‘Male-only’ mask was not removed from display, says Pitt Rivers Museum

The Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford has refuted claims in the press this week that it removed a Nigerian Igbo mask from display due to a cultural taboo on showing it to women.

The Telegraph reported that the University of Oxford museum had removed the mask from public display and put a note on its website saying that, although photographs of the object are available, the museum is “unable to show the media publicly”.

The newspaper said the ceremonial mask was traditionally used in secret male-only ceremonies and not intended to be seen by women. The museum was criticised in the article by art critic Ruth Miller, who said that “to deny all women, of all cultures, sight of something because that is a taboo in one particular culture seems an extreme stance”.

The Pitt Rivers Museum says that the Telegraph article, which was subsequently covered by a number of other outlets, contained a number of inaccuracies.

The museum said the mask in question is in storage and there is no record of it ever having been put on public display; that no digital assets are withheld from view by women; and that no one had ever been denied access to it.

The museum also hit back at claims that it is working with groups to ensure that objects are “selectively displayed”, as reported in the article, saying: “We are working with groups to allow them to decide how their own cultures are represented.”

Pitt Rivers director Laura van Broekhoven said: “This is a non-story. The Igbo mask has not been removed from display, as it was never on display and no one has ever been denied access to it.

“The museum’s online collections now carry a cultural context message, which allows users, especially those from different cultures around the world, to actively choose which items they wish to see, and which to remain blurred from view.

“Only around 3,000 of our object records carry such a warning, so less than 1% of the overall collection. No digital assets are withheld from view from women.”

The controversy emerged following the introduction of optional “cultural warnings” on the museum’s website. These were brought in after the museum updated its policy and procedures on culturally sensitive, explicit or harmful content in its databases and online collections.

Anyone browsing the museum’s online database can now choose to receive cultural advice notices before viewing materials that “may be considered culturally sensitive”. Users can opt out of receiving the warnings.

A spokesperson for the museum told Museums Journal: “The Pitt Rivers Museum's online collections, launched in summer 2023, now offer users the option to see cultural warnings about material in the collections, or not to see any warnings at all.

“These preferences are stored using cookies for the whole browser session. This approach has been used for some years in Australia and is considered best practice when dealing with sensitive ethnographic collections.

“The approach does not impede the online access for anyone who does not wish to see warnings, but does offer a more culturally safe environment for our many Indigenous community partners who do not wish to stumble on upsetting or culturally restricted items without first being told what to expect.

“We consider this approach to be a more respectful and inclusive approach to collections access online, whilst maintaining our reputation for unrivalled deep research access to our entire collection and its historical documentation.”