Museum souvenirs

I love art and shopping, so naturally, I always spend time looking through museum stores. I have some classy items to be sure, along with some kitschy things, like my Van Gogh mug where one of the ears disappears when the cup is filled with hot liquid (a thoughtful gift from some students who know of my teenage obsession with the man). And sometimes I find things that absolutely outrage me. Such was the case with the last museum store I visited–the one at the Getty, where I recently saw the Jean-Léon Gérôme blockbuster exhibition (and I’ve got to post on that later because I’m madder than heck about the exhibition thesis, which tacitly justifies his misogynistic and racist works by celebrating the artist’s “quirky irreverence”–but I digress). Anyway, here is the souvenir du jour: a compact mirror with Gérôme’s Moorish Bath on the case. Unpack the semiotics of that little number, my friends . . . .

Conversation topic: What is your favorite museum souvenir and why?