Saturday, 25 April 2009

MacGregor and Cuno: a conversation about the encyclopedic museum



James Cuno and Neil MacGregor can be seen discussing the benefits of the encyclopedic (or universal) museum (April 19, 2009). MacGregor emphasises 'world culture' and the way that the British Museum is loaning material to China and countries in Africa. Their conversation touches on the issue of imperialism.

1 comment:

DR.KWAME OPOKU said...

The two prophets of the “universal museum” present the functions of the British Museum in a way that may impress the uninformed. However, the readers of this site will not be deceived. We would have appreciated more information on the acquisitions of the British Museum. It is the diversity of the huge number of artefacts in the museum which constitute its main attraction and not the offer by Hans Sloan. Obviously, MacGregor and Cuno prefer to talk about Hans Sloan rather than about the Punitive Expedition to Benin in 1897. Kwame Opokui.

Lions from the archaic Panionion

Source: MMA In 1992 three terracotta antefixes decorated with the heads of lions were acquired by New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art ...