(Re)Making Collections - La Fabrique des collections

Provenance research for non-Western heritage in Europe is now a must in the field of museum studies and cultural policy studies, yet no scholarly work has scrutinised the collections of the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren (Belgium) as a whole.

While the institution’s history and some of its scientific sections or collections have already been investigated, at times in great depth, this book provides new frameworks for interpretation in the light of current debates. Structured around two lines – the heritage field in historical and contemporary Belgo-Congolese contexts, and the more specific case of the Tervuren museum’s collections (which, moreover, are neither solely cultural nor Central African) -, this collection of texts gives a broad overview in the form of recent and previously unpublished research, updated summaries of prior investigations, interviews, and artistic contributions.

The book also explores new trends in provenance research for colonial collections and evaluates both the possibilities and the limitations of such research, its implications for our understanding of colonial history as a whole, and the challenges facing museums today.

Text in English and French.