Congo in the MAS
The origin of the Congolese collection in the MAS dates back about a hundred years. In 1920, the Museum Vleeshuis (Butcher’s Hall), one of the predecessors of the MAS, bought part of the collection of Henri Pareyn (1869-1928) [Fig. 1]. This art dealer, based in Antwerp, was one of the first collectors of Congolese cultural objects. After lengthy negotiations, he sold 1,600 objects from his collection to the city for 43,000 Belgian francs.
In the same year, the collection was expanded with a donation of some sixty Congolese cultural objects by Minister of Colonies Louis Franck (1868-1937) [Fig. 2]. This liberal politician and lawyer from Antwerp had come into possession of the objects during an inspection trip in the colony for which he had held political responsibility since 1918.
The creation of this Congolese collection is therefore closely linked to the role of Antwerp as the primary European port for colonial goods from Congo. Right from the establishment of the Independent Congo State in 1885, the urban elite played a major role in the military conquest of the Congo Basin, the expansion of the colonial economy and for religious missions. In 1885, 1894 and 1930, the city of Antwerp was the backdrop of a World’s Fair, each time with an extensive colonial section and twice a “human zoo”.
In order to expand the collection of cultural objects from the colony, the keepers of the Museum Vleeshuis maintained close ties with Antwerp traders (including art dealers), colonial officials, merchants and entrepreneurs. The Congolese collection was first shown to the public in the attics of the Museum Vleeshuis [Fig. 3].
Due to an active acquisition policy, the Congolese collection, including a number of world-renowned art objects, would grow further in the years and decades to come. In 1952, together with objects from other parts of the world, they were housed in a separate city museum: the Ethnographic Museum. They have been part of the MAS “World” collection since 2007.
[Fig. 1] Henri Pareyn, pioneer collector and dealer in Central African art. Collection city of Antwerp, MAS
In 1920, Henri Pareyn sold part of his collection to the Museum Vleeshuis in Antwerp. This laid the foundation for the Congolese MAS collection. Traces of how the objects came into his possession are missing from the MAS archive. He left no names of the persons from which he acquired the cultural objects.
[Fig. 2] Louis Franck on his way through the Belgian Congo in 1920.
Photographer: colonel Albert Paulis, 1920.
Upon returning home, he donated the Congolese objects he had obtained to the city of Antwerp without any relevant origin data.
[Fig. 3] The Congolese department on the attic floor of the Museum Vleeshuis with a panoply of weapons, shields and Mbole statues.
MAS collection, AE. 2009.0152.0007.
Provenance research from a Belgo-Congolese perspective
While the names of the “donors” and “sellers” of the Congolese cultural objects are well documented, we know much less about how they in turn got hold of them. Were they legally acquired or is the MAS in possession of looted art? Under which circumstances did the objects disappear from the hands of the Congolese owners? And which Congolese artists made them? There are numerous questions, which are being asked increasingly in recent years, both by origin communities and within the museum field.
With the project “Congolese heritage in the MAS. Provenance research from a Belgo-Congolese perspective (2022-2023)”, the MAS is looking for relevant information to formulate an answer to these questions. It is being carried out with the cooperation of partner organisations FARO, the Royal Museum for Central Africa (Tervuren) and KADOC (Leuven).
A newly recruited project coordinator, Bram Cleys, will be responsible for the realisation together with Curator Africa Els De Palmenaer and the Congolese project leader Donatien Dibwe dia Mwembu. They will examine the provenance history of a number of Congolese cultural objects more closely and better map out the Antwerp network of donors and art dealers. Dr. Donatien Dibwe dia Mwembu is coordinator of the Observatoire du Changement Urbainde Lubumbashi and emeritus professor at the Université de Lubumbashi. He is involved in the project to coordinate the Congolese part of the study and as an expert in oral history.
A team of Congolese researchers has been on the road since February 2023 [Fig. 4] to map out how selected objects and their disappearance from Congo are remembered. We compare oral testimonies from Congolese informants with information that we retrieve from the archives of the MAS, colonial archives or archives of mission institutes. Through this combined methodology, we hope to create breakthroughs in the provenance histories of these cultural objects. The project also aims to be a test to study whether this way of working can develop into a model for future provenance studies, inside or outside the museum.
The MAS research project is co-financed by the Department of Culture of the Flemish Community and is an offshoot of the provenance study that started up within the framework of the temporary exhibition “100xCongo. A Century of Congolese Art in Antwerp” (2020-2021).
[Fig. 4] Researcher Dieudonné Kabuetele collected testimonies in Indanga and Yenga. Here he is on the way back in Kabeya Kamwanga (province of East Kasaï, DRC). February 2023.
Belgian framework
On 30 June 2022, the Belgian “Law on the return of cultural objects acquired in a colonial context” was approved by the Chamber of Representatives. The draft legislation allows disputed objects in federal museum institutions, which have been found to have been acquired “unlawfully”, to be removed from the Belgian public domain and returned. At the international level, Belgium has taken a very important step with this, although the legislation has some limitations. Firstly, the current geographic focus has been delineated to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Rwanda and only applies to the so-called “colonial” collections in the federal institutions. Moreover, it does not include a clear legal framework for the numerous human remains that require the most urgent attention from an ethical point of view.
In Belgium, the PROCHE provenance study of the collection of the federally competent AfricaMuseum Tervuren is currently taking centre stage. Among other things because of the size (more than 85,000 objects) of this Central Africa collection and its national and international reputation.
Flemish support
But also outside the AfricaMuseum, sensitive Congolese objects are kept in Flanders, such as in the MAS, the GUM and houses of religious congregations. A provenance study is one of the priorities in the policy paper of Minister of Culture Jan Jambon, as a result of which the MAS was able to count on financial support for the above-mentioned project. This allows the MAS to connect with the numerous European and American museums that approach provenance studies as a way of helping to restore the injustices of the colonial past. The pilot project initially applies to the Congolese MAS collection because of Belgium’s colonial history and links with the current Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa).
The MAS collection “World” also includes sensitive cultural heritage from other former European colonies, such as from the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). This collection from the Indonesian archipelago came into the hands of the Swiss Hans Christoffel (1865-1962) in a violent way around 1900. He was a captain at the KNIL (Royal Netherlands East Indies Army) in the former Dutch East Indies. A provenance study on this Indonesian collection has started.
Inspiring example at world level
Digital Benin project
The return of colonial looted art has long been the subject of debate in former colonised African countries too, including Nigeria and the Republic of Benin (formerly Dahomey). That has already led to some official African requests and the return of cultural objects acquired in a violent context.
Worthy of mention is the Digital Benin Project, realised by Nigeria and Germany in which the MARKK (Museum am Rothenbaum. Kulturen und Künste der Welt, Hamburg) played a pioneering role in collaboration with Nigerian and various other partners worldwide. It targets all royal objects that were raided by British military forces in February 1897 from the looted palace of the Oba (ruler) of the Kingdom of Benin (now Edo State, Nigeria) and dispersed in the immediate aftermath.
The platform combines oral histories, object research, an Edo language catalogue, and images and maps of the kingdom of Benin in an innovative way. The extensive database unlocks some 5,246 objects in 131 institutions in twenty countries, including the MAS Antwerp. The Digital Benin Project is an important ethical step towards creating more equilibrium in the imbalance of limited access to African art and heritage preserved in Europe.
The database also includes a small number of objects that do not belong to the Benin art objects that were stolen in 1897, such as the ivory Edo-African salt cellar from the MAS [fig. 5]. Such highly decorated containers were produced by Edo ivory carvers on behalf of the Portuguese and subsequently ended up in the art cabinets of the European elite and royal houses. These Edo-Portuguese ivory carvings, also included in the database, thus reflect a broader context of the rich artistic production of the ivory carving guilds that were working at the Court of the Oba of Benin in the 16th century and were already distributed to Europe at an early stage.
[Fig. 5] Ivory Afro-Portuguese table ornament for salt and pepper.
Edo, Kingdom of Benin (Nigeria), ca. 1520
MAS Antwerp (AE.1974.0025.0001), donation by Margriet Olbrechts-Maurissens, 1974
Meer weten?
- About the temporary MAS exhibition “100 x Congo” (2020-2021): https://mas.be/en/content/100-x-congo
- About the Nigerian-German project: https://digitalbenin.org
- About the Restitution Belgium working group: https://restitutionbelgium.be
- About the Belgian legislation: https://dermine.belgium.be/nl/restitutie-het-voorstel-van-thomas-dermine
Do you have any questions about the Congo MAS provenance study project or would you like to respond?
Send an email to mas@antwerpen.be
