Ethnographic Collections

The Ethnographic Collections originate from the early years of Ghent University (founded in 1817 by King William I of the Netherlands), specifically from 1825-1826 and 1829. During this time, a collection of objects from Southeast Asia, known as the Javanica, was donated to the university’s newly established Musée des Antiquités.

Highlights of the "Javanica Cabinet," then part of the Musée des Antiquités, include two monumental stone Ganesha statues from the Hindu-Javanese era, originating from the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. In 1895, Professor Adolf De Ceuleneer acquired a significant sub-collection of Maya archaeology excavated under the guidance of Georges Léger, Belgian Consul for the region, at Chich’en, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. In 1905, biologist and ethnologist Professor Camille De Bruyne purchased a substantial number of so-called "duplicates" from the Museum für Völkerkunde in Berlin (now Humboldt Forum). The main sub-collection from this acquisition came from German colonies in Oceania (primarily Papua New Guinea). De Bruyne used these objects in his Biogeography lectures, then known as Anthropogeography. In 1928, Professor Paul Van Oye, who taught Ethnology, became the first curator of the newly established Ethnographic Museum, incorporating objects from the Musée des Antiquités and the Institute of Biogeography.

Towards a scientific study of African art

In 1939, under the impetus of Professor Frans M. Olbrechts, the "Center for the Study of African Art" was established within the Art History program. Olbrechts, a trained Germanist with an interest in folklore, began studying anthropology at Columbia University in 1925. His supervisor was Professor Franz Boas, widely recognized as the "founding father" of American Cultural Anthropology. On Boas' advice, Olbrechts conducted ethnographic fieldwork among the Eastern Cherokee and the Onondaga (in New York State). The objects he collected during this period are now housed in the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels. Olbrechts carried out his first African fieldwork in West Africa in 1933, documented in his 1935 publication Het Roode Land der Zwarte Kariatieden. He is particularly remembered as the first Western art scholar to attribute African art to an individual artist: the so-called "Master of Buli" (Luba, Congo).

Olbrechts also gained recognition for the Ivory Coast Expedition, organized by Ghent University in collaboration with the then Vleeshuismuseum in Antwerp in 1938-39. Two of his students, Pieter Jan Vandenhoute and Albert Maesen, conducted significant fieldwork during this expedition, among the Dan and the Senufo peoples. The objects collected during this expedition are well-documented and now form a major part of the Africa collection at the GUM. The results were published by Olbrechts in Maskers en Dansers van Ivoorkust (1940). His magnum opus, Plastiek van Congo, was published in 1946.

Not to be missed at GUM & Botanical Garden

Highlights in GUM & Botanical Garden’s permanent exhibition include a selection of objects collected by Vandenhoute and Maesen among the Dan and the Senufo in Ivory Coast, such as various masks and a rare twin sculpture. Other standout objects include a large tree fern sculpture from Vanuatu in the South Pacific and a nearly unique kokorra mask from the Solomon Islands (one of only three known examples, of which this piece is housed at the GUM). A selection of Maya archaeology from Finca Chich’en in Guatemala is also on display.

The collection currently holds approximately 5,000 objects, overseen by Prof. Dr. Hugo DeBlock (Curator of Ethnography at GUM and Professor of Anthropology at the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy, African Studies Program). It is extensively studied by Ghent University researchers and students, as well as by international scholars. Active collaborations exist for several sub-collections, including with Ghent University’s Japanology Department (Japan Collection), Princeton University (Luba Collection, Congo), the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. (Maya Collection), the University of Oxford (Caribbean), and Waseda University in Tokyo (Oceania Collection).

Contemporary debates

GUM & Botanical Garden develops its collection policy with a focus on topics such as the decolonization of contested collections and actively participates in restitution debates. A first step involves ensuring proper accessibility of the various sub-collections: cataloging and digitization are being refined, particularly for the Ethnographic Collection. Accessibility is seen as the first step toward true decolonization.

Future efforts will also prioritize provenance research, as questions arise about whether "collecting in the name of science" is inherently more ethical than "collecting for the art market." However, as highlighted by activist Afro-descendant voices, provenance research is no panacea; rather, it reflects a European and Eurocentric solution to the issues of Western museology. Museums that manage such collections must not only focus on the problematic histories of these items but also look to the future. Engaging sincerely with the communities of origin to whom this heritage belongs is equally essential.

Photos: Geert Roels