Frauenfeld exhibition examines objects left by the dead

An exhibition at the Historical Museum Thurgau in Frauenfeld explores how people remember the dead through the objects they leave behind, SRF reports.

Titled “Life and letting go: Traces of being human”, the exhibition brings together 100 objects, from clothes and everyday items to personal keepsakes. Historian Vincent Arnold curated it to prompt questions about how long and why people are remembered.

Museum director Noemi Bearth said objects such as an old walking stick, a worn hat or a soft toy can hold memories. Music can do the same: when Bearth entered her birth year into a jukebox in the exhibition, it played a song by Züri West.

Other exhibits include dentures and mummy powder made from human remains, which is displayed discreetly. Bearth said the powder was sold in Swiss pharmacies as a supposed medical cure until the early 20th century.

The exhibition also explores the tradition of keeping hair. In the 19th century, hair was often passed down and sometimes made into jewellery; in other cases, a cut-off braid was kept in a tin. The interactive displays invite visitors to consider what people leave behind, or choose not to leave.