Object biographies and historical networks: recontextualising the collection at Mount Stewart

This article examines the historic house collection at Mount Stewart, County Down, as a site where global histories are materialised through objects. Drawing on object biographies and networks, it demonstrates how objects acquired through transnational diplomatic and commercial exchanges accumulated layered meanings over time. Close attention to object lives reveals processes of cultural translation and contested self‑representation, as well as traces of empire and uneven power relations embedded within the collection. These approaches enable more plural and ethically attentive interpretation by moving beyond collector‑centred narratives, making space for both object origins and contemporary reception. Juxtaposing multiple perspectives allows collections to be understood in ways that open up rather than closing down interpretation, and positions Mount Stewart as a case study for rethinking interpretation and stewardship in Irish historic house collections.