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Research Tips and Ideas: Portuguese Explorations of Africa in the 15 th century. Which topic to choose?. My objects:. Masks? Africa? E xotic/primitive?. State of knowledge How knowledge changes over time Societal forces that influenced collection of similar objects.
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Research Tips and Ideas: Portuguese Explorations of Africa in the 15th century
Which topic to choose? My objects: • Masks? • Africa? • Exotic/primitive? • State of knowledge • How knowledge changes over time • Societal forces that influenced collection of similar objects
The Research Process • Gain a pretty good knowledge of your time period- political borders, powerful nations, etc. • Establish strong connections between your theme, knowledge-making, and real collections before starting to write the paper Prince Henry of Portugal, “The Navigator,” 1394-1460 The caravela redonda An African according to Pliny in Natural History, one of the Blemmyae people
Things to keep in mind: • Course reserves are awesome! • Be creative in connecting a more modern object to the Renaissance • Never hesitate to ask a question or collaborate • Research might seem tedious at times, but it pays off • Use illustrations http://art.thewalters.org/detail/13267/ivory-pyx-with-scenes-from-the-passion-of-christ/ My cell number: 215-237-1390
Going from research paper to catalog entry • Consider collecting traditions • Be sensitive to controversial ideas • Research provenance and history early on
Helpful resources • Konstam, Angus. Historical Atlas of Exploration 1492- 1600. London: Mercury Books London, 2006. -for general timeline and info about exploration and political power • Impey, Oliver, and Arthur MacGregor. The Origins of Museums. New York: Oxford University Press, 1985. -for finding specific collections housing your type of object • Brotton, Jeremy. The Renaissance Bazaar. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. -for researching merchant routes in connection with the Renaissance • Try the Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History- http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ and other museums’ websites for research clues • The Wikipage for the class has a list of on-line resources (“Helpful Research and Reference Pages”)