Glasgow museum gets a request to send the priest Nekht's mummy back to Egypt
Glasgow Life says it received the request in the last few days for the remains, which came from Beni Hasan and were given to the city in 1923.
The mummified remains of Nekht, an ancient Egyptian priest kept in Glasgow for more than a century, could be heading home. Glasgow Life, which runs the city's museums, confirmed on 2 November that it had received a request "in the last few days" to repatriate his remains to Egypt, Egyptian Streets reported. According to the Sunday Post, the request came from Egyptian authorities.
Nekht is believed to have lived between about 1985 and 1797 BC. He was excavated at Beni Hasan, in Middle Egypt, in the early 20th century and donated to Glasgow in 1923. For decades he lay in a painted coffin in the Egyptian gallery of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, one of Scotland's most visited museums.
The request follows a change at Kelvingrove itself. Nekht was recently taken off display, together with a mummified male head, right foot and right hand recovered from the Valley of the Kings in Luxor. Glasgow Life said that showing human remains without documented, informed consent is no longer considered respectful, and its draft policy would only allow remains on public display with such consent. The International Council of Museums also revised its code of ethics this year to say museums should uphold the dignity of human remains.
The decision is not quick. Under Glasgow Life's collections policy, each request is weighed on its own merits. It goes first to the council's Working Group for Repatriation, Restitution and Spoliation, then to the City Administration Committee or another committee for a final decision, because Glasgow City Council owns the collections and Glasgow Life manages them. "Glasgow has a well-established process for repatriation requests," the organisation said.
No timetable has been given. Until a decision is made, remains taken off display at Kelvingrove go into storage with restricted access, so they cannot be seen by visitors in Glasgow. If the request is approved, it will be up to Egypt's antiquities authorities to say where Nekht would be kept or shown.