2. Antiquarianism
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The 18th century brought with it a
shift in individual focus from the heavens to humanism,[1]
sparking interest in not only the academics of the era to investigate
humanity’s ancient past, but the leisurely gentlemen of the time as well.
Antiquarianism became a hobbyist’s profession in which he studied history and
searched for the relics of the past to further his understanding of where his
ancestors came from. Many of these individuals “were wealthy adventurers,
explorers, and merchants.”[2]
The
methods at the time compare dimly to that of today, where, in most cases, a
complete disregard for the cultures and countries in which artifacts were
located and rightfully belonged were extracted to distant lands and installed
in museums[3] or
sold to private, wealthy collectors. This commonly occurred during war under
the guise of protecting beautiful monuments by removing them from potentially
targeted cities such as was evident in the Napoleonic Wars and the collection
of “hundreds of tons of Egyptian artifacts.”[4] (Pictured above)
During
this era, antiquarians collected artifacts without documenting where they came
from, the environment they were rediscovered in, or any other observable facts
before removing them. This was detrimental to the cultural and historic aspect
of the artifact as it denied any context for it, leaving it disenfranchised
from its origin. Private sales of collected artifacts has remained a practice
into the current century,[5]
although by now it truly is considered looting and tomb raiding.
[1] Arnaldo
Momigliano. "Ancient History and the Antiquarian." Journal of the
Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 13, no. 3/4 (1950): 285-315.
doi:10.2307/750215. 285.
[2] "Archaeology." National Geographic Society. October
09, 2012. Accessed April 17, 2019.
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/archaeology/.
[3] Ibid, 1
[4] Ibid, 1
[5] Robert Clark. "How Tomb Raiders Are Stealing Our
History." National Geographic. May 13, 2016. Accessed April 18, 2019.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2016/06/looting-ancient-blood-antiquities/.