Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Reflecting on the repatriation of cultural property, this study covers disputed objects from the differing perspectives of ownership on the part of European museums in Austria, the UK, France, and Germany that currently hold cultural artifacts originally taken from Mexico. . . . Carroll reflects on the controversial five-centuries-long history in Mexico and Austria of
El Penacho, the titular contested crown, believed to have belonged to Aztec Emperor Moctezuma Xocoyotzin. . . . The study concludes with an analysis of the ethics of keeping artifacts in museums in the future." * Choice *
"
The Contested Crown is a beautifully written and engaging work, effectively weaving together family history, colonial studies, museum politics, conservation dilemmas, national agendas, and personal reflections. Carroll situates the book in a global art history while also considering a psychological dimension of the protagonists’ feelings, from guilt to intimacy.” -- Sally Price, author of Paris Primitive: Jacques Chirac's Museum on the Quai Branly
“I urge you to spend some time with
The Contested Crown—an original, personal, and creative insight into the repatriation debate from someone uniquely placed to comment. The book invites us all to situate ourselves within a story that has deep historical roots and casts long shadows on all of our lives.” -- Charlotte Joy, author of Heritage Justice
Table of ContentsIntroduction
Chapter 1: Writing as Listening
Chapter 2: El Penacho
Chapter 3: The View from the Vitrine
Chapter 4: The Real and the Replica
Chapter 5: Collecting and Catastrophe
Chapter 6: Monuments and Exile
Chapter 7: Relational Ethics and the Future of Museums
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
