Ancient Art and its Commerce in Early Twentieth-Century Europe: A Collection of Essays Written by the Participants of the John Marshall Archive Project

John Marshall (1862-1928) was an antiquities expert hired by the Metropolitan Museum of New York. An attentive observer of the antiquities trade, Marshall's archive, photographs and annotations on more than 1000 objects, shines light on the secretive world of art dealing and how objects arrived at the largest museums of Europe and North America.

''The more I use the archive, the greater my appreciation for the care that has gone into creating and structuring it. The same is true of the accompanying volume, edited by Guido Petruccioli. The book introduces readers to Marshall, framing him and his activity within social, legal, and scholarly historical contexts. Readers will emerge well-prepared to engage with the Marshall Archive for their own research, but many chapters are valuable stand-alone contributions, including Francesca de Tomasi’s examination of the complex network of laws and regulations that governed the Italian antiquities market at the turn of the century (Chapter 10) and Vinnie Nørskov’s wide-ranging discussion of the use of different types of photography, from casual snapshots to painstakingly staged studio photographs, by collectors and scholars during the period (Chapter 3).'' – Erin L. Thompson (2023): Bryn Mawr Classical Review

At the beginning of the 20th century, changes in taste and expectations of the public led private museums in Europe and North America to embark on large-scale acquisition of archaeological objects from the Mediterranean and the Near East.

John Marshall (1862-1928) was an antiquities expert hired by the Metropolitan Museum of New York as purchasing agent in Europe on behalf of its Department of Classical Art in between 1906 and 1928. His mission was to secure for the Metropolitan a comprehensive collection of antiquities of high aesthetic standards and historical significance.

During his agency, John Marshall was an attentive observer of the antiquities trade. Photographs and annotations on more than a thousand ancient objects circulating on the art market at that time have survived in his personal archive, later bequeathed to the British School at Rome and the Ashmolean Library at Oxford. This unpublished and very valuable resource shines light on the secretive world of art dealing and provides information on the history of many masterpieces of ancient and post-ancient art now in the largest museums of Europe and North America. Using information gathered by John Marshall, this book delineates how the trade of art and archaeological objects has impacted the perception of the Classical past in the modern Western world.

• | Author: Guido Petruccioli
• | Publisher: Archaeopress
• | Publication Date: Dec 29, 2022
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language:
• | Binding: Hardback
• | ISBN-13: 9781803272566
• | ISBN-10: 1803272562