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Author Topic: Frustrattion' Chieti Museum Poggio-Pincenze IGCH 2056  (Read 1252 times)

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Offline cicerokid

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Frustrattion' Chieti Museum Poggio-Pincenze IGCH 2056
« on: September 09, 2018, 04:54:36 am »

There is something about some museums. They hoard their treasures, whilst  telling us collectors how naughty we are, yet they hoard stuff, abandon stuff, lose stuff, sell off stuff, replace stuff with replicas, the list of their misdemeanours is topped by their shear unhelpfulness ,(except the Fitzwilliam and the Boston museum of Fine Arts).
My latest frustration is the Chieti Museum of Archaeology which is home to a portion of the Picenze Poggio hoard . Will they reply ? Will they hell. I am fed up with the we are busy, we don't give out information, do not photograph-UNPUBLISHED attitude of some of these places.
I sent e-mails both in Italian ( via google translate) and in English to both e-mail addresses but to no avail.

Ciao,
Avete un elenco e fotografie della vostra parte del tesoro IGCH 2056 di Poggio Picenze (Abruzzo), per gli Stephanophores di ATHENS (Nuovi stili) ?.
In particolare la moneta "2 spighe di grano" di Kointos / Chamostra.
Questo รจ importante per la mia ricerca.
Molto bene!
John Arnold Nisbet on academia.edu
Coventry
England

Does anyone know how to get them to co-operate?

See my 2 rants about the BM on my academia page to get the message!
r
Timeo Danaos afferentem coronas

Offline n.igma

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Re: Frustrattion' Chieti Museum Poggio-Pincenze IGCH 2056
« Reply #1 on: September 09, 2018, 05:51:58 am »
Its an unfortunate fact of life that the administrative bureaucrats now run museums while the curatorial staff have little or no say, and certainly no authority.

When the entry point on any request or inquiry is via the administrative bureaucracy, as it usually is, you're doomed to frustration.

I've found the only way round it is to engage via one of the numismatic curatorial staff (if you can identify one) who may be able to work a solution from the inside, if they can (and its often a big if on this point).

The curatorial staff are the most helpful to outside researchers, but I've found that they are powerless when it comes to swaying the administration's unrelenting focus and priority on money making.
All historical inquiry is contingent and provisional, and our own prejudices will in due course come under scrutiny by our successors.

Offline cicerokid

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Re: Frustrattion' Chieti Museum Poggio-Pincenze IGCH 2056
« Reply #2 on: September 09, 2018, 10:20:28 am »
So true.

Museums are like fossils-don't ask anyone to dig it out and classify it.
Timeo Danaos afferentem coronas

Offline JBF

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Re: Frustrattion' Chieti Museum Poggio-Pincenze IGCH 2056
« Reply #3 on: September 09, 2018, 06:42:33 pm »
I worry that many museums are like mausoleums.  A place where dead stuff goes to rest.  Of course, a good museum can be a place where things can come alive.  But, at the same time, it may be that a museum can skim the cream off of their collection (or with other collections), and do a good show.  On the other hand, that may be only the tip of the iceberg, which _one_would_hope_, is under good care.  One would hope.  One wonders how many papyri are mouldering in the Cairo museum.  But in some cases, it is not a matter of being disorganized, but outright monopolistic manuevering, like the Dead Sea Scrolls.  If you can be the gatekeeper to a significant archaeological find, you have got your career made, even more so, if you can drag your feet.  You and your teacher's assistants, and their teacher's assistants can make a career of it, unto the thousandth generation, if you can milk it that much.  Or, so I have heard.....

Offline helvetica

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Re: Frustrattion' Chieti Museum Poggio-Pincenze IGCH 2056
« Reply #4 on: September 11, 2018, 09:01:14 am »
I must say that, during my research and hunt for images for the new catalogue of Lydian bronzes (which is now at the publishers having all the images re-sized, re-positioned and numbered) I had the most amazing, positive reactions from several museums and national collections, especially those in Paris, Gent, Prague, Glasgow, London, New York, Vienna and Princeton USA.

The only ones I received no reply from were in Italy (Padua, Rome and Turin) and Manisa (Magnesia, Turkey) - the latter because it was in the middle of Ramadan and my emails probably got snowed under.

Offline Robert_Brenchley

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Re: Frustrattion' Chieti Museum Poggio-Pincenze IGCH 2056
« Reply #5 on: September 13, 2018, 06:24:13 pm »
What happened with the Dead Sea Scrolls was a scholarly scandal; hopefully nothing as bad will happen again! There was no good reason at all to wait so long for so many of the texts.
Robert Brenchley

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Offline JBF

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Re: Frustrattion' Chieti Museum Poggio-Pincenze IGCH 2056
« Reply #6 on: September 13, 2018, 07:49:58 pm »
Hopefully, but the Coptic Christians control the Nag Hammadi texts, and are less than thrilled about it.  The Nag Hammadi (3rd c.? Gnostic) texts have been widely available and translated, but the Coptics would never be interested in promoting them the way the Dead Sea Scrolls have been.  The texts, btw, are in Coptic and anything found in Egypt in Coptic is in the purview of the Coptic Church.  Don't misunderstand me, the Copts have done okay by the Nag Hammadi texts, they understand people are interested in them and have acted (in a minimal way) that has answered scholarly concerns.  But, they are heretical and they are not necessarily thrilled with them.
My guess is that things like the Dead Sea Scroll scandal go on all the time, granted to a lesser extent.  There is a "good" reason for the Dead Sea Scrolls scandal, monopolistic control secured job security and prestige for a few generations of scholars.  Of course, the scholars and curators have a legitimate interest in preventing cranks and fraudsters have access to the collections.  And it is not necessarily easy to tell which is what.  Years ago, a fly fishermen scoped out the Wallace tropical bird collection, and broke in stealing a few hundred bird specimens.  He originally got in to photograph the collection for a "friend's doctoral thesis." He was on the museum guest list and got caught, but I don't know if he had already tied a few flies with his plunder.  Listening to it in the car and didn't hear the end.  It was on "Radiolab."

Wasn't there a case of stamped gold bars being smuggled out of some museum in Australia?  But I do think that sometimes there is a bit of attitude and pretension that way institutions sometimes handle and protect their collection.  We all put our pants on the same way, (although some of us may wear dresses or skirts instead.)

(I forget Wallace's first name, but he is probably as important as Darwin, and Darwin's collection of Finches.)

 

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