshua A. Bell
Slit drum, Vanuatu
Chantal Knowles
Sorcerer's kit, Papua New Guinea
Tabitha Cadbury
Brass Necklet, Uganda
Rachel Hand
A Bird of the Net, Solomon Islands
Ben Burt
Interview
François Wadra and Julie Adams
Part Two - Relics?
David Livingstone's Magic Lantern, United Kingdom
T. Jack Thompson
Wood image, Fiji
Steven Hooper
Thomas Baker's Shoes, Fiji
Sagale Buadromo and Katrina Talei Igglesden
Bishop Patteson relics, Solomon Islands
Ben Wate
Mask, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
Jill Hasell
"African Church", Botswana
Paul Lane
Ship's bell, United Kingdom
Chris Wingfield
A green dress, Vanuatu
Carol E. Mayer
Interview
Greg Semu and Jacqueline Charles-Rault
Part Three - Curios?
Moffat's model house, South Africa
Catherine Elliott Weinberg
Wooden doll, Fiji
Karen Jacobs
Drum, Torres Strait, Australia
Anita Herle
Chess Piece, Botswana
Ceri Ashley
Communion Tokens, Vanuatu
Eve Haddow
Photograph, Democratic Republic of Congo
Jocelyne Dudding
"Bowl", Solomon Islands
Nick Stanley
Parade knife, Democratic Republic of Congo
Johanna Zetterstrom-Sharp
Interview
Atta Kwami and Chris Wingfield