Gone are the days when objects from non-Western civilisations (Asian, African, Native American etc.) could only be found in museums, making up collections that mainly interested anthropologists, when museum showcases were filled with “beautiful” objects, serving as research subjects for art historians. The creation of the musée du quai Branly is the proof, if only for France.

The line between the two disciplines has indeed become blurred: historians and anthropologists stimulate each other with their ideas, their perspectives, and the different methods from their respective fields.

Who were the pioneers of these transdisciplinary adventures? What objects were the subjects of these innovative discussions? What status were they each given in turn? Where were the discussions held? These are the questions that this book attempts to answer, from the pen of authors from French, Australian, Canadian, and Mexican universities and museums, through examples borrowed from, among others, Inuit art, Fon sculpture or from the history of German museums.

This volume derives from the International Conference on Art History and Anthropology, held on 21–23 June, 2007 at the musée du quai Branly.

description

400 pages

Paperback - Retail price: €28

EAN: 978 2 35744 022 7

Co-published by musée du quai Branly and INHA

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authors

Thierry Dufrêne is a professor at the Université de Paris X – Nanterre, and a member of the International Committee of the History of Art.

Anne-Christine Taylor, a sociologist and ethnologist, and Director of Research at CNRS, is currently Director of the Research and Teaching Department at the musée du quai Bran