By Joe Kelley, audacy.com (Photo: Unsplash)
(Editor’s note: A new level of wokeness!)
Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum has removed ancient Egyptian mummified remains from public display because the deceased left no documented consent. The decision follows updated ethics guidance and a draft policy that limits the exhibition of human remains without permission from the individual or their descendants.
The museum took the painted coffin containing the remains of the priest Nekht off view, along with a mummified male head, a mummified right hand recovered from the Valley of the Kings, and a mummified right foot. Nekht lived during Egypt’s 12th Dynasty, roughly between 1985 and 1797 BC, making the remains about 4,000 years old. The items had been part of the museum’s Egyptian collection since early in the last century. Visitors now see a sign stating that the remains were removed “as a mark of respect.”