From museum objects to trading goods: the ethnographic doublet

Authors

  • Beatrix Hoffmann-Ihde

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.23690/jams.v6i1.140

Abstract

Between 1873 and 1973 the Museum für Völkerkunde Berlin deaccessioned about 30,000 objects from its collections. Almost all of the items had been removed as so-called doublets.
In relation to the unique character of ethnographic objects this raises questions about a doublet’s meaning and the background of this part of museum history. This paper explains how the term ‘doublet’ was used and why this resulted in a severe loss of unique ethnographic objects.

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Published

2022-08-09

How to Cite

Hoffmann-Ihde, B. (2022). From museum objects to trading goods: the ethnographic doublet. Journal for Art Market Studies, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.23690/jams.v6i1.140