Many people in the local area have fond memories of viewing Tsantsa (the shrunken head) as a child. In fact, the question we get asked most is ‘where is it and why is it not on display?’

In this talk, we invite you to share your memories of our shrunken head, before we explore the reasons it isn’t on display. You’ll learn the history of our particular item from our Collections Curator Gina, and hear from expert Nicholas Crowe, as they outline the history of tsantsa, how they were produced and current thinking around displaying these items. 

Nicholas Crowe is the Culturally Sensitive Collections Lead at Wellcome Collection, London. He is responsible for assisting in the development of policy frameworks for restitution and repatriation, including human remains. Acting as a source of expertise in relation to the management of culturally sensitive collections, Nicholas’ role contributes to improving Wellcome’s ability to develop, manage, describe, and interpret collections with complex and multi-layered contexts and histories. Prior to this role, Nicholas was Assistant Curator at the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford. 

Note – The shrunken head will not be in display as part of this talk.