The 18th Century Intaglios and Seals of HMS Pandora: A preliminary examination and contextualisation

Since its discovery off the northern Queensland coast in 1977, HMS Pandora has attracted the attention of archaeologists for its captivating history as the vessel tasked with the pursuit of the mutineers of HMS Bounty. Meanwhile, the intricacies of the Pandora wreck and its assemblage, excavated over several seasons during the 1980s and 1990s, and held at the Museum of Tropical Queensland, Townsville, await full analysis. Although among the smallest of objects in the scale of the wreck, the eighteenth century intaglio and seal assemblage is especially revealing of Pandora’s past. This preliminary examination and contextualisation highlights the cross-cultural complexities embedded in Pandora’s South Pacific voyage; especially when examined in relation to the cultural artefacts of South Pacific peoples also on-board. This article describes and establishes identification for each intaglio and seal and contextualises them against both the colonial backdrop to the Pandora voyage itself and the antiquarian tradition of eighteenth century Europe that prompted ‘curiosity’ collecting by Pandora’s British crew members. By filling this gap in the research of Pandora’s vast assemblage, the authors aim to prompt further study on the colonial mindset of the era, the cross-cultural encounters this influenced and effected, and how we can look toward enhancing our understanding, and subsequently decolonising cultural assemblages collections of maritime archaeology.

Australasian Journal of Maritime Archaeology

Australasian Journal of Maritime Archaeology

47

2652-0516

N/A

N/A

13