Museum sends treasures to India to 'undo colonial misinterpretation'

The British Museum has sent treasures from its collection back to India in a bid to 'undo colonial misinterpretation'.

Eighty artefacts from ancient Greece and Egypt have been transferred to Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS).

They have been displayed in a new gallery at the museum, which aims to highlight India's contributions to civilisation.

Speaking to The Telegraph, the director of The British Museum, Dr Nicholas Cullinan, hailed the move as 'very beneficial,' adding that museums should be engaging in cultural diplomacy.

It comes amid ongoing disputes over the return of other artefacts, such as sacred tablets from Ethiopia, the Elgin Marbles and the Benin Bronzes.

After the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in 2020, museums such as the Horniman in London made a move to return the Benin Bronzes, which were primarily looted by British forces in 1897 from what is now Nigeria.

However, sources have said the British Museum avoided pledging to 'decolonise', and is also legally prevented from handing over its treasures according to The British Museum act 1963.

Under Dr Cullinan's leadership, the museum hopes to calm disputes by agreeing to loans of up to three years.

The museum director, who recently visited China and Nigeria and is planning a trip to Ghana, stated this project would pave the way for working with other countries seeking the return of their artefacts.

He said: 'You don’t have to embarrass your own country to do something positive with another country.'

He further explained that this model of collaboration, instead of an 'all-or-nothing' version, would be very innovative and 'enlightening', adding: 'When we lend objects from the British Museum’s collection, things that come from Britain, back to their source, it can be incredibly powerful.'

Treasures such as the Koh-I-Noor diamond, the Amaravati Marbles, and the regalia of Tipu Sultan were all taken to Britain during a time of colonial rule.

Although the Indian government is seeking to reclaim their historical artefacts, the British Museum's loan includes pieces from other civilisations.

One such item is a very delicate wooden model of an Egyptian river boat thought to be 4,000 years old as well as a wooden sculpture of oxen pulling a plough, Sumerian statues from 2200BC and an Iraqi stone wig with carved ears from 2500BC.

Bigger pieces include a marble bust of Augustus, a Romano-British silver pot for storing pepper and a Roman mosaic found under London's Leadenhall market. 

The Mumbai loan is the biggest deal ever with a non-Western museum, as well as the largest loan of ancient material to India.

The director general of the CSMVS museum, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, told The Telegraph that the new exhibition will 'decolonise the narrative' and 'correct colonial misinterpretation' of India's history. 

He added: 'We suffered for many years and colonisation penetrated into our education, our culture.

'There is a kind of emergence. I’m going to use the word ‘revolt’, but we are emerging with dignity and are very proud of history.'

Mr Mukherjee said he hopes similar deals can be made with other countries in Asia and Africa.