01-30-2019, 01:18 AM
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-ox...e-45565784
Treasures seized during Britain's colonial past are kept in museums across the country. But as times change, how do such institutions deal with the sensitive issue of the human remains in their collections?
In Oxford, the Pitt Rivers Museum - founded with the collection of a Victorian general, Augustus Pitt Rivers - holds about 2,000 such specimens.
These body parts were brought back to Britain from across its empire, with little concern for the people from whom they'd been plundered.
The Pitt Rivers is one of several British institutions that are under pressure to re-evaluate the many colonial prizes in their collections.
"We can't undo history but we can be a part of the process of healing," says Laura van Broekhoven, director of the museum.
I have to admit, I'm pretty cautious about most restitution claims, since I'm wary of emptying the world's great museums. However, I am on board with this: these remains are likely to be of great sentimental value to the peoples concerned, and I think the Pitt Rivers museum can still tell its story perfectly well without them (I mean, I've been to the museum and I don't even remember seeing any human remains!)
Although, with only 22 bodies being returned since 2004 (out of around 2,000 in the collection), there's clearly still some way to go...
Treasures seized during Britain's colonial past are kept in museums across the country. But as times change, how do such institutions deal with the sensitive issue of the human remains in their collections?
In Oxford, the Pitt Rivers Museum - founded with the collection of a Victorian general, Augustus Pitt Rivers - holds about 2,000 such specimens.
These body parts were brought back to Britain from across its empire, with little concern for the people from whom they'd been plundered.
The Pitt Rivers is one of several British institutions that are under pressure to re-evaluate the many colonial prizes in their collections.
"We can't undo history but we can be a part of the process of healing," says Laura van Broekhoven, director of the museum.
I have to admit, I'm pretty cautious about most restitution claims, since I'm wary of emptying the world's great museums. However, I am on board with this: these remains are likely to be of great sentimental value to the peoples concerned, and I think the Pitt Rivers museum can still tell its story perfectly well without them (I mean, I've been to the museum and I don't even remember seeing any human remains!)
Although, with only 22 bodies being returned since 2004 (out of around 2,000 in the collection), there's clearly still some way to go...
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