Glasgow Museum Moves Mummified Egyptian Head Into Storage
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow, Scotland, has taken a mummified head off display and moved it into storage. The head belonged to an ancient Egyptian man, and the museum says it acted because the man could never have agreed to be shown.
The museum said it removed the head because there was no "informed consent" from the deceased person. Informed consent is permission given knowingly, before something happens. Kelvingrove says that permission was never possible in this case, and ArtNews reported the museum's reasons on 22 October 2026.
In its place, staff put up a short notice. It reads: "We have removed human remains from this display as a mark of respect."
The museum also took three other items off display. They are the remains of a priest, a mummified hand from Luxor, and a mummified foot. Luxor is a city in southern Egypt, home to many ancient tombs and temples.
The move drew fast criticism. Murdo Fraser, a former deputy leader of the Scottish Conservatives and a current Member of the Scottish Parliament, called the removal a sign of "woke madness," according to the same ArtNews report.
The debate about how museums show human remains is not new in Scotland. In 2023, National Museums of Scotland, the country's national museum group, said it avoids the word "mummy." It prefers "mummified person" and "mummified remains," arguing that the older word treats people as objects. That choice was made for the same broad reason Kelvingrove now gives: the people whose bodies are on show were once alive, with their own names and lives.
Similar questions have come up abroad this year. In September, the BBC reported that the mummified body of an ancient Egyptian woman had been removed from a museum exhibition after more than 200 years on show. BBC News
Glasgow has its own history to consider. Glasgow Life, the charity that runs the city's museums, says wealth from slavery helped shape the city's growth and its institutions. Its City of Glasgow Slavery Trail, a walking route, sets out that legacy across the city centre.
For visitors, the change is simple to spot. The display case that once held the head now carries the museum's notice, and the object itself is out of public view. Kelvingrove has not said whether or when any of the remains will return to display.
