Asia

Scandal in China over the museum with 40,000 fake artefacts

Jibaozhai Museum in Hebei closes amid internet ridicule because nearly all its artefacts alleged to be forgeries.

A museum in China has a problem. It seems to have a few fakes in its vast collection. Well, as many as 40,000. Everything it owns may be nothing more than a mass of crude forgeries.

Wei Yingjun, a consultant to the Jibaozhai Museum in Jizhou, about 150 miles south of Beijing, insists the situation is not that bad. He is "quite positive" that 80 or even more pieces out of tens of thousands in the museum are authentic. 

More here.

Philippine Exhibit in Iowa

A recent article announces that in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the University of Iowa Museum of Natural History, the rarely viewed 700-piece Philippine Collection will be showcased at the Old Capitol. The exhibit is called "The Museum Goes to the Fair: Rediscovering the Philippine Collection at the Museum of Natural History."

Nepal National Ethnographic Museum

According to a recent article in the Kathmandu Post, for more than 13 years a small group of anthropologists and sociologists has attempted to build a new ethnographic museum in Kirtipur, Nepal. Now, finally, funding has arrived and construction will begin. The museum will feature the scores of ethnic and cultural communities living in Nepal.

Japanese Bones III

And just like that, University of California at Berkeley officials offer to repatriate the remains of the Japanese soldiers purportedly taken after the Battle of Saipan. While no doubt many will applaud this decision on ethical if not legal grounds, many too will be left scratching their heads. Why is it that within 7 days of this story breaking the university decided to return these remains -- while thousands upon thousands of Native American remains are left on museum shelves? What legal mandates, if any and precisely, did the university decide demanded such swift and decisive action -- while NAGPRA, even nearly 20 years later, cannot get institutions to respond so promptly and agreeably?

The Stars and Stripes quotes a Japanese returnee from Saipan as saying, "I do not understand why they have to have been humiliated like that as subject of research for such a long time. It certainly lacks respect to the dead." Another says, "It just breaks my heart when I think how much they must have longed to go back to their homeland." It is fascinating to think about how Native Americans have been making similar arguments for a half-century or more, and yet, in general, they have received such a different reply from museums and universities.

We had similar questions when we read earlier this summer about the reburial in Tucson, Arizona, of nearly 60 soldiers who had fought in the Indian Wars. The remains had been excavated in 2007 to make way for a new building. At an estimated cost of $300,000, and witnessed by 750 local citizens, these remains were reverently laid to rest with full military honors. "These young men laid down their lives a long time ago so we could live in this country and this state," Arizona Governor Jan Brewer said after the ceremony. "I think it's important that we interred today the heroes of yesterday." A Civil War re-enactor and former Army reservist simply said, "I just thought it was something that should be done out of respect for the soldiers."

Why do people think so differently about Native American human remains?

Japanese Bones II

A controversy that may not go away anytime soon. Another article in which California state lawmakers demand repatriation, and one reporting the case to the British public. All the facts of the collection have yet to come out -- and both the university and the Japanese government have not said much, so far as we can tell.

After the last posting on this controversy, someone rightly asks in a comment what the different outcomes of this case might be if the remains were in fact legally collected and conveyed to the museum, compared to an illicit collection and acquisition in contravention of international law. As we learn more, it will be good to get a better handle on the legalities involved. But no doubt too, strong arguments will be made about the ethics of this collection -- asking what our professional and human ethics ask of us beyond what the law might allow.

Japanese Bones

The San Francisco Chronicle reports on a brewing controversy at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology. Reportedly, the remains of Japanese soldiers -- taken in 1945 as "war booty" after the Battle of Saipan -- are in the museum's collections. The eminent anthropologist, and University of California at Berkeley professor, Nancy Scheper-Hughes is quoted extensively, encouraging repatriation. "It's common decency. You don't hang on to historical remains of enemy combatants in a decent museum. It's not Ripley's Believe It or Not. It's not a freak show," she said.

Underlying this case are deeper questions about the museological desire to possess the bodies of deceased people. We must ask ourselves: into the 21st century, why do museums continue to curate human remains? What motivates our impulse to collect and hold onto them? When should they be returned? What is the boundary between the ethics and laws of repatriation?

Museums in North America, and elsewhere, have struggled with these questions when it comes to Native American remains, but less often for remains that come from other ethnic communities. What, after all, is the difference between curating the earthly remains of Japanese soldiers and Native Americans taken from battlefields and graves?

Directorship Open: Anthropology Museum at the University of Queensland

From a University of Queensland email circular:

Applications are invited for the position of Director of the Anthropology Museum at The University of Queensland. The appointment is part of the University’s initiative to promote the Museum nationally and internationally in the areas of public exhibition, community engagement, research and teaching.

The Role The successful applicant will be an advocate for the Museum and its collection, and will supervise new engagements with potential funding bodies and supporters of appropriate public exhibitions. The Director will be responsible for managing the collection, liaising with the University and relevant community groups to initiate research projects, and building the public profile of the collection through digital and related technologies.

The Person The successful applicant will possess a higher degree in anthropology, archaeology, museum studies, or related fields. Experience with collections and/or related research activities in Aboriginal Australia and/or Melanesia and the broader Pacific is highly desirable.

Learn more about the position here.