Promesse de mandat territorial

Museums often amass much ephemeral material as well as collection objects; these ‘minor’ pieces can enhance our understanding of the broader pattern of collecting.

In this episode, Dr Craig Barker is joined by Candace Richards, Assistant Curator of the Nicholson Collection. Together they discuss a ‘Promesse de mandat territorial'; a French bank note issued in 1796, two years before the Napoleonic campaign in Egypt. The note came to Australia via the family of the noted figure in Egyptology and University of Sydney alumnus Grafton Elliot Smith (1871-1937).

This single piece of paper provides an opportunity to talk about European colonial influence in Egypt in the 18th,19th and 20th centuries, and the rush for European powers to uncover Egyptian antiquities. It also enables a discussion on the concept of object biographies and understanding how objects have their own histories, including the importance of these modern objects within collections of ancient artefacts and the modern engagement with ancient Egypt as explored in the Chau Chak Wing Museum exhibition Pharaonic Obsessions: Ancient Egypt, an Australian Story.

Object: 'Promesse de mandat territorial', 100 franc paper bank note, France, 1796, Donated by Mrs Elwyn M Andrews and Miss Elizabeth C Bootle in memory of their great-uncle Sir Grafton Elliot Smith 1984, Nicholson Collection, NM2017.2 

 

Host: Dr Craig Barker, Head, Public Engagement, Chau Chak Wing Museum and Director, Paphos Theatre Archaeological Excavations. Follow @DrCraig_B on Twitter and Instagram. 

Guest: Candace Richards is an archaeologist and Assistant Curator of the Nicholson Collection at the Chau Chak Wing Museum. Follow Candace on Twitter and Instagram.


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