The business of returning treasures

David Reid delves into the debate around the repatriation of problematic art and treasures. He visits one museum in the north-west of England attempting to decolonise its collection by returning thousands of items to the countries and communities they were taken from.

In this episode we meet curators like Dr Njabulo Chipangura, from Manchester Museum, who says the best way to guarantee the future of collections is to give parts of them away. Also, Professor Kim A. Wagner from the University of London tells us the story of the skull of Alum Bheg, which he would dearly like to return to India.

Is this ultimately the right way to treat problematic artefacts and treasures? Or could this movement end up destroying hard to acquire expertise and render Museums meaningless and economically unviable?

Producer/presenter: David Reid

(Photo: The skull of Alum Bheg: Credit: Kim Wagner)