Sacred objects and transformations of museum ethics: origins, problems, solutions

2019

Novye Issledovaniâ Tuvy, Vol 0, Iss 2 (2019)

The article deals with the problematic of sacred objects in museums. It analyzes the political and intellectual reasons for the transformation of museum ethics in Western countries, and provides examples of the difficulties in dealing with sacred objects. The first section of the article summarizes the historical reasons for the marginal position museums had until recently allocated to religion as a living phenomenon. The second and third sections analyze the reasons for the growing presence of religion in Western museums in the last few decades: first, the rethinking of the relationship between indigenous peoples and their heritage within the framework of decolonization; and, second, the epistemological shifts in the social sciences that have shaped a new understanding of “museum pieces” as social agents. The new museum ethics is therefore based on both the principle of respect for the objects themselves and the recognition of indigenous peoples' rights to a living relationship with their heritage, especially with "sensitive materials", such as religious objects and human remains. Nevertheless, implementing these principles often reveals contradictions between the universalist values of museum work, such as the conservation and the access to heritage, and the particularistic logic of religious and ethnic groups. The fourth part of the article provides examples of some of the difficulties encountered by Western museums in exhibiting, storing and repatriating sacred objects, and describes how they have been dealt with. Finally, the conclusion elaborates on the special position of regional museums in Russia’s autochthonous republics in rethinking the religion in museum space and in implementing new museum ethics in dealing with sacred objects.

article

Russian

Novye Issledovaniâ Tuvy, 2019.

сакральные предметы, музейная этика, деколонизация, религии коренных народов, поворот к вещам, биографии вещей, экспонирование, репатриация, хранение, культурное наследие, Communities. Classes. Races, HT51-1595