Seung Kyoung (SK) Choi

 

The Commodification of Heritage Artefacts: Shabti of Senkamanisken

 

Abstract: When auctioning heritage artefacts, such as the Shabti of Senkamanisken, there is a general concern and criticism regarding the ownership and the background behind these heritage objects. Understandably, the auctioning of artefacts questions the transformation of meaning and function of the objects due to the idea of commodifying cultural heritage. In the current neoliberal society, oftentimes the value of objects is made through the price. The higher the price bidding continues, the higher the “value” of the heritage artefact becomes. Inevitably, as people bid on the artefacts, the commodification of heritage artefacts in consequence allows the economic value to predominate rather than the cultural value. In the case of the Shabti of Senkamanisken, the importance of spiritual and religious belief implied in the figure is transformed into an expensive art object. In addition to the controversy of past excavations that was especially held under Western ideologies, the lack of communication with the Sudanese community with Nubian heritage within the process of auctioning makes one question the reliability and the ethics of making a profit out of a heritage artefact. As heritage artefacts are ever-more present in art markets, this paper argues that clarification and transparency to the relationships surrounding the artefacts along with the context of cultural heritage is fundamental. In other words, the commodification of heritage artefacts is closely related to commodifying the culture itself, which therefore can easily alter the meaning and the function of these artefacts in the process of selling and buying. 

 

Bio: Seung Kyoung Choi obtained her BA in International Studies from Leiden University in 2021 and is currently studying MA Museum Studies at the University of Amsterdam. Her cosmopolitan background of growing up in Korea, the Netherlands, Germany, Hungary, and Saudi Arabia, has been a source of motivation to explore the different cultures through cultural institutions.