Egypt
AllAfrica.com by Muthoni Thang'wa, Nairobi
See the above page for the full story.
- Book Review: Who Owns Antiquity?
Expedition, Volume 51 (Review by Praveena Gullapalli) Thanks to Richard Vijay for sending this link. The book review dates back to summer 2009 but I managed to miss it! In the light of all the recent conversations re repatriation the book is still very...
- Behind Orientalism's Veil
Saudi Aramco World (Juliet Highet) it just growing nostalgia for a vanished, pre-industrial past that made 2008 a year of record prices for Orientalist art? Or is there more to it? The sophisticated buyers—now located mostly in the lands depicted in...
- Display Of Ancient Mummies Disrespectful?
BBC News Thanks very much to Chris Townsend for bringing this piece to my attention (together with several other articles mentioned in today's posts). It looks at the somewhat disturbing idea (and prospect) of removing ancient Egyptian mummies from...
- Why King Tut's Ethnicity Is Such A Complex Issue
Philadelphia Inquirer (Steven Barnes) The author raises the issue of why the exhibition, Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of Pharaohs has resulted in protestors saying that the organizers have downplayed the role of black Africa in Egypt's past. It...
- Exhibition: Cultural Treasures In Taiwan
http://taiwanjournal.nat.gov.tw/ct.asp?CtNode=122&xItem=23980"For many in Taiwan, spending days wandering the halls of the British Museum in London, enjoying exhibits from around the world while getting a dose of global culture strong enough to last...
Egypt
Africa: It's Time to Return What Was Stolen
AllAfrica.com by Muthoni Thang'wa, Nairobi
Who owns the past? There are efforts by some Kenyans to reinvent themselves and find value and meaning in a cosmopolitan world. In an effort to make peace with the past in Africa, there has been a call for repatriation of materials held in some of the largest museums in the world. In one of the most interesting debates going on in the world of heritage, the controversy pits mainly African, Asian and Middle East institutions against some of the most prestigious museums in Europe and America.
The debate is centred on materials that include human remains, art, jewellery and objects that are and have been held in the museums for a long time. Some of the articles are of great prestige and interest - the Egyptian mummies - while others are of outstanding monetary value such as gold pieces taken by the British in Kumasi in the then Gold Coast, present day Ghana, in 1874.Africa is making great efforts to reinvent itself. It wants to understand and own her past and the material remains that are part of her long history of political aggression that has resulted in deprivation of cultural objects.
- Book Review: Who Owns Antiquity?
Expedition, Volume 51 (Review by Praveena Gullapalli) Thanks to Richard Vijay for sending this link. The book review dates back to summer 2009 but I managed to miss it! In the light of all the recent conversations re repatriation the book is still very...
- Behind Orientalism's Veil
Saudi Aramco World (Juliet Highet) it just growing nostalgia for a vanished, pre-industrial past that made 2008 a year of record prices for Orientalist art? Or is there more to it? The sophisticated buyers—now located mostly in the lands depicted in...
- Display Of Ancient Mummies Disrespectful?
BBC News Thanks very much to Chris Townsend for bringing this piece to my attention (together with several other articles mentioned in today's posts). It looks at the somewhat disturbing idea (and prospect) of removing ancient Egyptian mummies from...
- Why King Tut's Ethnicity Is Such A Complex Issue
Philadelphia Inquirer (Steven Barnes) The author raises the issue of why the exhibition, Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of Pharaohs has resulted in protestors saying that the organizers have downplayed the role of black Africa in Egypt's past. It...
- Exhibition: Cultural Treasures In Taiwan
http://taiwanjournal.nat.gov.tw/ct.asp?CtNode=122&xItem=23980"For many in Taiwan, spending days wandering the halls of the British Museum in London, enjoying exhibits from around the world while getting a dose of global culture strong enough to last...