Allard Pierson fellowship for provenance research

The Allard Pierson is conducting research into the provenance history of the archaeological collections over the period 2023-2027. There is little or no information on the provenance of many of these approximately 19,000 artefacts. The Allard Pierson intends to investigate these gaps, gather as much information on the items as possible and make it available to the public. The Allard Pierson takes responsibility for combatting the illegal trade in and violence against objects from antiquity and intends to participate in the societal debate on heritage ownership.

From 2024, a fellowship will be established in connection with this research project. During the fellowship, a researcher can, in close collaboration with the other members of the research team, investigate the provenance history of part of the archaeological collection of the Allard Pierson. This could include, for example, objects from a specific area, a specific material category, or a sub-collection acquired from a private collector. The collection of the Allard Pierson should expressly be the starting point of this fellowship, but the fellow is free to expand the provenance research to the transnational trade networks of antiquities.

Suggestions for research:

• provenance research into a geographical, chronological or thematic sub-collection;
• provenance research into a specific material category;
• provenance research into a sub-collection acquired through a specific dealer or collector;
• research into the museum history of the archaeological collections of the Allard Pierson, e.g. using oral history research methods;
• research into the lawful and/or illicit trade in antiquities in the Netherlands since 1970;
• or other related topics in the field of provenance research into archaeological collections.

Language proficiency in Dutch

Given the fact that the archival material relevant to the provenance research is largely written in Dutch, a good command of the Dutch language is recommended – however, the specific research plan proposed by the fellow will, of course, be taken into consideration.

Searching the collection

All archaeological objects can be found in the UvA’s online catalogue. You can search by object name, category or inventory number (filter under source type on ‘objects’). Part of the collection can also be found via the online image bank of the Allard Pierson. For more information about the archaeological collections, email the curators Ben van den Bercken (Egypt and Sudan, b.j.l.vandenbercken@uva.nl), Laurien de Gelder (Greek world and West Asia, l.i.degelder@uva.nl), or René van Beek (Roman world and Etruria, r.vanbeek@uva.nl).

Questions

For questions about the provenance research project we refer to the head of provenance research Rogier Kalkers (r.a.a.kalkers@uva.nl). Laurien de Gelder (l.i.degelder@uva.nl) answers all questions regarding the application procedure.

 
Guidelines

Apply here