Tracing such mysteries, Gosden and Knowles shed new light on the complex histories of colonialism and the often contradictory power relations that it instilled. This absorbing book will appeal to all those interested in anthropology, colonialism and post-colonialism, material culture and museology.

The authors demonstrate through their investigation of collectors such as Wilhelm Wostrack, Hermann Schoede and Bruno Mencke, how the resultant collections played a pivotal role in the German colonial project. They also consider specific collections, such as that made by the Hamburger Sdsee Expedition, which used a ship and a crew of over 70 people to survey the region and amass objects. This expedition obtained many unique artefacts and the authors consider what historical events might be responsible for later collections not acquiring such exceptional collections.Tracing such mysteries, Gosden and Knowles shed new light on the complex histories of colonialism and the often contradictory power relations that it instilled. This absorbing book will appeal to all those interested in anthropology, colonialism and post-colonialism, material culture and museology.

German Anthropology and its Colonial Links
The Germans in New Guinea - Colonialism and Collection
Collecting Practices I
Collecting Practices II
The Ethnography of the Arawes
The Collections and their Later Histories I
The Collections and their Later Histories II
Collectors and Collections from Southwestern New Britain
The Particularity of German Colonialism and Museology