ABSTRACT
Many cultures attribute personality and great power to made objects—and not just statues and icons. Powerful objects are sometimes put into museums to keep them from causing harm. But even in museums, objects can be scary, and museum staff in many cultures have been known to be afraid of them. Powerful objects in museums can also include holy relics; again, museums merge with shrines. A museum can be a display case or a shrine, but a museum can also be a safe, in which to lock up dangerous objects. 'The objects were alive with spiritual power that needed to be controlled. Objects are given to museums by nervous owners. Often they are apparently quite mundane objects, but their owners feel they are bringing bad luck. A very different type of powerful object that occasionally ends up in a museum is the Holy Relic.
