The 2019 Geoff Egan Memorial Lecture will take place at The University of Liverpool in London campus, 33 Finsbury Square, London EC2A 1AG on Wednesday 18 December 2019. Book your ticket here.

The speaker will be Dr Tânia Manuel Casimiro (IHC-NOVA University of Lisbon)

Material culture, trade and globalization: Portugal’s role in the making of a multicultural Europe (1500-1700)

In the early modern age Portugal was among the first European countries to start an overseas venture. New people and things rapidly transformed it into a multicultural country with permanent contacts with the rest of Europe. In spite of the vast knowledge from documents describing overseas contacts, in recent years archaeological excavations have revealed direct evidence of these contacts. Thousands of ceramic, ivory and stone artefacts produced in overseas territories in Africa, South America and Asia document these contacts. Large amounts of such objects were exported into several European countries, constantly found in archaeological excavations. 

These commodities were in part responsible for a change in how Europeans perceived the world, its dimensions and cultural variability. These rapidly started to leave their marks in European productions leading to a change in aesthetics and the introduction of new shapes. This lecture will discuss those objects, how they reflect an early modern globalized world and how they influenced European daily lives.

About the Speaker

Tânia Manuel Casimiro graduated in History and Archaeology in the NOVA University of Lisbon. Wanting to change her research scenery she moved to London to take an MA in Artefact Studies at UCL. This was just the first chapter of a much bigger research project dedicated to the study of Portuguese tin glaze wares in England and Ireland, resulting in her PhD. Enlarging the global perspective of her studies she studied the trade and consumption of Portuguese ceramics in the Atlantic world.

Although dedicating most of her time to academic research, with many funded projects, she frequently collaborates in projects undertaken by private archaeological companies bridging public and private archaeology. Despite the coordination of over 20 excavation sites, and the publication of books and papers, dedicated to different chronologies, from Roman to Contemporary archaeology, there is a special interest in Material Culture production, trade and consumption and what can commodities tell us about past generations.

How to book

The lecture will be held in conjunction with our AGM. The AGM will begin at 5.30pm followed by a drinks reception at 6pm and the lecture will commence at 7pm. Tickets are FREE but limited in number and can be booked through Eventbrite. Voluntary donations to our Community Engagement Award fund are very welcome and can be made through the booking page.