For years now, the unofficial mascot of Forest Hill in Southeast London has been an overstuffed Victorian walrus. Housed in the area’s Horniman Museum and Gardens, the exhibit was a 19th century taxidermist’s attempt to preserve an animal he had never seen in real life. Little did he suspect that his endearing blunder would become a local icon.
Much like its chonk of a walrus, now taking a well-earned renovation break, the Horniman Museum is stuffed full of character. Featuring a unique Arts and Crafts style frontage, and extensive, beautifully curated gardens, it is a community hub and cultural centre as much as a museum, with events and displays that are by turns eccentric, challenging, and diverse.
Founded in 1901 by Frederick John Horniman, heir to the world’s biggest tea traders, the museum houses an aquarium and butterfly house together with a vast collection of objects covering natural history, musical instruments, and anthropology – the latter comprising roughly 80,000 artefacts and regarded as one of the most significant collections in the country.
Around 3000 of these artefacts are on display in the museum’s World Gallery, which is modern, colourful and dynamically curated, with child friendly elements and significant contributions from contemporary artists, musicians, photographers, and artisans.
Arranged by continent, the gallery explores how peoples understand and engage with the many seen and unseen worlds around them. From the sacred and ritualistic to the artistic, social, or purely functional, the exhibits cover most aspects of life and death.
Some of the most fascinating are those serving to mediate with the spirit world. Highlights include a ‘scare devil’ from the Nicobar Islands and a display of amulets used to protect against the spirits of Niger’s lonely deserts (known as the Kel Esuf or ‘people of the void’). You can find several ritual Nkisi (‘sacred medicine’) figures from DRC, bristling with the nails used to effect healing, protection, or repel enemies. And there is a wonderful display of healing and protective charms from across England, including such amulets as a sheep’s heart stuck with nails to protect livestock, and a ‘hagstone’ for keeping witches away.
Many of the artefacts on display have associated beliefs and folklore, although you’ll sometimes need to go online to find them explained. One such object is the ‘fake merman’ from 19th century Japan – a startling example of an ningyo (a terrifying mermaid-like creature from ancient Japanese folklore). Similar creations, some even older, can be still found in several shrines and temples in Japan.
Even if the detail on individual objects isn’t always present offline, the continental displays nevertheless come with insightful, accessible explainers of the historical and cultural contexts, often with a critical lens on colonialism and how the peoples in question were impacted by contact with European settlers. Crucially, the museum also turns this lens on itself to scrutinise the history of its own collections and challenge the role of museums in the modern world.
Because the bottom line is that many of the UK’s most beloved institutions house artefacts acquired through colonialism - frequently outright theft. And the Horniman is no exception. Until recently, the anthropological collection claimed 72 objects looted from Benin City by the British army in 1897 - including 12 Benin Bronzes; but following a request from the Nigerian Government in 2022, the museum swiftly concluded that ‘it is both moral and appropriate to return their ownership to Nigeria.’ Some of these astonishing works remain on loan and can still be seen in the gallery.
These conversations need to be had, and the Horniman has shown a willingness to engage that its larger and wealthier counterparts would do well to follow. This integrity is no doubt one of the reasons why the museum and its wrinkle-free walrus remain so beloved to the residents of Forest Hill. It’s also how a soon-to-be 125-year-old institution can stay relevant in the modern world – not just by preserving and celebrating the past, but by applying a critical lens to it.
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Tom is a writer, photographer, and human rights professional based in South East London. His interests include archaeology, mythology, folklore, and world cultures. He can be found on LinkedIn and Twitter @ScribblerTom.