Decolonizing the Narrative: Egyptian Antiquities Between Western Display and Local Voice | ||
| مجلَّة إبداع في الآداب والدراسات الإنسانيّة والاجتماعيّة | ||
| Volume 2, Issue 1.2, October 2025, Pages 106-122 PDF (969.79 K) | ||
| Document Type: المقالة الأصلية | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/ebdaa.2025.437318.1079 | ||
| Authors | ||
| د. حسام محمد عبد الفتاح هلال حجازي* 1; د.تامر أحمد اسماعيل2 | ||
| 1وزارة السياحة والآثار المصرية/ دكتوراه في علم المصريات | ||
| 2دكتوراة الذكاء الاصطناعى/ باحث في علم المصريات | ||
| Abstract | ||
| This research investigates how colonial legacies continue to influence the interpretation, collection, and display of ancient Egyptian antiquities in Western museums. Despite the growing global emphasis on restitution and decolonization, curatorial practices frequently remain constrained by Eurocentric frameworks that prioritize Western discovery, ownership, and aesthetic appreciation over the Egyptian cultural, historical, and spiritual contexts from which these artifacts originate. Through a comparative examination of institutions such as the British Museum, the Louvre, and the Neues Museum, this paper analyzes how narratives of so-called “universal heritage” have been constructed to justify the retention and recontextualization of Egyptian antiquities, often obscuring their authentic meaning and Egyptian identity. Drawing on the author’s professional field experience as an antiquities inspector in Egypt’s Central Delta—particularly at Behbeit el-Hagar and Tell el-Rubʿa—the study also sheds light on the disconnection between international museological discourse and the lived realities of local heritage preservation in Egypt. By combining theoretical perspectives from decolonial and postcolonial scholarship with empirical field observations, the paper argues for a rebalanced epistemology of heritage that re-centers Egyptian voices and acknowledges indigenous interpretations of cultural patrimony. Ultimately, the research advocates for digital restitution, equitable collaboration, and shared stewardship between global museums and Egyptian institutions. It calls for the transformation of museum narratives from static repositories of colonial memory into dynamic platforms of cultural dialogue, justice, and mutual respect that restore the dignity and agency of Egypt’s ancient and modern heritage alike. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Decolonization; Egyptology; Museum Representation; Behbeit el-Hagar; Local Heritage | ||
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