This thesis investigates the situation of the Peter Crossley-Holland collection of ancient west Mexican artefacts at Bangor University, focussing on issues of ownership, display, collecting practices, dissemination, and sustainability. It explores the circumstances of the collection’s assembly, analyses existing interpretations of the cultures it represents, assesses the relevancy of its current situation, and evaluates potential future uses.
The collection was assembled by the British composer and ethnomusicologist Peter Crossley- Holland (1916-2001) in the 1970s. The artefacts within represent a wide range of cultures and periods in west Mexico before the Spanish invasion. There are 329 items in the collection. Most of these are flutes and ocarinas made from clay, many of which are shaped like humans or animals. There are also conch shell trumpets, shell bracelets, and copper bells. Ceramic figurines comprise the rest of the collection.
The first chapter interrogates questions of representation and ownership through the study of collecting practices and ethical and legal issues relating to cultural property. In Chapter 2, these issues are applied to the Crossley-Holland collection. The provenance of the artefacts is explored using information from documents from the collector’s own archive, and the ethical implications of the collection’s history are analysed.
Chapter 3 evaluates the collector’s interpretations of the objects, with regard to their musicality and cultural relevance. It is demonstrated that Crossley-Holland’s methods of study were influenced by his worldview, and by the academic context of ethnomusicology at UCLA. This chapter reviews these influences and their resultant effect on the definition of the collection.
The fourth chapter proposes interpretations of the collection in a present day context, with specific reference to the dissemination of research on ancient musical instruments and the display of Mexican artefacts in museums in Europe and America.
This leads in Chapter 5 to an assessment of the current situation of the collection in Bangor and in Chapter 6 to strategies for expanding its reach and relevance. These chapters investigate the relevance of the collection to the local community, and explore questions of ‘glocality’ and sustainability. The thesis concludes with recommendations for the future usage of the collection.
A catalogue of the collection, illustrated supplementary material, and details of Crossley- Holland’s organological research are presented in appendices.
This research is the outcome of a Collaborative Doctoral Award from the Arts and Humanities Research Council, conducted in association with Storiel (Gwynedd Museum and Art Gallery). Its methodologies encompass ethnomusicology, museology and heritage studies, and draw on aspects of archaeological and anthropological research.