Buying Power: British Archaeology and the Antiquities Market 1880 – 1939

Abstract

• This project is the first to focus on how archaeologists involved in British-led excavations in Egypt and Sudan were entangled with the antiquities market and how this impacts what we see today in museums across the world. It will examine how and why archaeologists bought and sold objects, how they viewed these transactions financially and ethically. This will enable museums to share fuller object histories with visitors, highlighting colonial collecting practices, allowing for a more open conversation about archaeological collections from Egypt and Sudan.