The Slow Death of the Diorama: Tribal and Ethnographic Museums in India since Independence

During colonial times, dioramas were commonly used to portray the diverse peoples of India. They depicted essentialised human types through plaster models in rural settings, engaged in typical activities, and dated back to the exhibition of human beings in universal expositions held in Calcutta, Del...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSouth Asia Vol. 47; no. 1; pp. 181 - 205
Main Authors Bates, Crispin, Ikegame, Aya
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 02.01.2024
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Adivasi
Artists
Colonialism
decolonisation
diorama
ethnographic
Ethnographic museums
India
museology
Museums
Stereotypes
tribal
India
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Summary:During colonial times, dioramas were commonly used to portray the diverse peoples of India. They depicted essentialised human types through plaster models in rural settings, engaged in typical activities, and dated back to the exhibition of human beings in universal expositions held in Calcutta, Delhi and London. Since Independence, there have been determined efforts to move away from colonial stereotypes and to decolonise government-funded museums in India. Meanwhile, Adivasi artists are finding their own way out of the curatorial confines of the museum. This paper describes how Indian museology still struggles to exorcise the ghosts of the Victorian museum and India's own internal colonialism.
ISSN:0085-6401
1479-0270
DOI:10.1080/00856401.2024.2314424