Collections of the RMCA. Headdresses (20 December 2006 – )
The exhibition has three main parts:
1. COLLECTING
2. The COLLECTION
3. RESEARCH into the collection
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Headdress worn for likita dances and ceremonies
Benge / Likate, DRC
Fibres, hide, fishing owl caudal feathers, rhinoceros beetle thorax
Collected by A. Hutereau, 1913
EO.0.0.13079 |
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Headdress probably worn by bwami initiates of the highest rank (kindi) of the bwami association
Lega
Maniema, Kivu, DRC
Elan’s hide, cowries, mussel shells
Purchased from J. Walschot, 1973 EO.1973.36.18 |
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Chief’s kalyeem headdress
Kuba - Kasai, DRC
Fabric, cowries, beads, fibres
Gift of the Compagnie du Kasai, 1913 - EO.0.0.15804 |
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The bwemi, the king’s successor, in ceremonial dress
Kuba - Kasaï, DRC
EP.0.0.2543
Photo M. L. Achten, 1928, © RMCA |
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The first part looks at how the Africa Museum’s collection was formed.
A total of more than 200 people contributed to the growth of the headdress collection.
Colonial officials, missionaries, scientists, the Belgian royal family, dealers in African art, and also public institutions and private companies all collected headdresses and sold or presented them to the Africa Museum. However, many of the collectors are unknown to us.
The exhibition first looks at the military expeditions led by Lieutenants Emile Storms (1880s) and Armand Hutereau (1911-1913). The latter was the museum’s greatest collector of headdresses.
It then turns to the collections the agronomist Henry Rosy and the missionary Gustaaf Hulstaert built up in the 1930s at the request of Joseph Maes, the then head of the Ethnography Department at the museum.
Albert Maesen, who as head of the Ethnography Department led a collecting expedition to south-west Congo in the 1950s, is considered a pioneer in the collection of background information about the objects.
In the course of the 20th century, increasing numbers of art dealers added to the growth of the collection. One example, Jeanne Walschot (1896-1977) was a passionate collector of African objects. After her death a large proportion of her personal collection ended up in the museum.
This part of the exhibition turns the spotlight on the headdresses themselves.
‘How is it all classified?’
The collection includes an impressive variety of exotic materials: feathers of every colour, skins, shells, beads, teeth, claws, elephant’s tails and much more.
For most of the 20th century, objects in the Ethnography Department were classified by four criteria: shape, material, ethnic group and region. It was only in the second half of the century that the keepers became more interested in the social and cultural background to the objects.
This part of the exhibition also looks at the conservation measures and restoration techniques the headdresses have to undergo in order to guarantee them a long life or to prepare them for an exhibition.
The third part of the exhibition provides an explanation of the process of identifying and documenting these headdresses.
‘How and where do we find information?’
The sources are varied: documentation files, museum archives, scientific literature, fieldwork photos and so on. Linguists and zoologists are consulted to find out the meaning of names and to identify animal materials.
Work has recently started on the digitalisation of the collection. This will make it possible to classify the headdresses by various criteria such as collector, geographical area, name, etc., so that new connections can be made.
In 2007 the databank will be made available on the Internet so that the collection will be accessible to the general public.
Mysteries and interpretation
Little documentation is available for some of the 2,000 headdresses in the collection. In these cases the use and symbolism behind the various materials, forms and colours is still being examined.
Did men wear diadems?
Why were three layers of animal skin used for some headdresses?
Where do the 300 red feathers in a Luba headdress come from?
Is this a sunhood for babies or a grain scoop?
Was the mukotte wig more than just a sign of opposition?
What is the significance of teeth, insect wing-cases, human hair, etc?
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The answers to these and many other questions you will find in this temporary exhibition amongst the 200-odd marvellous headdresses from the Kuba, Luba, Lunda, Chokwe, Lega, Pende, Kongo and other ethnic groups.
>>> back to overview COLLECTIONS OF THE RMCA.HEADDRESSES
