The mystery of the “spinning statue” at Manchester Museum

This paper discusses the emergence, and impact, of public perceptions of Ancient Egypt and diverse ideas of “magic” at the Manchester Museum, following the huge response to the episode of the “spinning statuette.” In June 2013, a video of an Egyptian statuette spinning of its own accord in its case...

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Détails bibliographiques
Auteurs: Zuanni, Chiara (Auteur) ; Price, Campbell (Auteur)
Type de support: Électronique Article
Langue:Anglais
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Publié: Taylor & Francis [2018]
Dans: Material religion
Année: 2018, Volume: 14, Numéro: 2, Pages: 235-251
Sujets / Chaînes de mots-clés standardisés:B Manchester Museum / Égypte (Antiquité) / Religion / Objet sacré
RelBib Classification:AG Vie religieuse
BC Religions du Proche-Orient ancien
KBF Îles britanniques
Sujets non-standardisés:B Public perceptions
B viral video
B Ancient Egypt
B Magic
B Réseaux sociaux
Accès en ligne: Volltext (Verlag)
Description
Résumé:This paper discusses the emergence, and impact, of public perceptions of Ancient Egypt and diverse ideas of “magic” at the Manchester Museum, following the huge response to the episode of the “spinning statuette.” In June 2013, a video of an Egyptian statuette spinning of its own accord in its case in the Egypt Gallery of the Manchester Museum went viral. During the media storm that followed the publication of the video, many hinted at a “magic event,” which could be related to popular perceptions of Ancient Egypt: ideas from movies and popular culture were widely used to explain and comment, often ironically, on the episode. At the same time, in the museum galleries people were jostling to see the statuette and questioning the museum staff. Therefore, this paper will observe how media and museum audiences have used the concept of “magic” in relation to the spinning statuette: what beliefs and attitudes towards “magic” emerge from these comments? Why was the museum criticized for suggesting a “magic” connection? And what have been the outcomes of the episode for the museum and for our understanding of public perceptions of Ancient Egypt?
ISSN:1751-8342
Contient:Enthalten in: Material religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/17432200.2018.1443895