Objects and Empire: Museums and the Politics of Ownership

by Tristram Hunt

Confronts the V&A’s imperial past through 12 powerful object histories that illuminate the urgent ethical challenges of restitution and decolonization todayThe history of the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) is intimately connected to the story of British imperialism. From its founding moment at the 1851 Great Exhibition―with its celebratory display of colonial treasures―to its position as a repository for the loot and booty, as well as gift and purchases, of various military and scientific expeditions, the galleries of South Kensington necessarily reflect the long history of British expansion abroad. Today, the museum is leading the conversation in the UK surrounding the question of restitution and repatriation of contested heritage.In Objects and Empire, V&A director Tristram Hunt brings together 12 stories from the history of the museum to illustrate the complexities of the V&A’s current work, and the context in which it should be seen. Drawing on well-known treasures from the V&A’s collection, from Tipu’s Tiger to the Agra Colonnade, the book tackles some of the most pressing and topical issues in contemporary museum ethics, asking what responsibilities museums bear as they confront the moral demand to decolonise their collections.

256 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication February 16, 2027

About the author

Tristram Hunt is the author of Marx’s General: The Revolutionary Life of Friedrich Engels and Building Jerusalem: The Rise and Fall of the Victorian City. One of Britain’s leading young historians, he writes regularly for The Guardian, The Observer, and The Times, and has broadcast numerous series for the BBC. A lecturer in history at the University of London, Hunt represents Stoke-on-Trent in the British Parliament, where he serves as the education spokesman for the Labour Party.