Reconstructing the lost monuments of Antiquity became, after 1800, a complement to Europe's colonial imagination. Countless archaeologists and architects travelled to the East, excavated extinct cities, and shipped their finds to Europe for display in imperial museums. Antiquity on Display is a critical biography of Berlin's Pergamon Museum and its popular architectural displays: the Great Altar of Pergamon, the Market Gate of Miletus, and the Ishtar Gate of Babylon. In this volume, Bilsel argues that the museum has produced a modern decor, an iconic image, which has replaced the lost antique originals, rather than creating an explicitly hypothetical representation of Antiquity. Addressing the dilemmas raised by the continuing presence of these displays, which embody the distinctive traits of the artistic and ideological programs of the last two centuries, Bilsel questions what the process of reproduction and authentication of Antiquity in the museum tells us about our changing perceptions of historic monuments. Documenting the process through which these imaginative reproductions of architecture were conceived, staged, and came to be perceived as authentic monuments, this volume offers an insight into the history of Berlin's Museum Island and the shifting regimes of the authentic in museum displays from the nineteenth century to the present.

About the Author
Can Bilsel is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Art, Architecture and Art History at the University of San Diego. He is also the founding director of the University of San Diego's Architecture Program.

Reviews
Antiquity on Display is another fine addition to OUP's Classical Presences series and is highly recommended not just for scholars interested in the reception of antiquity in 18th- and 19th-century Germany, but, thanks to its accessible style, also for anyone planning to visit Berlin. * Lydia Tjapkes-Langerwerf, Classical Journal *
a formidable book * Mike Crang, Antiquity *
Antiquity on Display is an important book, both for the history of German museums and the larger field of Museum Studies. Bilsel's perceptive analyses of various issues ... raise critical questions about exhibition practices, historic preservation, and authenticity that remain relevant to museums today. * Carole Paul, Journal of Art Historiography *
a useful and timely case study of how the excavation and publication of ancient remains is only the beginning of a new phase of their lives. * Andrea Guzzetti, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *



Book Information
ISBN 9780199570553
Author Can Bilsel
Format Hardback
Page Count 308
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 693g
Dimensions(mm) 240mm * 169mm * 22mm