Collaboration in the name of science?

What is behind the term ‘colonial context’? How does provenance research work? Why do we talk about sensitive objects? These questions will be explored in this lecture using examples from current research.

In a research project funded by the BMKÖS, the collections of the Corvette ‘Saida’ are being analysed at the Weltmuseum Wien. The Corvette brought back objects from Africa, Asia, Australia, Oceania and South America from her travels. Through object histories with different provenances, the lecture will illustrate how collectors benefited from and supported the colonial endeavours of European great powers and the expansion of colonial structures.

Dominik Spörker is an independent provenance researcher and conducts research on the collections of the Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal War Navy at the Weltmuseum Wien as part of the project H.M. Corvette Saida: Collections in the Weltmuseum Wien.

Duration: 90 min.
To participate in the event, all guests need a valid museum ticket (or an annual ticket, a KHM-Membership, a Kulturpass or a membership of the Weltmuseum Wien Friends).
Registration:  online (limited number of participants)
Meeting point: WMW Forum