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Polynesian collections:
interpretations of the past in the present
A
conference organised by the Sainsbury Research
Unit, at the University of East Anglia
Friday 14 May
2004, 2pm - 6.30pm
Saturday 15 May
2004, 9am - 4pm
Thank you to everyone who came
to this conference, which was a great success. Thanks to those who gave a
paper and to everyone who contributed to discussions both inside and outside
the lecture theatre. It was a forum for stimulating debate and showed that
there will be much to discuss and learn in the next 2½ years of the
Polynesian Visual Arts project.
The conference has made a very
positive and exciting start to the Polynesian Visual Arts programme of
events and conferences, which will continue over the duration of the
Project. Watch this space for more details.
Participants at the
Polynesian Collections conference, held by the Sainsbury Research Unit,
University of East Anglia, Norwich.
14-15 May 2004
This
conference aimed to bring together anthropologists, historians, curators and
others to discuss Polynesian collections and historical materials in the
context of current perspectives deriving from a variety of disciplines - in
particular historical anthropology.
This
conference aimed to bring together anthropologists, historians, curators and
others to discuss Polynesian collections and historical
materials in
the context of current perspectives deriving from a variety of disciplines -
in particular historical anthropology.
The conference
drew on recent research on the role of museums as custodians and presenters
of historical objects and also on how perceptions of the past are shaped by
museum practice. In addition, Polynesian studies continue to be invigorated
by archival and collections research and this conference provided an
occasion to assess current studies. The diversity ofperspectives ensured
that the issues appealed to a wide audience.
PROGRAMME:
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1.00pm
2.00
2.15
3.45
4.15-5.15
5.30
6.30
8.00
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FRIDAY 14 MAY
Registration and Coffee: Foyer,
Elizabeth Fry Building
All papers will be presented in Lecture
Theatre 01.08, Elizabeth Fry Building.
Welcome – Steven Hooper (Sainsbury
Research Unit)
Session 1. Chair: Helen Southwood.
What defines a collection?
Peter Gathercole (University of
Cambridge)
‘Trophies of Christianity’: a history
of the Polynesian collections of the London Missionary Society at the
British Museum
Jill Hasell (British Museum)
Rediscovery of a collection: the
Polynesian collection of the Cuming Museum
Catherine Hamilton and Bryn Hyacinth (Cuming
Museum)
Tea.
Session 2. Chair: Maia Jessop
The Polynesian Visual Arts project: aims
and methods
Helen Southwood, Ludovic Coupaye and
Steven Hooper
(Sainsbury Research Unit)
Keynote lecture:
Tradition and Modernity: Recycling
Tradition in Polynesian Art.
Adrienne Kaeppler (Smithsonian
Institution)
Drinks Reception to be held in the
Sainsbury Centre, Mezzanine
Conference dinner (to be held in the
Sainsbury Centre Restaurant Approximate charge £10 per head, payable by
delegates) |
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9.30
11.00
11.30
1.00
2.00
3.30
4.00
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SATURDAY 15 MAY
Session 3. Chair: Jeremy Coote
Wasekaseka or ’ula lei? –
Toward a “Biography of Objects”
Tobias Sperlich (University of Oxford)
100 years of presenting Marischal
Museum’s Polynesian collections
Helen Southwood (Sainsbury Research
Unit)
Pattern and Clowning
Chloe Colchester (University College
London)
Coffee.
Session 4. Chair: Anita Herle
Cross-cultural voyaging in the Pacific
1595-1795
Amiria Henare (University of Cambridge)
The 18th century Polynesian collections
at the Hancock Museum, Newcastle
Les Jessop (University of Newcastle)
More Curiosities from the Endeavour:
The Banks Collection in Oxford and the Implications of its
Identification
Jeremy Coote (University of Oxford)
Lunch.
Session 5. Chair: Steven Hooper
“Current Research on Polynesian
Collections at the University Of Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and
Anthropology”
Anita Herle (University of Cambridge
Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
‘Adapted Recovery’: Maori
museum collections and the first Maori renaissance
Deidre Brown (University of Auckland)
Listening To Hidden Voices:
taonga in the
Pitt Rivers Museum and the British
Museum
Rosanna Raymond (Artist & independent
scholar)
Discussion and farewell
End of conference
Supported by: :  |
Supported by: Arts
and Humanities Research Board; Sainsbury Research Unit for the Arts of
Africa, Oceania & the Americas; and the University of East Anglia
This conference forms part of the AHRB-funded project
Polynesian Visual Arts: meanings and histories in Pacific and European cultural
contexts, 1760-1850, which is based at the Sainsbury Research Unit,
University of East Anglia. See the
Project Home Page for more details.
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