Researchers

In the last few years, there has been an enormous swell of interest in the way that the ancient world has been presented to the public and the way it was understood by past audiences, particularly the Victorians. See, for instance, books such as Coates & Seydl, Recovering Antiquity (2007) and conferences such as Exhibiting Antiquity Birkbeck (2008). At the same time, there has been a growth of interest in the nineteenth century international exhibitions, a European and American phenomenon of which the Crystal Palace is an important part. See, for instance, World’s Fairs, Expositions and Current Museum Research (2005).

By providing the first full reconstruction of the Pompeii Court collection along with the archive of supporting materials, the project makes available to these research communities previously obscure archive material. We hope this material will help place the Crystal Palace back at the centre of investigations into studies of exhibition, collecting practices and classical receptions in the nineteenth century, and will broaden our understanding of the place and perception of Classics in the nineteenth century.