Concrete and non-concrete: exploring the contemporary authenticity of historic replicas through an ethnographic study of the St John’s Cross replica, Iona

Abstract

What do we actually know about how replicas of historical objects and monuments 'work' in heritage contexts, in particular their authenticity, cultural significance and intangible qualities? In this article we examine this question drawing on ethnographic research surrounding the 1970 concrete replica of the eighth-century St John's Cross on Iona, Scotland. Challenging traditional precepts that seek authenticity in qualities intrinsic to original historic objects, we show how replicas can acquire authenticity and 'pastness', linked to materiality, craft practices, creativity, and place. We argue that their authenticity is founded on the networks of relationships between people, places and things that they come to embody, as well as their dynamic material qualities. The cultural biographies of replicas, and the 'felt relationships' associated with them, play a key role in the generation and negotiation of authenticity, while at the same time informing the authenticity and value of their historic counterparts through the 'composite biographies' produced. As things in their own right, replicas can 'work' for us if we let them, particularly if clues are available about their makers' passion, creativity and craft.

Getting the Right Shade of Ochre: Valuation of a Building’s Historicity

“…Second, historicity is unstable, and it requires interventions and updates (Dominguez Rubio, 2016). The colorful qualities of historic buildings reveal that there are “stakes involved in keeping them that way” (Rose-Greenland, 2016, p. 82), and that making historical things colorful is an achievement, an act of labor (Foster & Jones, 2019; Jones & Yarrow, 2013; Lyon 2012). Third, we learn that a particular version of historicity can act as an object of shared attachment (Rose-Greenland, 2016).…”

Relational Authenticity and Reconstructed Heritage Space: A Balance of Heritage Preservation, Tourism, and Urban Renewal in Luoyang Silk Road Dingding Gate

“…Authenticity is, thus, held to objectively exist in the material aspects of heritage. As Foster and Jones note, "[w]ithin modernist discourses, authenticity has been firmly associated with original historic objects, and these discourses continue to hold sway in many heritage and museum contexts" [22] (p. 2). It follows that the AHD rejects the reconstruction of heritage insofar as this process disturbs the central claims to an authentic nature.…”

“…In examining the restoration of Glasgow Cathedral, Jones and Yarrow note that authenticity is produced by expert craftspersons using traditional skills [39]. Foster and Jones also indicate that the replica could 'work' like the original if the makers create it with "passion, creativity and craft" [22] (p. 1). Hence, reconstructions could be authenticated by association with the use of traditional materials and techniques by heritage experts.…”

Theme and authenticity: experiencing heritage at The Venetian

“…Analyzing a rock art replica in a cave in France, for example, Duval et al (2019) focus on the heritage experience in the case of physical 3D copies. Similarly, Foster and Jones (2019) study the replica of the eighth-century St John's Cross on Iona in Scotland through the lens of authenticity.…”