Cultural heritage Collections

Online collections

We are working on a new platform to present the Cultural Anthropology and History collections online.

In the meantime you can still consult the existing collections database.

• Go to the current database
   
• Spotlight on the collections

Overview of the collections

Ethnographic objects

The collection contains some 120,000 objects.

The figurative sculptures (masks, statues, etc.) are the most well-known, but it also contains large series of weapons, cups, combs and various other artefacts.

The vast majority of the objects come from Central Africa, in particular the DR Congo. 

The museum also manages collections from other regions:

• 18,000 objects from West Africa
• 10,000 objects from East and Southern Africa
• 8,000 objects from the Americas
• 5,000 objects from Oceania

> Discover our online collections

> Origin of the collections

> Stolen/missing objects

Contact:
Julien Volper
julien.volper@africamuseum.be
02 769 53 51

Musical instruments

With 8,000 musical instruments, the museum manages the world's largest collection of musical instruments from Central Africa.

The majority of the objects originate from the DR Congo. 

> Consult our musical instruments online

Contact:
Rémy Jadinon
remy.jadinon@africamuseum.be
+32 2 769 56 10

Archaeology

A third of the collections are being studied or in transit and do not belong to the museum.

The official collections primarily come from the DR Congo.

Some of the study collections also come from the DR Congo while the rest come from Cameroon, Gabon, Rwanda and Equatorial Guinea.

The collection of human skeletal material was transferred to the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels in 1964.

The slide library contains documentation on archaeological digs. The oldest slides were taken at the Gwhiso (Zambia) site and date back to 1964.

The archaeological archives date back to 1897 and contain research material (digs, dating work) along with personal correspondence and personnel records.

> Online archaeology collections

Contact:
archaeo@africamuseum.be 

Specific historical objects and collections

These are primarily objects connected with the European presence in Central Africa, for example:

• crucifixes reflecting the Christianisation of the DR Congo and Angola between the 15th and 18th centuries, and the war between the Congo Free State and the Afro-Arabs from the east coast
• uniforms
• colonial materials
• utilitarian objects in ivory
• a small collection of stamps and postal history
• several hundred rare or unique pieces that reveal, in particular, the postal and illustrative policy of the Belgian Congo, with preparatory images, die proofs and test sheets. 

Contact:
Nancy Vanderlinden
nancy.vanderlinden@africamuseum.be
+32 2 769 52 66

Loans

The AfricaMuseum has a policy of loaning out objects to associations and institutions, particularly for temporary exhibitions.

Are you preparing a temporary exhibition and would like to borrow one or more objects from the museum?

Send a letter to the museum's Director at least six months prior to the opening of the exhibition, accompanied by the following documents:

• a brief description of the nature and objective of the exhibition
• a signed copy of the General Terms and Conditions for Temporary Exhibition Loans (pdf - 150 kb) 
• a facilities report containing information concerning the conditions under which the objects will be exhibited
• the completed Information Form (doc- 135 kb)  
• a provisional list of the objects (optional)

Send your letter to:

Bart Ouvry
Royal Museum for Central Africa
Leuvensesteenweg 13,
3080 Tervuren
BELGIUM

If your request is approved, it will be formalised in a loan agreement.

For further information, please contact the Archive and Collection Management Department:
loan@africamuseum.be