Ten Years on: Boissevain’s Legacy Celebrated in New Exhibition at Inquisitor’s Palace

Press Release│ 26 June 2025

A major archival collection of the late Professor Jeremy Boissevain (1928–2015), a pioneering anthropologist who helped shape the study of Maltese society and Mediterranean culture, has been donated to the National Museum of Ethnography at the Inquisitor’s Palace in Birgu. A new temporary exhibition marks this remarkable addition.

Launched on the tenth anniversary of his passing on 26 June 2015, the new display titled ‘Legacy of an Anthropologist: the Jeremy Fergus Boissevain Archive’ celebrates Professor Boissevain’s deep and lasting ties with Malta. First arriving in Malta in the 1950s, Boissevain returned in the early 1960s while completing his doctorate at the London School of Economics and continued to visit extensively in later years.

Captivated by the vibrant community life and festa traditions of the Maltese, he authored the seminal ‘Saints and Fireworks: Religion and Politics in Rural Malta’ (1965), capturing a rapidly modernising way of life. His work continued for decades, with titles such as ‘Friends of Friends’ (1974) earning him international recognition.

Self-described as an ‘outsider looking in’, Boissevain immersed himself in village life, especially in Ħal Kirkop and Naxxar, where he and his family lived for extended periods. A familiar academic figure, he also lectured at the University of Malta and became an outspoken critic of overdevelopment and mass tourism.

Transferred from the Netherlands in 2024, Professor Boissevain’s Malta-related research archive was entrusted by his family to Heritage Malta for public access and research. This donation reinforces the role of the National Museum of Ethnography as a guardian of Malta’s living cultural memory.

Set within the evocative Inquisitor’s Palace, the exhibition offers a representative sample of Boissevain’s research interests and fieldwork across Maltese towns and villages from the 1960s onward, showcasing original interviews, field notes, newspaper cuttings, scripts of some of his numerous papers and publications, and photographs. It provides visitors a compelling lens into Malta’s evolving identity through the eyes of a dedicated observer and friend of the islands.

Heritage Malta’s Chief Executive Officer, Noel Zammit, commented: “We are deeply grateful to the Boissevain family. Such a show of trust energises us to continue our mission. This gesture not only honours Professor Boissevain’s dedication to Malta but grounds his scholarship within the very culture he so lovingly chronicled.”

Kenneth Cassar, Heritage Malta’s Senior Curator of Ethnography, stated that: “The love and commitment that Professor Jeremy Boissevain showed towards Malta and its people will live on, not just through his acclaimed published works but also through this significant donation of his Malta-related research archive – entrusted to Heritage Malta by his family for the benefit of all.”

Lietje Bonello Boissevain, the professor’s daughter, said: “With this donation to Heritage Malta, we trust that the invaluable knowledge and unique insights my late father accumulated about the Maltese Islands will live on. We hope this archive kindles in researchers and the wider public the same love of understanding people and their settings that fuelled his legacy.”

The exhibition runs till September, opening from Tuesday to Sunday from 09:00 to 17:00 (last admission at 16:30). Entrance is included in the Inquisitor’s Palace experience. Persons with impaired mobility may find access to the exhibition hall challenging because of stairs. For more information visit www.heritagemalta.mt/whatson and follow Heritage Malta on social media.