Plunder? How museums got their treasures Justin M Jacobs
Event details
Join historian Justin M Jacobs as he challenges the widely accepted belief that many of Western museums’ treasures were acquired by imperialist plunder and theft.
Drawing on his book, Plunder? How Museums Got Their Treasures, he will re-examine the allegedly immoral provenance of Western collections, advocating for a nuanced understanding of how artefacts reached Western shores. Exploring the perspectives of Chinese, Egyptian and other participants in the global antiquities trade over the past two and a half centuries, he will reveal that Western collectors were often willingly embraced by locals.
Discover how this collaborative dynamic, largely ignored by contemporary museum critics, unfolds a narrative that may lead to hope and promise for a brighter, more equitable future.
This event will take place live on Zoom Webinar. You will receive a link to join a couple of days before the event and a reminder an hour before. During the event, you can ask questions via a Q&A function, but audience cameras and microphones will remain muted throughout.
Book sales
You can buy copies of many of our speakers’ books from Fox Lane Books, a local independent bookseller and Festival partner. In some cases, author signed bookplates are available too.
About the speaker
Justin M Jacobs is Professor of History at American University, Washington DC, US. His books include Plunder? How Museums Got Their Treasures (Reaktion, 2025) and The Compensations of Plunder: How China Lost Its Treasures (2020).
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