ABSTRACT
Beyond their often beautiful exhibition halls, many museums contain vast, hidden spaces in which objects may be stored, conserved, or processed. Museums can also include unseen archives, study rooms, and libraries which are inaccessible to the public. This collection of essays focuses on this domain, an area that has hitherto received little attention. Divided into four sections, the book critically examines the physical space of museum storage areas, the fluctuating historical fortunes of exhibits, the growing phenomenon of publicly visible storage, and the politics of objects deemed worthy of collection but unsuitable for display. In doing so, it explores issues including the relationship between storage and canonization, the politics of collecting, the use of museum storage as a form of censorship, the architectural character of storage space, and the economic and epistemic value of museum objects. Essay contributions come from a broad combination of museum directors, curators, archaeologists, historians, and other academics.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part 35I|68 pages
Visible and visitable storage
chapter 6|13 pages
To store is to save
part 103II|66 pages
Spaces of storage, beyond display
chapter 10|12 pages
Home storage
part 169III|60 pages
In and out of view
chapter 13|14 pages
The animals went in two by two
chapter 16|11 pages
The double life of ‘oriental’ textiles at the Byzantine & Christian Museum, Athens
part 229IV|56 pages
Politics of awkwardness, anxiety and taboo