The north-east of the Congo, on the border between Equatorial and Interlacustrine Africa, has been very important in the history of Africa, geographically, culturally and politically. Despite abundant interest in the contemporary history, focused primarily on conflict research, the history of the pre-colonial and colonial era has remained poorly studied. A large part of the RMCA subcollection from this region was assembled during an important scientific expedition in the history of the Belgian Congo by A. Hutereau (1911-13). This expedition competed with other major expeditions from the American Museum of Natural History (1909-15) and from the Ethnologisches Museum in Berlin (1907-8). The Hutereau collection and many smaller sets of objects collected throughout the colonial period (by C. Delhaise, J. Henry de la Lindi and other historical personalities) represent a unique part of colonial scientific heritage and of the cultural heritage of north-east Congo, but unfortunately these were never investigated as such. We will explore them as sources in light of different disciplines and in an international perspective, comparing them to other important collections and archives.