Early Modern Merchants as Collectors

A conference to be held at the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, UK

Friday and Saturday, 15 and 16 June 2012

Context

In 1615, Vincenzo Scamozzi highlighted the importance in Venice of the merchant-collectors Bartolomeo dalla Nave and Daniel Nijs by including descriptions of their collections in his L’Idea della architettura universale.  Scholarship has also moved beyond the consideration of the artist and the patron as the principal protagonists in the history of collecting.  As a result, merchants are now being regarded by historians as influential collectors in their own right.

With the 1985 publication of The Origin of Museums, a collection of conference papers edited by Oliver Impey and Arthur MacGregor, the Ashmolean Museum became established as a leading institution for research in the history of collecting.  Recently re-opened with innovative galleries displaying objects exploring the theme ‘Crossing Cultures Crossing Time’, the new Ashmolean now affords an opportunity to re-visit the 1985 conference topic and not only to update but also to expand it into this fresh area of research and debate.  This interdisciplinary conference will explore early modern merchants as collectors across a wide range of geographical regions and collecting categories, investigating whether there are any patterns connecting these merchant-collectors of the early modern period and what theoretical frameworks can be applied to them.

Programme

The conference is being organised by Dr. Christina Anderson, Honorary Research Fellow at the Ashmolean Museum. For the full list of speakers and abstracts of their papers, please click here.

Registration will begin on the first day at 9:00 in the Common Room of the History Faculty, Old Boys' High School, George Street, Oxford. The conference itself will start at 10:00 in the Headley Lecture Theatre of the Ashmolean Museum, Beaumont Street, Oxford. The conference will finish on the second day by 16:00 the latest.

Reserving a Place

For the two-day conference, the fee for attendance is £85 (full) or £60 (student). There is no single-day fee. The fee includes lunch and refreshments both days.

Delegates are very welcome to join the speakers for an informal meal on the Friday evening for an additional fee of £20, including both food and drinks.

To register, please follow the link to the Oxford Stores website where you can make your payment and indicate any dietary restrictions: https://www.oxforduniversitystores.co.uk/browse/product.asp?catid=135&modid=1&compid=1

In addition, students must send proof of student status to christina.anderson@ashmus.ox.ac.uk.  Any questions may also be sent to this address.

Your place will only be confirmed once payment has been received. Unfortunately, no refunds can be made on or after 1 May 2012.

Bursaries

Six student bursaries of £50, to be deducted from the registration fee, are available. Applications should be made to Christina Anderson via email (as above) on or before 30 April 2012 and should include a statement, equivalent to no more than 1 side of A4, indicating how attending the conference will benefit your research or studies. Proof of student status and an endorsement from you supervisor/advisor must also be attached. Applicants will be notified of the outcome by 15 May 2012.

Accommodation, Transportation and Parking

Delegates are responsible for arranging their own accommodation and transportation, but the following suggestions may prove useful.

The conference will take place at the end of the Oxford summer term, and so college rooms will be scarce. Availability, however, can be checked here: http://www.oxfordrooms.co.uk/. There are also numerous budget hotels, bed & breakfast establishments, serviced apartments and other kinds of accommodation available in Oxford. Delegates may wish to consult http://www.visitoxfordandoxfordshire.com/accommodation/ or http://www.booking.com/country/gb.en.html.

Regular buses operate between London and Oxford, and Heathrow and Gatwick aiports and Oxford: http://www.oxfordbus.co.uk/ or http://www.oxfordtube.com/.

Parking is extremely scarce and difficult in Oxford city centre. Delegates may want to check with their accommodation establishment or use the Park & Ride facilities: http://www.parkandride.net/oxford/html/oxford_parkandride.html.

(Please note that the conference organisers are not responsible for the comprehensiveness or accuracy of this information.)

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