Cursed sciences? Assyriology and Egyptology: colonial metaphors, objects, and museums from South America

ABSTRACT This paper discusses how the construction of colonial metaphors from the mid-19th century in the Western world favored the foundation of the new imperialist order that promoted the political and economic domination of Asia and Africa and the looting of the cultural property of native peoples. These metaphors were embraced not only by members of the ruling class, but also by those belonging to the intelligentsia of the time, especially from the gestation of the so-called Ancient Near Eastern Studies. The confiscation of cultural objects from subject regions grounded the formation of the European and North American museums, whose collector model was emulated by the elites of South America.

摘要 本文探讨了19世纪中期西方世界殖民隐喻的构建如何助力新型帝国主义秩序的建立——该秩序推动了对亚非地区的政治与经济支配，并劫掠了原住民的文化财产。此类隐喻不仅为统治阶级成员所接纳，也为当时的知识分子群体所认同，尤其在所谓“古代近东研究（Ancient Near Eastern Studies）”的孕育阶段便已得到广泛认可。从被征服地区收缴的文物为欧美博物馆的形成奠定了基础，其收藏模式亦被南美精英阶层所效仿。