Open AccessInvisible Heritage: Ancient Egypt and the Museums in Serbia
Author(s) -
Vera Vasiljević
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
etnoantropološki problemi
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2334-8801
pISSN - 0353-1589
DOI - 10.21301/eap.v13i3.3
Subject(s) - egyptology , archaeology , excavation , invisibility , situated , history , looting , national museum , cultural heritage , ancient egypt , visual arts , ancient history , art , computer science , artificial intelligence
The museum collections in Serbia, along with one mummy and two coffins, include a little over one hundred fifty artefacts from Ancient Egypt, acquired mainly as gifts by the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, with only one scarab discovered during the archaeological excavations in the country. The Egyptian antiquities in our museums, scientifically studied and published almost without exemption, have long been inaccessible to the public, or occasionally available to a limited number of visitors (part of the collection of the National Museum in Belgrade situated in the Archaeological Collection of the Faculty of Philosophy). They are not mentioned in the web presentations of the museums where they are kept, i.e. the museums in Vršac, Belgrade, and Sombor. Potential reasons for this invisibility will be discussed, especially the issue whether these antiquities are perceived as heritage, in what category of heritage are they listed, and according to what criteria.