Stewardship of Human Remains

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s mission is to collect, study, conserve, and present significant works of art across time and cultures in order to connect all people to creativity, knowledge, ideas, and one another. The Met has been actively collecting throughout its more than 150-year history, and it is now responsible for the care of some 1.5 million items made over the last 5,000 years. The collection includes an enormous range of works that reflect humanity’s extraordinary creativity—everything from paintings, drawings, sculptures, and photography; to decorative objects like boxes, hair pins, serving dishes; to functional items like instruments, weapons, and clothing. All of these works are in the Museum’s collection because they can teach us about our history and shared humanity.

Among the collection are works that incorporate or house human remains, such as ashes in an ancient Roman urn, relics in medieval European reliquaries, or the hair of deceased individuals worked into pieces of nineteenth century mourning jewelry made in the United States; as well as the mummified bodies of several ancient Egyptian individuals which entered the collection in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Human remains can provide insights into the belief systems, lives, and artistic achievements of individuals and their communities, as well as hold deep significance for people in the present. And while only comprising a very small percentage of the collection, their stewardship requires highly sensitive, nuanced care that is grounded in ethical and moral obligations.

As part of The Met’s approach to its stewardship responsibilities, the Museum formed a cross-departmental working group to draft the Guidelines below. Two fundamental principles in this stewardship are that human remains need to be treated with care, dignity, and respect due to them as once-living individuals and that respect is also owed to the living. The human remains we steward vary greatly, and different considerations must be given for each. While the guidelines are applied across the Museum, details of implementation will be adapted to best meet the specific needs of the human remains, and stewardship will be adjusted in response to cultural affiliation, possible community protocols, and other considerations. Key to this work is, when applicable, outreach to and consultation with the communities from which the human remains originated.

We are continuously evaluating how to best care for the human remains in our collection, and, if it’s appropriate, how to display them and provide information for our visitors in keeping with best practices in a field that is constantly evolving. For visitors who wish not to be in the presence of human remains, a map showing the galleries in which human remains other than hair are present is available upon request at the Information Desk or by writing to info@metmuseum.org.

The Met is deeply committed to ongoing research on best practices and open dialogue about this sensitive aspect of the collection.

Guidelines for the Stewardship of Human Remains

1. Introduction to the Guidelines

These guidelines acknowledge the significance and complexities of human remains in The Met collection. Human remains are the physical remains of once-living people. For the purpose of these guidelines, human remains are understood to include not only mummified remains and human bones, but also the ashes of cremated individuals as well as parts of the body such as teeth, hair, or bodily fluids. Human remains were often modified in the past to form works of personal and cultural significance, for example a lock of hair made into a piece of mourning jewelry or a reliquary that houses the skeletal remains of an ancestor. The Museum collection includes both unmodified and modified remains, such as mummified individuals from ancient Egypt, reliquaries that include remains of a venerated person, and ritual instruments that incorporate human bone. Human remains can provide insights into the belief systems, lives, and artistic achievements of individuals and their communities.

The purpose of this document is to outline how we, as stewards, care for the human remains in the collection, treating them with the dignity and respect due to them as once-living individuals. We acknowledge that these remains can hold deep significance for people in the present. The guidelines focus on human remains but many of the points raised can also apply to works of sacred significance, as well as to images and impressions of human remains. While the guidelines are intended to foster a Museum-wide approach to custodianship of human remains, their care and display will be adapted as necessary according to the unique needs of the human remains. Where applicable, the Museum will consult with communities of origin and/or with communities with continuing cultural or familial affiliation to the relevant remains, referred to together in the following as descendant communities. When appropriate other relevant parties will be consulted as well.

The guiding principles outlined in this document apply not only within the Museum, but also when Met staff engage with human remains outside of the Museum through research, teaching, or archaeological excavation. These guidelines are also applicable to volunteers, visiting scholars, and contractors.

While the guiding principles outlined in this document are applied across the Museum, implementation will vary to meet the specific needs of the human remains. Our care should be adjusted in response to cultural affiliation, possible community protocols, and the physical nature of the human remains.

In addition to these guidelines, the Museum complies with applicable local, state, and federal laws, including, but not limited to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). NAGPRA is a U.S. federal law that applies strictly to Native American works and ancestral remains. However, we acknowledge that many of the ethical principles foundational to NAGPRA are relevant to human remains in general and have informed our approach to caring for human remains and these guidelines.

2. Collections Care and Conservation

As responsible custodians of the human remains in our collection, Museum staff are conscious of the fact that they are interacting with the remains of once-living human beings. Staff working with human remains understand their significance and treat them with sensitivity, dignity, and respect. The special status of human remains is reflected in all aspects of collections care relating to them. When human remains have descendant communities, the Museum, whenever possible, will contact and consult with the descendant communities on collections care and conservation decisions.

Conservation of human remains consists mainly of preventive care solutions. Interventive conservation treatment will be carried out only when absolutely necessary to ensure preservation. If conservation treatment is required, Museum staff will strive for minimal intervention and for reversibility, recognizing that no interventive treatment is completely reversible. Care will also be taken to avoid conservation treatments that compromise future scientific analysis. Museum staff will thoroughly document all conservation treatment.

Across the Museum, any area containing human remains shall be maintained according to collections care best practices, including appropriate light levels, temperature, and humidity regulation, ongoing monitoring, the use of archival storage materials, custom storage/display systems, and proper security.

3. Research and Scientific Analysis

The scientific analysis of human remains is one method of addressing questions about the deceased individual and their cultural context. Curatorial departments, in conjunction with the relevant conservation department and Scientific Research, will consider analysis, whether carried out with non-destructive methods such as x-radiography or through minimally invasive sampling, only after assessment of possible sensitivities and, when applicable, consultation with descendant communities.

The Museum will consider scientific analysis when its results contribute significant knowledge about the individuals and/or associated cultures that cannot be attained by any other means.

Any scientific analysis will be undertaken to the highest standards by qualified professionals with a thoroughly vetted research program and analytical protocols. The Met will keep records that document the justification for the research, analytical and sampling locations, raw data, and processed results.

4. Access

All information about human remains and access to those remains will be carefully reviewed and documented by the Museum. When human remains have descendant communities, the Museum will contact and consult with such individuals and/or communities whenever possible to establish appropriate access to those human remains and associated information. The Museum will post basic information about human remains in its collection, including any known cultural affiliation, and provenance on the Museum website.

To request access, contact the relevant curatorial department (which is indicated on the Museum website). The Museum will review all requests and may require additional information, including consent from descendant communities.

When the Museum grants access to outside researchers, we require that researchers conduct themselves in a way that is respectful of the sensitive nature of this material, in keeping with the guidelines outlined in this document.

5. Display

The Museum displays human remains after careful consideration of the ethical and cultural sensitivities of such displays and in accordance with its overlapping missions of public engagement, teaching, research, and preservation. The Museum strives to display human remains in a manner that is respectful to the deceased as well as to everyone who visits and works in the Museum. Such displays are presented in a manner consistent with professional standards and accompanied by explanatory and contextual information. Where possible, the Museum will consult with descendant communities to determine if a display is culturally appropriate and respectful. The Museum will adapt older displays to fit these guidelines and regularly review the displays to determine if they remain appropriate. For visitors who wish not to be in the presence of human remains, a map showing the galleries in which human remains other than hair are present is available upon request at the Information Desk or by writing to info@metmuseum.org.

6. Loans

The Museum may occasionally agree to loan artworks that include human remains (such as a medieval reliquary). In limited circumstances, the Museum may also borrow such artworks. When the Museum reviews loan requests, it follows the display guidelines outlined in this document as part of the approval process (see “Display” above). Loans are expected to comply with the Museum’s guidelines, as described in this document. Where applicable, the Museum will consult with descendant communities.

7. Acquisitions

The Museum may consider the acquisition of works of art containing human remains on rare occasions, and any acquisition must follow The Met’s Collections Management Policy. In accordance with the policy, the Museum is committed to the principle that all collecting be done according to the highest standards of ethical practice. As described in this policy, the Museum will rigorously research the provenance of any such acquisition and will comply with applicable laws. Where applicable, the Museum will consult with descendant communities.

8. Deaccessions and Repatriation

The Museum considers deaccessioning works of art on a case-by-case basis, in line with The Met’s Collections Management Policy. The Museum may initiate the deaccessioning of human remains as a result of its continuing research. The Museum will evaluate requests for return of human remains when made by descendant communities, national governments or agencies, or entities with continuity with the remains in question. The Museum will evaluate such requests in accordance with applicable laws and in an equitable, appropriate, and mutually agreeable manner. Where applicable, the Museum will consult with descendant communities.

The Museum continually reviews and evaluates these guidelines and may revise from time to time consistent with best practices.

As of: April 22, 2025