A word count comparision of the words Exotic, Primitive and Oriental across departments on the Metropolitan Museum of Art website.

Museums around the world are grappling with their colonialist and imperialist history. For various reasons, the repatriation of artifacts/objects to their culture of origin may not always be possible so, to what degree should institutions consider other methods of acknowledgment? For example, the language it uses to describe objects in its catalog.

Should institutions address this history? Where does one draw the line of acceptability vs. accountability?

Occurrences of the word Primitive