Archaeological Ambassadors

This book examines the history and significance of archaeological gifts given to New York City from 1879 to 1965. The introduction frames the questions at the heart of this inquiry and introduces the various theoretical approaches, largely from anthropology, archaeology, and history, to define an archaeological gift, as well as its significance and meaning. It also situates these gifts in the larger debates around museums, object ownership, and repatriation. The introduction establishes the book’s central argument that archaeological gifts are often used as tools of cultural diplomacy and soft power between nations of unequal political, economic, and cultural standing. The introduction also presents a brief overview of the book’s four case studies: Cleopatra’s Needle, the Marathon Stone, the Column of Jerash, and the Temple of Dendur. The chapter also introduces the impetus behind these gifts and their meaning for Egypt, Greece, and Jordan—the gifting nations. Likewise, New Yorkers’ desire for antiquities as a means to raise their city’s cultural status and to reaffirm the city’s status as a leading global cultural metropolis is examined.