How Individuals’ Cherished Possessions Become Families’ Inalienable Wealth
研究物品如何从个人可转让的珍爱之物转变为家庭世代相传的不可剥夺财富，基于对北美中产家庭的观察，区分了家庭不可剥夺财富与个人珍藏品在保管人角色、监护行为、时间导向、共享意义和符号特征上的差异。
This article examines a special category of objects, things that people should not give or sell, but keep from generation to generation within the close confines of a group—inalienable wealth. Previous findings about inalienable wealth are restricted to studies of indigenous cultures by anthropologists. We explore whether and how objects pass from alienable to inalienable status across generations of middle-class North American families. Our research distinguishes families' inalienable wealth from individuals' cherished possessions and keepsakes in terms of the role of caretakers, the behavioral dynamics of guardianship, temporal orientation, shared significance, and distinctive semiotic qualities.