Cyprus in the 19th Century AD: Fact, Fancy and Fiction

The 22nd British Museum Classical Colloquium, held in December 1998, was dedicated to the memory of the late Professor Olivier Masson. Throughout his long career his over-riding enthusiasm was in the study of the archaeological heritage of Cyprus, in particular through the collection of the British Museum. Contributors, from Europe and America, write about the major sites, the convictions and motives of those who investigated them, the political background, the movement of antiquities to major European museums and the ensuing rivalry between these institutions. The discussions show that we can, and indeed must, learn from the triumphs and the mistakes of the 19th century with regard to how we study, exploit and preserve a country's archaeological heritage. The book is a major contribution to the historiography of Cypriot studies.

Table of Contents

Olivier Masson: 'Luigi Palma di Cesnola - ultimes considérations'(Emilia Masson)
Olivier Masson (1922-1997) - un tribute ( Maurice Sznycer)

Views of Cyprus in the 19th century
Cyprus a new archaeological frontier in the XIXth century: the strugggle of European Museums for Cypriot antiquities (Claire Balandier)
Cyprus in the 19th century: perceptions and politics (Peter W. Edbury)
Imaginary Cyprus. Revisiting the past and redefining the ancient landscape (Anastasia Serghidou)
Edmond Duthoit: an artist and ethnographer in Cyprus, 1862, 1865 (Rita C. Severis)

Sites in the 19th century
Ormidei:tracing Cesnola's footsteps. Archaeological research and finds (Maria Hadjicosti)
From Hammer von Purgstall to F.B. Welch. The archaeology of Old Paphos, 1802-1899 (Despo Pilides)
An Archaeology of cult? Cypriot sancturies in 19th century archaeology (Anja Ulbrich)

Museums and their 19th century Collections
'New' objects from British Museum Tomb 73 at Curium (Donald M. Bailey and Marilyn Jockey)
Cypriot Antiquities in Italy. Items in the Archaeological Museum of Perugia and in the Etruscan-Academy Museum of Cortona (Marco Bettelli and Silvana Di Paolo)
Les Antiquités de Chypre au Louvre: entre l'Orient et L'Occident (Annie Caubet)
Excavations in Cyprus and the 'Mycenaean Question' (J. Lesley Fitton)
Sculptures de la collection Cesnola: le cas du 'prêtre' à la tête de taureau (Antoine Hermary)
The British Museum and the invention of the Cypriot Late Bronze Age (Louise Steel)
Excavations in ancient Cyprus: original manuscripts and correspondence in the British Museum (Veronica Tatton-Brown)
Collecting vases with figurines/protomes in the nineteenth century AD (Frieda Vandenabeele)

Early Travellers and excavators
Melchior de Vogüé et alii and Cyprus (Lucie Bonato)
The Ohenfalsch-Richter Collection in the Museum für Vor- und Frügeschichte, Berlin (Melitta Brönner)
Falkland Warren (H.-G. Buchholz)
Melchior de Vogüé et alii and Cyprus: Monsieur Péretié (Hélène Cassimatis)
T.B. Sandwith and the beginnings of Cypriote archaeology (R.S. Merrillees)
Lady Brassey, 1870-1886: traveller, writer, collector, educator, woman of means and the fate of her Cypriote artefacts (Lou Taylor)
Max Ohnefalsch-Richter and the ‘Esperos (Ioannis Violaris)

The Law
The fight for the past: Watkins vs. Warren (1885-6) and the control of excavation (Michael Given)
Archaeology and Islamic Law in Ottoman Cyprus (G.R.H. Wright)
The Ottoman Law on Antiquities (1874) and the founding of the Cyprus Museum (Nicholas Stanley-Price)

Cyprus in the 19th century AD: Fact, Fancy and Fiction. A Summing Up (R.S.Merrillees)