A recent exhibition at the Museum of Cultural History, Emotions in Antiquity and Ancient Egypt (2020-2024) included items from the Roman provinces of Iudaea and Palestina, from the first to the fourth centuries CE. The majority of these objects are from the Ustinow Collection and in the acquisition inventory from the early 20th century, they are listed as originating in 'Israel/Palestine', in addition to Syria. After the 7th of October 2023, some of the texts in the exhibition that included the word 'Israel' were vandalised. The present paper discusses the relationship between the curating of historical collections from areas that are presently in conflict and university museum exhibitions as arenas for the study of history. Curatorial ethics demand attention to present-day conflicts, and it has often been argued that museums are never neutral. The displaying of two thousand years old artefacts that were made by cultures that no longer exist may, however, seem unproblematic, but is not necessarily so.
At the Museum of Cultural History's Annual Symposium of Classical Archaeology 2024, Marina Prusac-Lindhagen, Keeper of the museum's Classical and Egyptian Collections, will discuss challenges in the displaying of ancient artefacts from Israel/Palestine.