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9781847887733

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The author takes his readers on a magical world tour of tangible things that were once-and in some cases still are-used in a huge variety of religious settings. With a cosmopolitan lightness of touch, Paine demonstrates the radical instability of such things, even once they have found their way into museums. They do not have a single meaning or use, but are almost infinitely adaptable. Above all, he deftly shows that the distinction between 'religious' and 'mundane' is a curious modern Western idea, incomprehensible to most people at most times. No other book introduces readers more engagingly to the puzzles surrounding how museums address the sacred realm worldwide. Ivan Gaskell, Professor of Cultural History and of Museum Studies, Bard Graduate Center, New York City

The author takes his readers on a magical world tour of tangible things that were once-and in some cases still are-used in a huge variety of religious settings. With a cosmopolitan lightness of touch, Paine demonstrates the radical instability of such things, even once they have found their way into museums. They do not have a single meaning or use, but are almost infinitely adaptable. Above all, he deftly shows that the distinction between 'religious' and 'mundane' is a curious modern Western idea, incomprehensible to most people at most times. No other book introduces readers more engagingly to the puzzles surrounding how museums address the sacred realm worldwide. Ivan Gaskell, Professor of Cultural History, and of Museum Studies, Bard Graduate Center, New York City

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Crispin Paine is Honorary Lecturer at the Institute of Archaeology, UCL, UK.

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