Exploring the current meaning of plaster face casts in museums: the case of Lidio Cipriani’s facial masks at the Anthropological Collections of the University of Bologna (Italy)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Among the different types of anthropological items that have been amassed over time for research and didactic purposes (e.g. identified human osteological series and anthropometric instruments), plaster face cast collections still enclose a sensitive nature when exposed in museums, being midway between objects and human remains, between scientific items and cultural heritage. The present work focuses on the plaster face casts stored at the Anthropological Collections of the Museum System of the University of Bologna (Bologna, Italy). The main subject is a series of copies of the human facial masks realised by Lidio Cipriani (1892–1962), an anthropologist of the University of Florence, during his scientific missions in African and Asian regions during the European colonial expansion. Starting from this collection, we want to emphasise our recent experience as the Self Steering Committee of the University of Bologna for the pillar Cultural Heritage of the alliance Una Europa, aimed at critically reflecting on the value of those plaster face casts, unveiling their dissonance. Then, we will present our results in the frame of the renewed principles of the discipline, reflecting on the scientific, cultural and social implications that this kind of anthropological asset may have today.