Museums in the U.S. are feeling the same pressure as British museums (discussed in my recent post) to remove “sacred objects” from public view, or from their collections entirely.
I remember, about two years ago, hearing a docent at the Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY, tell visitors that some masks from its extensive North American Indian collection (which was given to the museum by retired art dealer Eugene Thaw), had to be taken off view because the Iroquois said the museum “should not be showing these masks. The spirits are still alive, and we have no right to have these spirits.”
The objects, the docent explained, were considered sacred to the tribe, “not for the public.”
Although the Association of Art Museum Directors, in its new report on “Acquisition and Stewardship of Sacred Objects,” is notably silent on issues involving removal of objects from view or from the collection, its accompanying press release does acknowledge that there are “works of art that may require special care because of their meaning, significance, and function as sacred objects.”
AAMD gives these specific examples of “special care” already practiced by American museums:
Some sacred objects of the native peoples of the western United States should be stored with sage to ensure their spiritual well-being. Museum conservators faced with the issue that fresh sage could cause conservation problems, such as the introduction of pests. The problem was addressed by placing freeze-dried sage with these objects, thereby meeting both conservation and cultural needs.
In some indigenous cultures, special ceremonies should be conducted or offerings made for sacred objects. Museums have worked with native peoples to make arrangements for such rituals, balancing religious practices with a museum’s obligation for the conservation of its collections.
Other solutions include storing objects such as sacred stone lamps of the Alutiiq people upside down, to keep their spirits from departing, or not housing certain sacred objects in proximity to other works.
AAMD’s press release provides one last example, involving the Newark Museum in New Jersey (unidentified by AAMD).
In my next post on sacred objects, I’ll discuss Newark’s altered altar, and give my own thoughts on safeguarding the sacred.