Doctoral Degrees (Ancient Studies)

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Ancient Studies) by browse.metadata.advisor "Masters, Samantha"

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    Orphan artefacts : investigating classical objects in the Iziko collection, Cape Town
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-03) Welman-Hawkes, Thandi; Masters, Samantha; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Ancient Studies.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Since 1998 a collection of 238 classical antiquities, many of which were previously on display for over a century, has been in storage in the Iziko Social History Centre in Cape Town, South Africa. These artefacts are of a low priority for display in the museum and the skills necessary to conserve them are at present unavailable to the museum staff. The purpose of this thesis is, having created a database of the antiquities in storage using accession documents from the museum, to situate the collection in a South African heritage context. The resulting database has preserved the museum data which has previously only been available as physical records within the museum’s archive. To contextualise the collection of Greek and Roman antiquities I have examined the collection practices of the South African Museum and the South African Cultural History Museum (now Iziko) pre- and post 1994, and the relevant South African heritage legislation to assess whether these intrinsically European artefacts have value in a post-colonial, post-apartheid South Africa. Using the theories of negative heritage, object- and nation-oriented policies, and a typology of value I have developed for this study, I have ascertained that while direct assimilation into exhibitions may be unlikely, there is a future for these antiquities in integrated museum display, tertiary education, and as a resource for future research endeavours, specifically through digital preservation and greater co-operation between the museum and educational institutions.