Career development: domestic display as imperial, anthropological and social trophy

Abstract

Analyzing the dynamics of collection and display in the colonial context, this essay considers the South Asian artifacts collected by Sir Richard Carnac Temple, Chief Commissioner of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands from 1894-1904. Temple exhibited the teak carvings, body adornments, and hunting tools that he amassed throughout his career in his home, The Nash, which became the foundation of his public persona as a triumphant colonial chief, a “shining light” in the emerging discipline of anthropology, and a wealthy, upper-class lord of the manor. The politics of consumption, decoration, and self-creation converge in The Nash, offering a glimpse into how material objects removed from India during the late nineteenth century were consumed in Britain and how domestic display contributed to the formation of British identity.