Ethnographic museums and Intangible Cultural Heritage return to our roots

Ethnographic museums in the Western world are rooted in the 16th and 17th century history of cabinets of curiosity as well as the 18th and 19th century industrial fairs. As the tangible collections were transformed from displays of the exotic to different types of didactic exhibits, they were reunited with aspects of intangible heritage to tell more complete stories. In this paper, the history and impetus of European ethnographic museums is traced and several components which have influenced their relationship with intangible heritage are discussed.