London has been described as a city built on the spoils of empire, prompting visitors, at least over a damp weekend in March, to wonder why more of these spoils weren’t spent on proper indoor heating. And with ethicaldebatesraging over the looted holdings of the British Museum, these same visitors might decide they don’t want to walk that far in the rain, and instead visit the more modest collection at the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology.
Unlike the British Museum, the Petrie has been spared any prominent repatriation requests. Perhaps no one has heard of it, or perhaps no one really wants another millennia-old miniature carving of a baboon drinking beer. A small display of Tutankhamen’s childhood toys is certainly less striking than the boy-king’s solid-gold death mask, and impeccably preserved palm-fiber sandals make for less inspiring cultural heritage campaigns than the Elgin Marbles.
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