History - Museum Objects - Essay Example

al languages have essentially three component parts, one of which is the direct use of signs and symbols in the form of objects and space while the other two, non-verbal communication such as gestures and body language and verbal communication such as speech and writing, can also be preserved somewhat in the objects that are left behind and can help in determining the culture from which the object originated. Because objects share a role in the interrelated social communication modes of a particular society, the interpretation of these objects may differ from one society to the next or even one time period to the next.

The way in which it is interpreted can not only provide significant contextual clues to the society from which it was produced, but can also reflect the understanding of the society attempting to place the object within its correct contextual space. In addition, that exact same object, for example a specific vase, may take on different contextual meanings as it passes through time, originally used as a container for liquid, later taking on the ashes of a dearly departed relative and finally symbolizing perhaps a golden age in the progression of a nation.

“[An object] can never convey one single message, uncorrected, unambiguous and unqualified. Different social perceptions, needs and changing attitudes will see to that.”2 In order to better understand how different objects can reveal different stories, this paper will take a look at three specific objects – a decanter made by William Burges and a MacIntosh chair both on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Grande Ludovisi Sarcophagus in the National Museum of Rome – examining the provenance, contexts and different stories or ‘readings’ offered of each.

In terms of its socio-historical context, this decanter captures the opulence and elaborate detail of the later Victorian period in which a great deal of the artwork designed represented a return to some of the more