Project description
Understanding the provenance of Indigenous Latin American ethnographic collections
Indigenous Latin American art materials have attracted the interest of Europeans since the 1850s. Today, collections of these materials are distributed in museums in several European countries. The ERC-funded BECACO project uses an innovative multidisciplinary framework to investigate the provenance of ethnographic and archaeological collections from the Indigenous Latin American world. The project introduces the concept of Art World Patterns to reconceptualise provenance as the extensive study of the socio-politico-historical conditions that facilitated the translocation of cultural material. BECACO will combine various data-driven methodologies to identify these patterns and apply quantitative analyses, network analysis and data mining to explore the promises and limitations of different data-driven approaches concerning ethnographic/archaeological provenance research.
Objective
The BECACO project applies a novel multidisciplinary framework to studying the provenance of ethnographic and archaeological collections. Moving away from the current focus in provenance research on single objects, collectors, or institutions, the aim of the project is to reconceptualize provenance as the large-scale study of the socio-politico-historical conjunctures that led to the translocation of cultural material. To do so, it introduces the concept of Art World Patterns, an expansion and reframing of the idea of Art Worlds (Becker 2008[1982]).
These patterns will be identified through an innovative combination of various data-driven methodologies. By applying quantitative analyses, network analysis, and data mining on a large corpus of provenance data, the project will explore the promises and limitations of different data-driven approaches in the context of large-scale ethnographic/archaeological provenance research. Through this process, the project will devise new models for provenance research in ethnographic and archaeological museums.
These conceptual and methodological advances will be mobilized through the study of Indigenous Latin American material from 12 museums in 9 countries. The project will create a ground-breaking diachronic, international, and cross-institutional understanding of the collecting of Indigenous Latin American material in Europe. In doing so, the BECACO team will reconstruct how – through the formation of collections – the Indigenous Latin American Art World as it existed in Europe between 1850-2000 constructed a discourse of art, aesthetics, and academic research that shaped how Indigenous Latin America is represented and understood in Europe until today.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2023-STG
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2311 EZ Leiden
Netherlands
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