In this fascinating study of Northwest Coast art, Jonathan Meuli has not only outlined a history of ideas associated with Northwest Coast art objects from pre-Contact time to the present day, but has also examined the ways in which the physical location and contexts in which the objects are produced has helped to determine their meanings. Locating his linear historical narrative within a wider exploration of ethnographic art ideas, which emphasizes links across cultures, Meuli examines the differing attitudes towards Northwest Coast material culture, particularly as these are embodied in oral mythic narratives, collection methods and architectural constructions.

For the past two centuries and more, the West has acquired the treasures of antiquity to fill its museums, so that visitors to the British Museum in London, the Louvre in Paris and the Metropolitan in New York - to name but a few - can wonder at the ingenuity of humanity throughout the ages. However, in the opinion of most people, many of these items are looted property and should be returned immediately. In 'Keeping Their Marbles', Tiffany Jenkins tells the intriguing and sometimes bloody story of how the West came to acquire these treasures. Originally published: 2016.