Diverse houten meubels, opgesteld in het archeologisch museum in Luik, België before 1884

This photograph shows diverse wooden furniture displayed in the archeological museum in Liege, Belgium. While the image provides a record of historical artifacts, it also reveals much about the display practices of early museums. Consider the arrangement: the furniture is set up to evoke a domestic interior. Note the portraits and decorative objects. It seems the intention was not simply to preserve these objects, but also to present a particular vision of the past. What does this say about the politics of display? About whose history gets told, and how? Museum archives, exhibition catalogs, and period publications can help us understand the specific social and institutional contexts that shaped such displays. By studying these sources, we can better understand the changing role of museums in shaping cultural memory and national identity.