Yesterday we visited the Princeton Art Museum, an eclectic collection of items donated by alums. And what alums they are! I missed the part of life in which one finds oneself the owner of a bust from the Roman Empire or an anthropoid coffin from ancient Egypt, complete with mummy. Were those items bought, found, officially “discovered,” wrested way, stolen, packed and moved by their former owners who later became servants on one’s estate?

However acquired, all of them reached the day when someone said, I’m tired of dusting that 15th century Madonna and Child, do you think Princeton would take it? Or perhaps more likely, when the reading of the will revealed that all the art and artifacts were off to the museum.

In any case, although clearly not a curated collection, the items are pleasingly presented by the museum, including a lot of helpful explanations that bring them to life. Generously, Princeton allows the public to view the nearly 100,000 objects seven days a week for nothing more than an opportunity to donate a few dollars. It was a pleasant way to spend a sunny but cold afternoon.

The collecting of art and artifacts from everywhere strikes me as a byproduct of the age of colonization, an activity I associate with Europeans and, later, Americans during the 18th through 20th centuries. Just as learned folks from those countries hied to “preserve” the last of any species by shooting them, they plucked the treasures of any continent proudly, for the enjoyment of the home team.

I wonder if museums, large or small, in Teheran or Tianjin or Quito contain art and artifacts from all over the world, and if so, acquired them by fiat or finance, though even purchasing art and artifacts has a frisson of force. I guess what it comes down to is, I wonder how odd my world is. Would people from less powerful countries gape to find their treasures in a relatively minor museum? Would they be outraged, saddened, impressed? Or are there enough antiquities for every town to have some?

In the US we often hear how our wealth accumulation, societal stratification, and employment opportunities are still shaped by centuries of slavery and racism. It seems possible that the colonial era plays a role as well. Modern folks may think of history as past, yet we are immersed in it. For some of us, trapped would be a better word.