Anthropology, Art, and Folklore

Abstract

In the great age of museum institutionalization between 1875 and 1925, museums competed to form collections in newly defined object categories. Yet museums were uncertain about what to collect, as the boundaries between art and anthropology and between art and craft were fluid and contested. As a case study, this article traces the tortured fate of a large collection of folk pottery assembled by New York art patron Emily de Forest (1851–1942). After assembling her private collection, Mrs. de Forest encountered difficulties in donating it to the American Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. After becoming part of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, it finally found a home at the Pennsylvania State Museum of Anthropology. Emily de Forest represents an initial movement in the estheticization of ethnic and folk crafts, an appropriation that has since led to the establishment of specifically defined museums of folk art and craft.

Formation of Community Character through Cultural Recollections in Ceramics: Insights from Dayaks in Indonesia

“…The awareness of human existence through the mystical values of ceramics serves to construct thought processes. This aligns with how people think about knowledge, social attitudes, and norms in their daily lives, influenced by mystical values (Jacknis, 2019;Naredia, 2023). Another mystical impact is that it instills a spiritual disposition in communities.…”

“…However, the importance of cultural recollection lies in transforming memory into an experience that can be narrated as knowledge (Ahmed, 2023). In line with constructing a paradigm, cultural recollection through the interpretation of ceramics in specific rituals constitutes a repetition and a review of past values and beliefs (Jacknis, 2019;Sulistyono, 2023).…”

“…This indicates that ceramics are a form of art that influences people. Ceramics are aesthetic objects that impact meaning and can convey information (Jacknis, 2019). When people are able to delve into the deepest meaning of ceramics, particularly in terms of visual elements, they will discover an information system within themselves consciously.…”

“…This renders ceramics as objects that serve a purpose in life. The sacred artistic function of ceramics has a cognitive impact on humans, forming the basis for religious practices in life (Jacknis, 2019;Savić, 2023). Religious activities stem from cultural contemplation that arises from creative thinking in perceiving ceramics.…”