ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the current galleries (as of 2014) of the Oriental Institute Museum of the University of Chicago, with a brief history of its collection and display strategies from the late 19th to the early 21st centuries. In addition to an overview of the museum’s mission as part of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, I consider the extent to which objects have been selectively displayed in recent decades in order provide a greater focus on the historical, contextual, and nostalgic value of past Oriental Institute archaeological expeditions. While some “art” objects that lack an archaeological provenience, yet had played a more prominent role in earlier manifestations of the galleries, were subsequently downplayed or removed from new displays, others were retained. The importance of archaeological excavation and context is integral to the way the Oriental Institute presents itself to its visitors, a theme that has taken on greater public relevance in the aftermath of the looting of the Iraq Museum in 2003, as well as more recent manifestations of looting and heritage destruction in parts of the Middle East. This chapter explores some of the value-laden tensions between context and visuality. It suggests ways in which archaeologically unprovenienced objects from the collections might be integrated sensitively alongside those that retain archaeological context, given that they are closely integrated with the history of the Oriental Institute and acquisition practices of the past.
