cc O BThe ‘tide of history is moving against the illegitimate detention of the cultural objects of others’, writes Kwame Opuku, putting the future of the ‘universal museums’ in jeopardy. Although it appears to serve a global audience, ‘A History of the World in 100 Objects’, a new programme produced by The British Museum and the BBC, is part of ‘frantic efforts’ to impress ‘the masses about the alleged indispensable role of the major museums’ and to gather support for their continued possession of looted artefacts, argues Opuku.
‘What few people realise is that MacGregor's activities on behalf of the British Museum, although dressed up as a laudable didactic mission of public enlightenment and edification, are actually part of a more urgent project to protect the beleaguered edifice that is the Encyclopaedic Museum in Europe and North America.’