Ordination of Curators? Piprahwa and the Recurrent Challenges for Museology
Friday 7 November 2025, 12pm
Pitt Rivers Museum Lecture Theatre (entry via Robinson Close)
Naman Ahuja (Jawaharlal Nehru University)
The recent attempt to sell the relics of the Buddha excavated from the ancient stupa at Piprahwa raised several questions at the heart of which is how Indian and international imperatives around sacred remains have changed since their discovery. In this illustrated lecture, Prof. Ahuja will explain how relics are defined in Buddhism, the ethical issues they raise, their role in geopolitics, changes in the law, and how these shifts impact museology.
Pitt Rivers Museum Research Seminar in Visual, Material and Museum Anthropology, Michaelmas Term 2025
Fridays, 12pm-1.30pm (Weeks 1-8)
In person at the Pitt Rivers Museum Lecture Theatre (entry via Robinson Close).
