Ceramic versus Metal. The impact of the 1980s debate on the value of pottery versus metal in today's museums

The focus of the thesis is to research what kind of influence the debate on the value of pottery versus metal from the 1980s has had on our current view of Greek archaeology, its material culture and how this is presented to the public in museums. By reviewing literature from the last three decades, an overview is given of what different scholars’ opinions are and where this debate is standing now. A summary of the thesis of Vladimir Stissi will provide answers and arguments for most of the statements used in the discussion. He offers a possible solutions for the problem of the value of pottery, calling figure decorated wares a semi-luxury. Finally, a small research is done, analyzing the Greek collections of six museums to find out how ceramic vases are displayed. Most objects are arranged chronologically and themes being told by depictions on vases. Metal or plain examples are absent in most museum, due to the fact that these items were difficult to collect in the earlier days or...Show moreThe focus of the thesis is to research what kind of influence the debate on the value of pottery versus metal from the 1980s has had on our current view of Greek archaeology, its material culture and how this is presented to the public in museums. By reviewing literature from the last three decades, an overview is given of what different scholars’ opinions are and where this debate is standing now. A summary of the thesis of Vladimir Stissi will provide answers and arguments for most of the statements used in the discussion. He offers a possible solutions for the problem of the value of pottery, calling figure decorated wares a semi-luxury. Finally, a small research is done, analyzing the Greek collections of six museums to find out how ceramic vases are displayed. Most objects are arranged chronologically and themes being told by depictions on vases. Metal or plain examples are absent in most museum, due to the fact that these items were difficult to collect in the earlier days or were not considered valuable or pretty. Museums play a large part in how the public sees the ancient Greek culture. Displaying different sorts of material, connecting them and making more use of texts, will change the way how ancient times were considered by the present public.Show less

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Ceramic versus Metal. The impact of the 1980s debate on the value of pottery versus metal in today's museums