The British Papyrus Syndicate

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Communities and Collections

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Author(s) / Creator(s)
- Zelyck, Lorne Robert
SSHRC IDG awarded 2021:This research project will address the issue of unprovenanced manuscripts by examining a collective of North American and European institutions involved in the papyrus trade of the early 1900s – the British Papyrus Syndicate. In order to better understand the history, function, and results of the Syndicate, the objective of this project is threefold: Firstly, it will provide a historical record of the curators and antiquities dealers that were involved in the purchase and sale of papyrus manuscripts by the British Papyrus Syndicate. It will also provide a historical account of the creation of the Syndicate, which touches on the personal, academic, economic, and political dynamics of the institutions involved. Secondly, it will elucidate the antiquities market of the early 1900s, and explore the practices of particular antiquities dealers: who they obtained their manuscripts from; how they marketed and sold these manuscripts, in spite of legal restrictions; to whom they sold these manuscripts, besides the Syndicate. Thirdly, it will provide valuable data for curators, archivists, and scholars attempting to rejoin sister-manuscripts dispersed amongst various papyrus collections. The methodology of this project includes museum archaeology.
Date created

2021-02-01
Subjects / Keywords
Type of Item

Research Material
DOI

https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-hpcf-bn07