“What happens if museums return so many artefacts that they have nothing left to display?” I’ve heard some variations. “There’s so much to see in museums,” I always answer, fighting the urge to roll my eyes. “We’re not just closing.”
But in December, the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced that it would return a significant portion of its Khmer-era works to Cambodia, and Cambodia has requested more, including nearly all of the museum’s major Cambodian works. Last month, the American Museum of Natural History closed two of its museums indefinitely in response to new federal regulations regarding the display of Native American sacred artifacts and burial objects. The Rubin Museum of Art in Manhattan, which currently exhibits Himalayan art, has announced that it will close later this year. The museum says this decision is unrelated to the issue of cultural repatriation, but it was made after the museum faced numerous accusations of cultural theft and returned several valuable works.
Obviously you need to change your answer.
It is now clear that when stolen artifacts are returned to their rightful owners, some display cases will actually be emptied, some galleries will close their doors, and entire museums may be closed. is. But it’s worth it. No matter the cost, repatriating these valuable items is still the right thing to do.
why? Museums are supposed to teach us about other ways of living in the world. But looted artifacts alone, removed from their original context and sequestered in preservative display cases, cannot do this. Unlike Impressionist paintings or Pop Art sculptures, for example, ritual objects were not intended to be viewed in a gallery at a time of the viewer’s choosing. These relics, used alongside music, scent, and taste, are tools that help ritual participants achieve a transcendent experience. Imagine that a psyllium necklace might show you what it’s like to greet the sunrise while dancing like crazy with hundreds of strangers.
The Rubin Museum of Art, which exhibits art from Tibet, Nepal and other Himalayan regions, returned two stolen items to Nepal in 2022 and added another last year, a magnificent 16th-century painting depicting one of the manifestations of Lord Shiva. handed over the mask. While looking at the photos from Musk’s homecoming ceremony, I happened to learn about the news of Rubin’s closing.
This mask was one of a nearly identical pair depicting a snarling god with a golden skull and snakes twining through his blood-red hair. For centuries, masks have appeared in annual ceremonies, where worshipers have sought blessings by drinking rice beer from the mask’s mouth. In the mid-1990s, they were stolen from the home of the family they had been entrusted with in their care, while a ceremony was not taking place.
The mask has been sold several times, including at Sotheby’s auctions. One of his works became part of the collection of the Rubin Museum of Art. Its founders, Donald and Shelley Rubin, began collecting Himalayan art in his 1970s. This was a time when collectors didn’t ask many questions about the provenance of the works they purchased. Some even thought they were helping to rescue crafts from neglect in modernizing countries. After evidence emerged that the mask and two carved wooden artifacts had been stolen, the museum relented and sent the mask back home.
Like many other sacred crafts in Nepal, masks are considered living gods. My favorite photo taken at the homecoming ceremony in Kathmandu shows the elder of a family who lost his mask 30 years ago, holding onto the edge of the mask as if he had finally found the hand of a lost child. ing. The mask, propped up on a conference table at the Nepal Archeology Department, is already surrounded by signs of worship, including offerings of flower petals and silk scarves. They are no longer just works of art. They once again became strong guardians of the community.
This photo alone tells us more about the living cultural tradition that the mask played before it was stolen, and which it will soon rejoin, than the mask itself, which was on display out of reach on the other side of the world. can do. I don’t think New Yorkers are missing out if Nepali or other communities recover their sacred artifacts. Because I don’t think keeping them here tells us much about what was so important to them in the first place.
When I first visited Kathmandu, I saw that many Nepalis, in addition to participating in major rituals, still started their day by going to nearby shrines and worshiping the statues of their gods.
The ceremonial artifacts that have been stolen into American collections once bound families and communities together. They once comforted people with the sorrows of their past and gave them hope for the future. Americans have filled our museums with other people’s treasures without capturing any of their real value. Keeping these artifacts in museums does not help us experience more meaningful connections. But it might be possible to help bring them home.
The process of returning cultural artifacts helps us connect. Museums can display replicas along with videos of the repatriated artifacts being used. You can include testimonials from the community that created the artifact. You can also commission work from contemporary artists who continue a long-standing tradition. Following the example of the Rubin Museum itself, we can also offer assistance to communities seeking training in preserving and exhibiting treasures.
Perhaps due to repatriation, parts of the museum may be emptied. There is less and less sacred art, especially Asian art, being exhibited in American museums, and that process is only now beginning. But instead of leaving holes, repatriation can open holes. By taking a more creative approach to repatriation than simply turning off the lights, museums can become even better spaces for education, cross-cultural inspiration, and joy.
Erin L. Thompson is a professor of art crime at John Jay College, City University of New York.
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