Articles

05/05/25

The Silent Strangers in the Eternal City

The Monumental Barrier Between Rome and Its Migrants

“I see the Colosseum daily on my way to work, but I’ve never been inside… I took some pictures of me with it in the background to send home, it is very old, very huge and beautiful with the lights in the evening… But I don’t know what it is about.” Dipu Sheikh (pseudonym). Dipu […]

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Bernard Mueller

12/10/23

The Astonishing Fate of Soliman al-Halabi (1777-1800)

Or the Request for Post-Mortem Naturalization of Kléber's Assassin Formulated by the Abounaddara Collective

The aim of this article is to contribute to the discussion on the restitution of looted property in a colonial context. As such, it is one of a series of articles on claims for restitution, the atypical nature of which sheds light on the symbolic dimension activated by these cases, whether involving human remains or […]

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01/11/22

Der „erste deutsche Elefant“: eine Geschichte der Extraktion

Nicht nur ethnologische, medizinhistorische und geographische Logiken des „Sammelns“ unter kolonialen Bedingungen werden gegenwärtig neu untersucht und in ihrer scheinbaren „Normalität“ dezentriert. Auch die Sammlungen von Naturkundemuseen, Tierparks und Zoos werden kritisch befragt.[1] Im folgenden Beitrags wird die Geschichte eines Elefanten aus der damaligen deutschen Kolonie Kamerun skizziert, der auf Bestellung des damaligen Zoo-Direktors Ludwig […]

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18/06/22

Iconoclash in the GRASSI Museum

Seeking publicity for an international museum crisis by way of a damaged pedestal

The current debate surrounding colonial collections has unleashed a veritable feud in and around ethnological museums, which pits reformers and preservationists against one another, seemingly irreconcilably. In feuilletons, newsletters, and mailing lists, voices are growing ever shriller, and the means employed ever harsher, as peers and colleagues attack each another and seek to mobilize audiences […]

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28/07/20

Ringen um Rückgabe

Frühe Forderungen der Maori nach Restitution und Repatriierung, 1945-1947

Currently, this contribution exists only in the German version, translation under way.

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Catherine Buckland

15/05/20

The Puzzle of the Postcolonial Purse

Handbags outside of the Western canon

Since the writing of this piece, the Amsterdam Museum of Bags and Purses has sadly been forced to close due to financial pressures exacerbated by the current crisis. This is a difficult time for all heritage organisations, and smaller institutions are always the most at risk. The closing of the Museum of Bags and Purses […]

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Ilja Labischinski

07/04/20

We talk, you listen!

Currently, this contribution exists only in German, translation to follow. Francis La Flesche, 1857-1932. This photograph is available courtesy of the National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution (Photograph 4504).

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06/02/20

The Ethics of Repatriation and Working Collaboratively in Aotearoa New Zealand

The return of human remains back to descendant communities and countries of origin is a growing and developing part of museology throughout the world. Fifty years ago returning human remains or even cultural objects was almost unheard of. But in 2019 the return of ancestral remains and objects is increasingly becoming the norm. In Aotearoa […]

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Nelson Adebo Abiti Thomas Laely

22/01/20

Decolonisation? Collaboration!

Towards a Renewed Concept of ‘Museum’ in Europe and Africa

What options do we have for dealing with the Africa collections in our museums in Europe and in Africa? Let us start with a quote from Malcolm McLeod, keeper of the Department of Ethnography of the British Museum from 1974-1990: Museums are expected to collect things, yet museum collecting, in some cultures, need not be […]

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11/12/19

The Fundamental Problem of Ethnography and Colonialism

Some thoughts on two exhibitions in Berlin’s House of World Cultures

Through 6 January 2020 in the House of World Cultures in Berlin, one can still visit two exhibitions that have several things in common. The first is not unusual, but rather everyday museum practice. Both exhibitions are devoted to the work of dead, white, German men. “Spectral White: The Appearance of Colonial-Era Europeans” deals with […]

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