Private Collections come to light: the case of the collections of the world at the Benaki Museum

This study focuses on two exhibitions that took place at the Benaki Museum in Athens, Greece, one of Pre-Columbian art (in 2009) and one of Chinese art (in 2016). Through the analysis of the history of collecting, this research unravels the history of the two rare collections, the George Gondicas collection of Pre-Columbian art and the George Eumorfopoulos collection of Chinese art, which were donated to the Benaki Museum in Greece, a country with no tradition of collecting objects from the Americas and Asia. Through interviews and discussions with the museum staff, as well as the distribution of a questionnaire to visitors, their presentation to the public in the form of temporary exhibitions is also investigated here, as well as the curators’ perspectives, and visitor’s reactions to the exhibitions. Considering the recent surge in interest in exhibitions on foreign cultures in Greece, this study provides valuable insight into the history of these collections, the problems faced by...Show moreThis study focuses on two exhibitions that took place at the Benaki Museum in Athens, Greece, one of Pre-Columbian art (in 2009) and one of Chinese art (in 2016). Through the analysis of the history of collecting, this research unravels the history of the two rare collections, the George Gondicas collection of Pre-Columbian art and the George Eumorfopoulos collection of Chinese art, which were donated to the Benaki Museum in Greece, a country with no tradition of collecting objects from the Americas and Asia. Through interviews and discussions with the museum staff, as well as the distribution of a questionnaire to visitors, their presentation to the public in the form of temporary exhibitions is also investigated here, as well as the curators’ perspectives, and visitor’s reactions to the exhibitions. Considering the recent surge in interest in exhibitions on foreign cultures in Greece, this study provides valuable insight into the history of these collections, the problems faced by curators, and the expectations and opinions of visitors.Show less

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Private Collections come to light: the case of the collections of the world at the Benaki Museum