Read on Twitter
"These statues have nothing whatsoever to do with Black Lives Matter.” 'Nothing'? The craze for Egyptian aesthetics of the late 19th century (onwards) was part of the colonizing projects of a number of European countries who competed to raid and steal Egyptian antiquities. https://twitter.com/donalhassett1/status/1288491780871200773
The arts were significant in othering and"orientalism" of Egypt and the Levant inc the depiction of enslaved women: 'Beyond their implicit eroticism, harem scenes evoked a sense of cultivated beauty and pampered isolation to which many Westerners aspired. https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/euor/hd_euor.htm
European colonialisation takes different forms and in places like Egypt, archaeology and decorative arts were used to maintain stereotypes of the culture that justified its exploitation, acquisition of its ancient materials, and its knowledge https://www.e-ir.info/2017/06/16/informal-colonialism-of-egyptology-the-french-expedition-to-the-security-state/
Colonialisation has enduring impacts, inc the reinforcing of divisions between contemporary Egyptians and Ancient Egyptianl heritage, which has lead antiquities being under threat (the subject of research of @WesamMohamed_ at @AU_Archaeology) https://cas.au.dk/en/currently/news/singlenews/artikel/wesam-mohamed-new-phd-at-the-department-of-archeaology-and-heritage-studies/
Lastly, to directly contradict the claim that Nubian slave statues have 'nothing' to do with BLM, there is a strong connection between social justice campaigns, such as #BLM, and decolonizing generally but especially with reference to Egypt. https://www.sapiens.org/culture/hotep/
