Emily Bell
Located in South Kensington, the V&A (the Victoria and Albert Museum), is an art and design museum which houses the finest examples of human artistic expression from the last 5,000 years. It takes just a short tube ride to get to Bloomsbury, which is where the British Museum is. It was the first public museum in the world, and brings together its cultures under one roof. Yet, after hearing recent discourse on the continuation of Cambodia’s long struggle to recover its objects of antiquity from both of these museums, I no longer want to step foot in their doors again.
Initial Visits
I first visited the V&A back in 2018. I did not have any real motivation for doing this; it was just something to ‘cross off’ of my London bucket list, and an opportunity to have a look at the 2.27 million objects that make up the museum’s permanent collection.
Consisting of eight million items, I remember being in awe of the wealth of objects on display at the British Museum when I visited in 2019.
I did not once comprehend that I was standing in warehouses of loot.
“It is even more alarming to come to the realisation that much of what was stolen has still not been returned, and is rather on display in some of London’s most famous honeypots.”
Studying The British Empire
As part of my A-Level History course, I was glad to see that my sixth form had chosen the British Empire as one of the units of study. Prior to undertaking this, I had no idea what to expect in regards to its content.
In line with the ethnocentric curriculum of the British education system, my understanding of the Empire was very limited. It is usually the case that students know nothing, or only hold a very basic and positive view of the British Empire. This is due to the way in which our textbooks gloss over the nitty gritties.
Having completed my A-Level studies in 2020, I now like to think that I have a solid understanding of the British Empire and the atrocities that characterise it.
Further to this, the Black Lives Matter movement, which took off in the same year, sparked me to undertake my own further personal research on the British Empire.
Important Lessons
One of the many problems with the British Empire, that has always stood out to me, is the amount in which was stolen from its former colonies.
It is even more alarming to come to the realisation that much of what was stolen has still not been returned, and is rather on display in some of London’s most famous honeypots.
Stolen Goods
It is estimated that, by today’s values, the British took $45 trillion worth of goods from India over the span of two centuries. Unfortunately, the geographical limits of the British Empire’s theft was not just limited to here.
The British acquired the Rosetta Stone after the defeat of the French army in the early 1800s. The basalt block was made by pharaoh Ptolemy of granodiorite, and dates back to 196 BC.
Though this object was instrumental in the initial decoding of Egyptian hieroglyphics in the 19th century, and therefore profound for Egyptians in learning more about their heritage, Egyptian officials have been unsuccessful for many decades in obtaining it back from Britain.
It stands today in the British Museum; 2,344 miles away from where it should be.
The V&A is ‘home’ to a white jade wine cup which belongs to Shah Jahan. He was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, and is most famously known for commissioning the Taj Mahal in honour of his beloved queen.
In the 19th century, the effect was stolen by Colonel Charles Seton Gutherie. It was sent to Britain, and has been placed in the V&A since 1962.
Cambodia, The V&A And The British Museum
I was disappointed to stumble across an article just last week which concerned the V&A, the British Museum and stolen Cambodian treasures.
The British Museum is thought to have around 100 Cambodian pieces, and the V&A has well over 50.
For Cambodians, who believe that ancient statues hold the souls of their ancestors, I believe it is most insulting that the majority of these items are held in storage.
I find it difficult to accept the responses of both the museums involved. How can the V&A welcome “constructive dialogue”, and the British Museum consider requests “carefully and respectfully” when these items are explicitly victims of theft? They have no export licence, nor any permit.
They should quite simply honour the Cambodian campaign without question, and return the items.
Unfulfilled Aims
In light of the limited teachings on the British Empire’s wrong doings, it is important to recognise that very few people have even a moderate understanding of the origins of the objects in these museums.
Henry Cole, the V&A’s first director, stated that the Museum should be a “schoolroom for everyone.” Its aim was to display the best examples of design and creation that the world had to offer, in the hopes of improving the standards of British industry by providing a visual outlet to educate designers, manufacturers and consumers in art.
How can it be a “schoolroom” when the objects used to educate are stolen effects? How can it be “for everyone” if these very stolen effects are prohibiting the people from the country in which they originate from learning about their own histories?
The British Museum has a similar stance. It states that the several million objects in which it stores allows us to “explore the extraordinary diversity of human cultures..to discover the many forms and expressions human beings have given to every aspect of life.”
These objects can simply not be appreciated when they are illegally taken entities, which are displayed in a commercialised building in the former heart of the British Empire.
“The war crimes of the Empire are still very much celebrated in our institutions.”
Enter At Your Own Peril
My decision to not go back to these places has nothing to do with the initial origins of the objects, nor their craftsmanship. They are spectacular to look at and interesting to learn about.
The main driver of my decision is due to the way in which these objects came to enter these museums.
I do not want to have access to things that have been stolen. I do not want to take away from the education of someone in a country of origin who has more of a claim to learn about these objects than I do.
I do not believe that the V&A or the British Museum are open enough about how the objects came to land there. I would not go as far to suggest that they should be more open about it either; they should just return them.
I think it was very irresponsible of these places to accept such pieces. This is not just for the upset caused to the countries in which they belong, but also the message it sends out about Britain – that the war crimes of the Empire are still very much celebrated in our institutions.
Until all of the stolen objects in the V&A and the British Museum are returned to their rightful owners, I will not be returning myself.
Featured image courtesy of Mika on Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. The image license can be found here.
Emily Bell
Emily is a Law student at the University of Bristol. Outside of her time at Empoword Journalism, she can be found reading, drinking wine or playing the piano.
History has it’s good n bad points .what we got to learn is that ,these mistakes don’t happen again. As mentioned by the lady ,the empire stole things ,i don’t disagree . But, what are we present day humans doing ,when the world is developed n more learnt n a progressive mode thinking ,we are worse than animals , same nonsense occuring in every corner of the world. An example given is that the empire stole 45 trillion. The same is happening to the common in india as of now,the rich become richer n the poor way down the line. So, I say learn from the past don’t ride on it. And help the world change today.
Sorry, but I disagree. If these items were returned to their countries of origin, would you personally travel there to view them? Honestly?? Would you even know about an item if it had not been in a central locale like the V&A or the British Museum? But more importantly, who’s to say who truly owns them? Countries get conquered and victors sell artifacts for needed funds—does that mean 100-200 years later they have to be given back because some other group is now politically in charge? Can those countries of origin even properly house items if returned? These institutions have preserved artifacts from around the globe. Sorry to be blunt, but you’re acting like a woke toddler in a tantrum, not understanding reality.
I visited the British Museum in 2013 primarily to view the Elgin Marbles that had been stolen from the Parthenon in Athens.
It was heartbreaking to see the Rosetta Stone as well as thousands of other stolen items on display. As for those who feel that the British Museum ensures these are well taken care of, I would suggest they visit the Acropolis museum in Athens which is beautifully laid out and even has a gallery waiting for the Marbles to be returned.
The V&A is no better, nor are those parts of the Crown Jewels including the Kohinoor, supposedly gifted by the people of India to their Queen!
Time for the Brits to return these items to the countries they were looted from.
I think we have to be more careful about such historical issues. It takes a spirit of humility, charity, and a commitment to facts on all sides to achieve sustainable resolutions. It’s not as simple a waving our hands and assuming one side was particularly evil. I realize that moderation is getting a bad rap in some “progressive” quarters, but then so are facts and logic. Thankfully, that sort of progressivism is dying.
So proud of you Emily, learning new things as I read this article. Thank you for content, you always did have a way with words xx
Most of the portable artifacts of Mexico have been sold to foreign museums by unscrupulous politicians, curators, thieves, etc. The Dallas museum has a large collection of this loot. If Dallas returned the loot, how long do you think that the loot would stay in Mexico? Available to public view? The smart thing for Mexico to do is make replicas. Likewise, the smart thing for Thailand to do is….