The Unsettling Story of the Brothers Poem Papyrus

Event date
Event time
13:00 - 14:00
Venue
Weston Library
Broad Street
Oxford
OX1 3BG
Venue details

https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/plan-your-visit

Event type
Gallery tours / talks
Event cost
Free
Disabled access?
Yes
Booking required
Required

In 2014, the discovery of a papyrus with new verses of Sappho, mentioning her brothers, made the headlines. Since then, a group of academics has raised doubts about the fragment's legal origins and tried to piece together the real story behind its surfacing.

Said to be in the ownership of an anonymous London collector, the papyrus made a quick appearance on television and then disappeared. Where did it go and where is it now?

Based on her recent book, Stolen Fragments: Black Markets, Bad Faith and the Illicit Trade in Ancient Artefacts, in this talk Roberta Mazza will offer some answers and explain why the papyrus's fate matters.