The role of archaeology and museums in recording and interpreting the past during the British Mandate for Palestine is the subject of a new exhibition at The University of Queensland’s RD Milns Antiquities Museum.
Contested Histories: Photographs from Mandate Palestine in the JH Iliffe Collection draws on the collection of British archaeologist and museum curator John Henry “Harry” Iliffe, the first Keeper of the Palestine Archaeological Museum (Rockefeller Museum) in Jerusalem from 1931 until 1948.
The exhibition is a collaboration between UQ Library’s Fryer Library, which holds Mr Iliffe’s photographs, diaries and other documents, and the Antiquities Museum.
Dr Janette McWilliam, Museum Director and exhibition co-curator, said the collection recorded the challenges Mr Iliffe faced establishing an archaeological museum in the complex social, political, historical, and religious setting of Mandate-era Palestine.
“The exhibition challenges viewers to consider the practise of collecting, recording, and interpreting history in the British Mandate,” she said.
“It also explores Mr Iliffe’s personal experiences in curating the first gallery of the Museum, where he faced unexpected political and religious challenges.”
The JH Iliffe archive was donated to UQ in 2012 by a cousin of the late Luke Iliffe, JH Iliffe’s grandson.
Senior Museum Officer and co-curator James Donaldson said the photographs were a stunning record of Mr Iliffe’s time as the first Keeper of the Palestine Archaeological Museum.
Read the article by James Donaldson on UQ News.