Research Tips and Ideas:

Portuguese Explorations of Africa

in the 15th century

Which topic to choose? My objects:

• State of knowledge • How knowledge changes

over time• Societal forces that

influenced collection of similar objects

• Masks?• Africa?• Exotic/primitive?

The Research Process

Prince Henry of Portugal, “The Navigator,” 1394-1460

The caravela redonda

An African according to Pliny in Natural History, one of the Blemmyae people

• Gain a pretty good knowledge of your time period- political borders, powerful nations, etc.

• Establish strong connections between your theme, knowledge-making, and real collections before starting to write the paper

Things to keep in mind:

• Course reserves are awesome!

• Be creative in connecting a more modern object to the Renaissance

• Never hesitate to ask a question or collaborate

• Research might seem tedious at times, but it pays off

• Use illustrations

My cell number: 215-237-1390

http://art.thewalters.org/detail/13267/ivory-pyx-with-scenes-from-the-passion-of-christ/

Going from research paper to catalog entry

• Consider collecting traditions

• Be sensitive to controversial ideas

• Research provenanceand history early on

Helpful resources • Konstam, Angus. Historical Atlas of Exploration 1492-

1600. London: Mercury Books London, 2006.-for general timeline and info about exploration and political power• Impey, Oliver, and Arthur MacGregor. The Origins of

Museums. New York: Oxford University Press, 1985. -for finding specific collections housing your type of object • Brotton, Jeremy. The Renaissance Bazaar. Oxford:

Oxford University Press, 2002. -for researching merchant routes in connection with the Renaissance• Try the Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History- http

://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ and other museums’ websites for research clues

• The Wikipage for the class has a list of on-line resources (“Helpful Research and Reference Pages”)