Birmingham Museum is unusual for a regional museum in having a major collection of European folk art. This donkey harness from Italy was presented to us by Estella Canziani (1887-1964) in the 1930s, ...

Pulling burdens some four times their body weight, they have ill-made harnesses that rub with every step, causing seeping wounds to fester. Many collapse in agony and never get back up. The rest face ...