This is a fascinating (and longish) article on the 1920s fad amongst wealthy Americans to import Medieval (et al.) buildings from Europe — why it happened, how, how it changed European antiquities laws, and what happened to the stuff once it arrived here. William Randolph Hearst takes point, of course, but he's by far the only one, and the results are all over the board.
It's an interesting look at a subset of what could be called "cultural appropriation," but within primarily American-European bounds. Is it despoiing, or the natural evolution of stuff? If we wouldn't allow it today, does that mean it should be reversed (and, if so, is that any less of an artificial uprooting, almost a century later)?
Lots of questions, and lots of interesting stories. A good read.
The Hidden History of Medieval America
We had been driving through what felt like one continuous Miami strip mall for almost an hour. Our GPS promised that in a few short minutes we would reach…
Wow, very interesting