ORDINARY MEETING OF FELLOWS LECTURE

You Will Be Stumped: Puzzling Portrayals of Inscriptions & Antiquarian Societies in the 18th and 19th Centuries by Dr Abigail Graham FSA

How does the lens we apply to the ancient world shape what we see and how we see it? Just five years after the Society of Antiquaries was granted a charter of incorporation in 1751, a series of playful depictions of antiquarians and academics emerged in London pamphlets. These satirical portrayals of short-sighted scholars stumped by modern-day forgeries became a running joke, eventually becoming incorporated into well-known works of literature including Sir Walter Scott’s Antiquary (1816) and Charles Dickens’ The Pickwick Papers (1836-37).  As the author of a piece in the New York Times (1895) suggested: did these tales spring from actual events? While somewhat unflattering and at times ridiculous, these entertaining portrayals of antiquarians and how they engage with inscriptions provide a rare and fascinating insight into how antiquarian societies were perceived by those inside and outside their hallowed halls. Does a pair of spectacles, which focuses our view on the past, distort our engagement with the present?  Do these critiques still apply? Could any topic be more ripe for satire than a society of antiquarians reviewing the history of societies of antiquarians?  Come along and prepare to read between the lines of history and antiquarian societies: the Bill will Stump you.  

Dr Abigail Graham FSA was a lecturer in material culture and history at the University of Warwick (2006-2019). She is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Classical Studies (University of London) and the British School at Rome, where she is the founder and leader of the Postgraduate Course in Epigraphy (2012-present). She specialises in monumentality, materiality and cognitive approaches to epigraphy in Roman Asia Minor with a focus on experiencing epigraphy and reception. Recent publications include Senses and Cognition: Experiencing Rituals in the Roman World (Cambridge University Press, 2024, co-edited w/ Blanka Misic) and The Romans: An Introduction (Routledge, 2020).  

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This event will be both in person at Burlington House and online. Please select the appropriate ticket below.

Attendance at Burlington House:
Open to anyone to attend.
The event will begin at 5pm, with tea/coffee from 4.30pm.
Pre-registration is essential for non-Fellows but we encourage Fellows to register as well.
Fellows must ensure they sign the guest book.
Sherry is served in the Foyer following the lecture.

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