Glasgow Museums Remove Mummified Remains from Public View
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Glasgow museums remove mummified remains from public view
Image source: Wikipedia Commons
Image caption: Lady Shep-En-Hor's sarcophagus on display at The Hunterian Museum in Glasgow
By
James Delaney
BBC Scotland News
Published
1 hour ago
Two museums in Glasgow have removed the remains of Egyptian mummies from display over ethical concerns.
The mummified corpse of the priest Nekht was taken out of public view at Kelvingrove Gallery, while The Hunterian Museum has covered Lady Shep-En-Hor's body in a specially designed textile to protect it from view.
The institutions said the decisions followed a reassessment of their duty of care towards the deceased.
It comes after the International Council of Museums (Icom) revised its code of ethics, recommending that the "inherent dignity" of human remains be upheld.
Both museums said they would consider repatriation of the remains should they receive an approach from a country or institution.
Despite the new code of ethics, there is no uniform approach across Scotland's museum sector with different institutions given leeway on how to implement it.
A spokesperson for National Museums Scotland (NMS) said they were not considering any changes to the display of human remains in their collection.
NMS has a large collection of Scottish archaeological remains, as well as mummified people from Egypt and Peru.
Image source:
Wikipedia Commons
Image caption:
The Hunterian Museum said the decision to remove the sarcophagus followed a reassessment of their duty of care towards the deceased
Glasgow Life, which manages Kelvingrove, said they had removed the painted coffin containing Nekht's remains "in the absence of consent from the deceased individual or their ancestors."
Nekht is thought to have lived at some point between 1985 and 1797 BC and was excavated at Beni Hasan in Middle Egypt during digs carried out in the early 20th century.
The remains were donated to the city of Glasgow in 1923.
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A spokesperson for Glasgow Life said the removal of the remains "reflected contemporary museum practice." They added that a new draft human remains policy proposed that they were only displayed "where there is documented and informed consent from the deceased individual or, in appropriate circumstances, their descendants."
They said a parliamentary group on African repatriation had highlighted "ethical concerns" over the display of such remains due to the "constant disregard" of potential wishes and intentions of ancestors who buried them.
A mummified male head, right foot and a right hand recovered from the Valley of the Kings in Luxor were also taken out of public view.
The spokesperson added: "We believe removing ancient Egyptian human remains from display is more respectful to the deceased individuals."
Meanwhile, The Hunterian said they had sought advice from Egyptologists before protecting Lady Shep-En-Hor's remains as part of a "commitment to becoming a more ethical institution."