Belgium's royal museum for central Africa embarks on journey of restitution

Belgium’s foremost museum dedicated to Africa, the Royal Museum for Central Africa, has initiated a comprehensive examination of its vast collection’s origins.

The exploration serves as a crucial first step towards potential restitution, particularly for items acquired through violent means during colonial times.

Bart Ouvry, the museum’s director, expressed the institution’s commitment to understanding the provenance of its 80,000 objects, including sculptures, masks, utensils, and musical instruments from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

An inventory of these items was previously handed over to Kinshasa authorities two years ago.

Belgium’s proactive stance on restitution aligns with a law adopted in 2022, outlining the process of returning works despoiled between 1885 and 1960, when Belgium held sway over the DRC.

Thomas Dermine, the Belgian minister overseeing the matter, highlighted the establishment of a joint committee comprising Belgian and DRC experts to differentiate legitimately acquired objects from those obtained through illegitimate means.

To mark this pivotal process, the museum inaugurated the “ReThinking Collections” exhibition, featuring a statue once owned by Congolese chief Ne Kuko of Boma.

Presented as “A Symbol of Stolen Art,” the Nkisi Nkonde Statue, taken during an 1878 expedition, serves as a poignant reminder of the need for restitution.

Historian Didier Gondola emphasized that colonial figures often “collected” artifacts through “violence” or “coercion.”

While restitution requests date back to the late 1960s, Belgium, in the past, justified retaining prized pieces by claiming to protect them from corruption or deterioration.

Belgium’s King Philippe took a symbolic step by delivering a giant ritual “kakuungu” mask to the DRC’s national museum as an “unlimited” loan, expressing remorse for Belgium’s colonial period. However, the impact of Belgium’s historical plunder extends beyond physical artifacts, as curator Sarah Van Beurden noted, explaining how it eroded the DRC’s cultural customs.

The exhibition also sheds light on efforts to address these losses, with a project involving DRC youth aiming to recreate the music of a “manza” xylophone taken in 1911-1912.

The evolving narrative emphasizes Belgium’s evolving approach toward reconciliation and the acknowledgment of the broader impact of colonial actions on cultural heritage.