ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the presence of colonial-era items in the contemporary homes of former officials to open a window onto the deep-rooted affective, material, and intimate entanglements that inform an ongoing process of cultural decolonisation in Britain. It focuses on three interviewees who had intentionally turned rooms in their homes into curated displays of objects brought back from empire. Recent public controversies surrounding the material legacies of empire remind us of the central place objects and the built environment occupy in public battles over the memory of empire. Objects are often used to order an individual’s relationship with the passing of time, albeit in profoundly different ways. Appreciating the deeper meanings associated with these material markers of memory required seeing them in situ in our participants’ homes.
