What is it like to be an 'independent' scholar & researcher? Three published art historians who are tell.

Annemarie Jordan and Hugo Miguel Crespo in conversation with Michael Backman on what it is like to being published researchers and art historians but doing it outside the structure of a university, museum or other institutional organisation. 

Annemarie Jordan is the author of many books on European luxury goods in the Renaissance typically sourced from the 'East', Hugo Miguel Crespo has been published widely on Indo-Portuguese art and Michael Backman's most recent book is on the silver and gold of the Malay people.

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Dr Sigrid van Roode discusses her research into the Zar spirit possession cult of Egypt - a relatively new cult that emerged at the end of 19th century and still has many practitioners. The cult gave rise to the need for a specific form of jewellery - a practice that has only recently died out.

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Graham Honeybill has been a banker most of his adult life, rising to become CEO of a bank in the UAE. He has also been a collector for much of his life. Colonial Burmese silver has long been a passion. A book has just been published on his collection and he has lent several pieces to an exhibition on Burmese art at the British Museum. Surely the pinnacle of any collector's collecting career? In this episode, Michael Backman talks with Graham about his collecting, and his motivations.

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Dr Annemarie Jordan is one of the world's most important, independent scholars on  luxury goods imported to Europe from Asia during the Renaissance. The trade in such goods is fascinating and much of it was destined for Europe's royal families who delighted in exotica from faraway lands for whom possession of such items was a mark of their power and prestige.

In this podcast, Dr Jordan discusses what attracted her to this intriguing area of study, her discoveries, and her current research.

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Fiona Kerlogue, one of the world's leading authorities on Indonesian Batik, former senior curator at London's Horniman Museum and author discusses with Michael Backman her career, being a curator, and her latest book on a little-known Batik collection in Prague,  in the Czech Republic.

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Thweep Rittinaphakorn's new book 'Unseen Burma'  presents a rare and stunning photographic record of Burma during the period 1862-1962. In this podcast with Michael Backman, he discusses his motivations for writing the book and his research methods, and discusses Burma's recent history, as well as touching on its current problems.

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In this Podcast, Michael Backman, writer and gallerist, asks why are we attracted to items that have antiquity? Do such items have a sacredness, or are we attempting to tap into some version of immortality. Is this why we pay more for items with good patina? He looks at the role of collecting and collectors in the preservation of the world's material culture.

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Istanbul-based Oytun Evliyazade Camcigil, the author of the magnificent volume 'Eastern Treasures: Ottoman, Oman, Yemen, Turkmen Jewellery' discusses with Michael Backman the process of writing her book, collecting Middle Eastern jewellery and Istanbul's collecting scene.

 'Eastern Treasures: Ottoman, Oman, Yemen, Turkmen Jewellery'  is available on Amazon.

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Robyn Flemming discusses with Michael Backman her new book 'Skinful: A Memoir of Addiction' which details her battles with addictive behaviour including her problematic relationship with alcohol. Originally from Australia, Robyn also discusses her life as a modern-day international nomad, having no specific base in any particular country.

'Skinful: A Memoir of Addiction' is available worldwide on Amazon.

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Michael Backman discusses Straits Chinese jewellery - the jewellery of the acculturated Chinese of Malaysia & Singapore - with world-renown jewellery designer, author & researcher Edmond Chin. Edmond, originally from Singapore is the author of the ground-breaking 'Gilding the Phoenix: The Straits Chinese and their Jewellery'.

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