The Trojan collection of the Smithsonian Institution.

What is it about?

This paper tells the extraordinary story of the ‘Schliemann collection’, an unpublished collection of 177 artefacts excavated in Troy in the nineteenth century and bequeathed in 1893 to the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, in Washington, DC. Specifically, it explores through archival research the role of Heinrich Schliemann, the entrepreneur and archaeologist, and how his approach to archaeology encapsulated universal aspects of Western modernity, including the connection with capital and maintaining a high public profile. The renowned American journalist Kate Field is another key figure, as she lobbied for Schliemann and publicized his archaeological activity in England and the United States. This coincided with Schliemann’s wish to be appointed as a US Consul to Greece; in return, he planned to donate the entire Trojan Collection to the Smithsonian Institution. Although this did not come to pass during his lifetime, Sophia Schliemann selected 177 Trojan artefacts for donation to the Smithsonian after Schliemann’s death. The gift made the archaeology of the distant Troas — at that point a part of the Ottoman Empire — a subject of public interest for the Americans. The paper concludes with reflections on the mobility of the Trojan artefacts after their excavation, and on the layers of meanings with which the Smithsonian’s ‘Schliemann Collection’ was ultimately imbued.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

It explores through archival research the role of Heinrich Schliemann, the entrepreneur and archaeologist, in the formation of the "Schliemann Collection" at the Smithsonian Institution, and through this how his approach to archaeology encapsulated universal aspects of Western modernity, including the connection with capital and maintaining a high public profile.

Perspectives