In the final episode of Stuff the British Stole’s second season, Marc Fennell looks at a mystery surrounding a sphinx exhibit in the British Museum. This sphinx, while resembling those from Egypt, originates from a different part of the world entirely—Haida Gwaii, a remote and stunning archipelago off Canada’s west coast.
Carved by the Haida Indigenous people, its presence in the museum raises questions: How and why did they create such a perfect replica of an Egyptian sphinx?
As Fennell explores, a tiny detail on the sculpture offers a clue, leading him on a journey across continents. He visits the iconic Sphinx in Egypt, traverses the epic windswept landscapes of Haida Gwaii, and returns to London, looking into the heart of the British Empire.
Along the way, he discovers the impact of smallpox on the Haida community, with many villages abandoned by the late 1870s due to the disease. It is in one of these empty villages that the British Museum claims the sphinx was discovered.
Stuff the British Stole, Season 2, Episode 8 airs Monday, 5 August 2024, at 8.00 pm on ABC.
