Geoff Emberling is Associate Research Scientist at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, University of Michigan. He has done curatorial work for most of his career, first as Assistant Curator in the Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, then as Museum Director and Chief Curator at the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago. He has also developed exhibits as consulting curator at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University, and most recently at the Detroit Institute of Arts. He is also a field archaeologist who has directed projects in Syria and Sudan.Lucas P. Petit is curator of the Near Eastern Department at the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities. He curated several successful blockbuster exhibitions including "Petra. Wonder in the Desert" (2013-14) and "Nineveh. Heart of an Ancient Empire" (2017-18), and was responsible for renewing the permanent Middle Eastern galleries. He has had positions at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt am Main, and at Leiden University. He has been involved in various archaeological fieldwork projects throughout Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Currently, he co-directs the excavations at Tell Damiyah in Jordan.

• Part One: IntroductoryChapter 1 Curating the Ancient Middle EastGeoff Emberling and Lucas PetitChapter 2 Museum Displays and the Creation of the Ancient Middle East: A View from the Ashmolean and the British MuseumPaul CollinsChapter 3 Ancient "Art" in the White Cube? Or How Contemporary Art Creates Ancient "Art"Pedro Azara and Marc MarínPart Two: Perspectives from National MuseumsChapter 4 170 Years of Curatorial Practices and Audiences at the Louvre: Exhibiting Ancient Middle Eastern Antiquities from 1847 to 2017Ariane ThomasChapter 5 Gallery 55 at the British Museum: Mesopotamia 1500-539 BCIrving Finkel and Alexandra FletcherChapter 6 Unlocking Architectures—Communicating Cultures: Ancient Middle Eastern Worlds in the Vorderasiatisches MuseumLutz MartinChapter 7 And Now for Something Completely Different: The Renewal of the Ancient Middle Eastern Gallery in the Dutch National Museum of AntiquitiesLucas P. PetitChapter 8 The Jordan Museum: Storyteller of Land and PeopleYosha Alamri and Jihad KafafiPart Three: Perspectives from Art MuseumsChapter 9 Exhibiting Interaction: Displaying the Arts of the Ancient Middle East in their Broader ContextJoan Aruz and Yelena RakicChapter 10 Negotiations in Museum Practice: A Reinstalled Gallery of Ancient Middle Eastern Art at the Detroit Institute of ArtsSwarupa Anila and Geoff EmberlingChapter 11 An Archaeological Exhibition without Archaeology? Joan Miró Looks at Mesopotamian MasterpiecesPedro Azara and Marc MarínPart Four: Perspectives from University MuseumsChapter 12 Between visuality and context: Presenting Archaeological Narratives at the Oriental InstituteJohn D.M. GreenChapter 13 The Middle East Gallery at the Penn Museum: A Curator’s Reflections on Challenges and OpportunitiesHolly PittmanChapter 14 The Archaeological Museum of the American University of Beirut and Its Educational Role: A Case StudyLeila BadreChapter 15 Beyond Display: Curriculum and Community Engagement with Ancient Middle Eastern Collections in a University MuseumAndrew Jamieson and Annelies Van de VenCommentaryChapter 16 Exhibiting Ancient Middle Eastern Art in AmericaPeter Lacovara

"Museums and the Ancient Middle East: Curatorial Practice and Audiences provides a refreshing perspective by leading scholars and museum professionals on matters regarding curatorial and exhibition practices, collection research, and public education that is much needed and long overdue within the discipline of ancient Near Eastern studies. The editors and contributors should be commended for the thoughtful analysis of their personal and institutional curatorial practices. This level of reflection and inquiry about best standards and practices within the disciplines of museum studies and Near Eastern studies is important and vital to the continued successful engagement between museums and the public. This volume lays the groundwork for future discussions regarding museum ethics, collection practices, collaborative research, and cultural advocacy concerning material culture from the ancient Middle East, and it will likely inspire subsequent dialog and publications." - LISSETTE M. JIMENEZ, JOURNAL OF EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND HERITAGE STUDIES

Geoff Emberling is Associate Research Scientist at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, University of Michigan. He has done curatorial work for most of his career, first as Assistant Curator in the Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, then as Museum Director and Chief Curator at the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago. He has also developed exhibits as consulting curator at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University, and most recently at the Detroit Institute of Arts. He is also a field archaeologist who has directed projects in Syria and Sudan.Lucas P. Petit is curator of the Near Eastern Department at the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities. He curated several successful blockbuster exhibitions including "Petra. Wonder in the Desert" (2013-14) and "Nineveh. Heart of an Ancient Empire" (2017-18), and was responsible for renewing the permanent Middle Eastern galleries. He has had positions at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt am Main, and at Leiden University. He has been involved in various archaeological fieldwork projects throughout Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Currently, he co-directs the excavations at Tell Damiyah in Jordan.

• Part One: IntroductoryChapter 1 Curating the Ancient Middle EastGeoff Emberling and Lucas PetitChapter 2 Museum Displays and the Creation of the Ancient Middle East: A View from the Ashmolean and the British MuseumPaul CollinsChapter 3 Ancient "Art" in the White Cube? Or How Contemporary Art Creates Ancient "Art"Pedro Azara and Marc MarínPart Two: Perspectives from National MuseumsChapter 4 170 Years of Curatorial Practices and Audiences at the Louvre: Exhibiting Ancient Middle Eastern Antiquities from 1847 to 2017Ariane ThomasChapter 5 Gallery 55 at the British Museum: Mesopotamia 1500-539 BCIrving Finkel and Alexandra FletcherChapter 6 Unlocking Architectures—Communicating Cultures: Ancient Middle Eastern Worlds in the Vorderasiatisches MuseumLutz MartinChapter 7 And Now for Something Completely Different: The Renewal of the Ancient Middle Eastern Gallery in the Dutch National Museum of AntiquitiesLucas P. PetitChapter 8 The Jordan Museum: Storyteller of Land and PeopleYosha Alamri and Jihad KafafiPart Three: Perspectives from Art MuseumsChapter 9 Exhibiting Interaction: Displaying the Arts of the Ancient Middle East in their Broader ContextJoan Aruz and Yelena RakicChapter 10 Negotiations in Museum Practice: A Reinstalled Gallery of Ancient Middle Eastern Art at the Detroit Institute of ArtsSwarupa Anila and Geoff EmberlingChapter 11 An Archaeological Exhibition without Archaeology? Joan Miró Looks at Mesopotamian MasterpiecesPedro Azara and Marc MarínPart Four: Perspectives from University MuseumsChapter 12 Between visuality and context: Presenting Archaeological Narratives at the Oriental InstituteJohn D.M. GreenChapter 13 The Middle East Gallery at the Penn Museum: A Curator’s Reflections on Challenges and OpportunitiesHolly PittmanChapter 14 The Archaeological Museum of the American University of Beirut and Its Educational Role: A Case StudyLeila BadreChapter 15 Beyond Display: Curriculum and Community Engagement with Ancient Middle Eastern Collections in a University MuseumAndrew Jamieson and Annelies Van de VenCommentaryChapter 16 Exhibiting Ancient Middle Eastern Art in AmericaPeter Lacovara

"Museums and the Ancient Middle East: Curatorial Practice and Audiences provides a refreshing perspective by leading scholars and museum professionals on matters regarding curatorial and exhibition practices, collection research, and public education that is much needed and long overdue within the discipline of ancient Near Eastern studies. The editors and contributors should be commended for the thoughtful analysis of their personal and institutional curatorial practices. This level of reflection and inquiry about best standards and practices within the disciplines of museum studies and Near Eastern studies is important and vital to the continued successful engagement between museums and the public. This volume lays the groundwork for future discussions regarding museum ethics, collection practices, collaborative research, and cultural advocacy concerning material culture from the ancient Middle East, and it will likely inspire subsequent dialog and publications." - LISSETTE M. JIMENEZ, JOURNAL OF EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND HERITAGE STUDIES

Geoff Emberling is Associate Research Scientist at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, University of Michigan. He has done curatorial work for most of his career, first as Assistant Curator in the Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, then as Museum Director and Chief Curator at the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago. He has also developed exhibits as consulting curator at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University, and most recently at the Detroit Institute of Arts. He is also a field archaeologist who has directed projects in Syria and Sudan.Lucas P. Petit is curator of the Near Eastern Department at the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities. He curated several successful blockbuster exhibitions including "Petra. Wonder in the Desert" (2013-14) and "Nineveh. Heart of an Ancient Empire" (2017-18), and was responsible for renewing the permanent Middle Eastern galleries. He has had positions at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt am Main, and at Leiden University. He has been involved in various archaeological fieldwork projects throughout Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Currently, he co-directs the excavations at Tell Damiyah in Jordan.

• Part One: IntroductoryChapter 1 Curating the Ancient Middle EastGeoff Emberling and Lucas PetitChapter 2 Museum Displays and the Creation of the Ancient Middle East: A View from the Ashmolean and the British MuseumPaul CollinsChapter 3 Ancient "Art" in the White Cube? Or How Contemporary Art Creates Ancient "Art"Pedro Azara and Marc MarínPart Two: Perspectives from National MuseumsChapter 4 170 Years of Curatorial Practices and Audiences at the Louvre: Exhibiting Ancient Middle Eastern Antiquities from 1847 to 2017Ariane ThomasChapter 5 Gallery 55 at the British Museum: Mesopotamia 1500-539 BCIrving Finkel and Alexandra FletcherChapter 6 Unlocking Architectures—Communicating Cultures: Ancient Middle Eastern Worlds in the Vorderasiatisches MuseumLutz MartinChapter 7 And Now for Something Completely Different: The Renewal of the Ancient Middle Eastern Gallery in the Dutch National Museum of AntiquitiesLucas P. PetitChapter 8 The Jordan Museum: Storyteller of Land and PeopleYosha Alamri and Jihad KafafiPart Three: Perspectives from Art MuseumsChapter 9 Exhibiting Interaction: Displaying the Arts of the Ancient Middle East in their Broader ContextJoan Aruz and Yelena RakicChapter 10 Negotiations in Museum Practice: A Reinstalled Gallery of Ancient Middle Eastern Art at the Detroit Institute of ArtsSwarupa Anila and Geoff EmberlingChapter 11 An Archaeological Exhibition without Archaeology? Joan Miró Looks at Mesopotamian MasterpiecesPedro Azara and Marc MarínPart Four: Perspectives from University MuseumsChapter 12 Between visuality and context: Presenting Archaeological Narratives at the Oriental InstituteJohn D.M. GreenChapter 13 The Middle East Gallery at the Penn Museum: A Curator’s Reflections on Challenges and OpportunitiesHolly PittmanChapter 14 The Archaeological Museum of the American University of Beirut and Its Educational Role: A Case StudyLeila BadreChapter 15 Beyond Display: Curriculum and Community Engagement with Ancient Middle Eastern Collections in a University MuseumAndrew Jamieson and Annelies Van de VenCommentaryChapter 16 Exhibiting Ancient Middle Eastern Art in AmericaPeter Lacovara

"Museums and the Ancient Middle East: Curatorial Practice and Audiences provides a refreshing perspective by leading scholars and museum professionals on matters regarding curatorial and exhibition practices, collection research, and public education that is much needed and long overdue within the discipline of ancient Near Eastern studies. The editors and contributors should be commended for the thoughtful analysis of their personal and institutional curatorial practices. This level of reflection and inquiry about best standards and practices within the disciplines of museum studies and Near Eastern studies is important and vital to the continued successful engagement between museums and the public. This volume lays the groundwork for future discussions regarding museum ethics, collection practices, collaborative research, and cultural advocacy concerning material culture from the ancient Middle East, and it will likely inspire subsequent dialog and publications." - LISSETTE M. JIMENEZ, JOURNAL OF EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND HERITAGE STUDIES