Finding collections relating to d/Deaf, disabled and neurodiverse people

One of the aims of our project is to make collections relating to d/Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people more visible – and to share some of the objects our Fellows and Trainees are discovering.

Some will have quite obvious connections to disabled people’s lives – a walking stick, some braille or images of disabled people. But we will also be exploring less obvious connections too. Sometimes the significance of an object is its owner; its part in a bigger story, or the way someone with lived experience of disability has responded to it. In this way we hope to broaden the ways that d/Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent stories are told.

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SHABTI FIGURINE (Figure)

 

1884.57.11

This shabti is one of thousands excavated from tombs across ancient Egypt, becoming one of the most commonly collected items within museums today. This object was displayed in the co-curated gallery trail "Nothing Without Us: Experiences of Disability" at the Pitt Rivers Museum, curated by Kyle Lewis Jordan, running from 16th November 2023 - 6th...

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Rights information: Copyright: Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford

Description

This shabti is one of thousands excavated from tombs across ancient Egypt, becoming one of the most commonly collected items within museums today. This object was displayed in the co-curated gallery trail "Nothing Without Us: Experiences of Disability" at the Pitt Rivers Museum, curated by Kyle Lewis Jordan, running from 16th November 2023 - 6th October 2024.

Community curation: Ancient Egyptians were expected to work, even in the Afterlife. As a disabled person who can't work, I am aware of how work is used to give meaning to people. Shabtis were included in Egyptian burials to do their work for them. They were an expression of care and ensured the dead person was able to contribute even if too old, tired or disabled to work.

The Egyptians believed that the deceased could bring them to life by speaking the prayer inscribed on their bodies. - Rachel C, in need of a Shabti!

Meet our Fellows and Trainees

The Curating for Change project is running eight Fellowships over 18 months and eight Traineeships over 40 days based across 20 partner museums. Learn more about our Fellows and Trainees here.

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