From Mission “Africa Rooms”: Frans M. Olbrechts's Rediscovered African Collection

Abstract

2a Statue Luba Wood; 47cm x 13.7cm x 11cm (181/2 x 51/4 x 4%) inventory number 59.38.106/213 Collection of the Norbertine Fathers of Averbode 2b profile view S ince the end of the nineteenth century, Belgium sent thousands of fathers, friars, and nuns to what was then the Belgian Congo. They left their home land-some never to return-with the mission to spread the gospel and to create local social ser vices in education or health care. When arriving in Congo, these missionaries were confronted with other cultural expressions and spiritual convictions. Some of them started col lecting objects illustrating the exotic nature of the local mate rial culture and placed them in small local museums in or near the mission institutes or shipped them back to their home coun try. In Belgium, in the convent or monastery of their order or congregation, these objects were often displayed in an Africa room or in a mission museum (Fig. 1). In school buildings of some Catholic institutions, showcases with such objects could be found: These were used as didactic material during lessons about Our Congo' In this way, masks, sculptures, and utensils were often displayed next to minerals, seeds, samples of local crops, or stuffed animals. Bit by bit, pieces were added and the collections grew (organically), some becoming quite large. In some cases, the assembled material presents an almost complete picture of the traditional culture encountered by a religious institution's missionaries. Most of these private collections were unknown to the outside world. Sometimes small expositions (missie-expo's-mission expositions) were organized to raise money for the charitable mission activities of the congregation. On such occasions the of the missions could buy small objects in ivory, ebony, or fancy-work made in the overseas regions. Authentic objects were often presented as interior decor and the masks and statues as expressions of the animistic beliefs of the African pagans the missionaries were confronted with. When relatives or friends visited missionaries in their home convent, monastery, or abbey in Belgium, they usually were shown the local collection. During the second half of the twentieth century, with an increased interest in traditional African art by museums and private collectors, these mission collections were skimmed sys tematically by merchants, searching for authentic ethnographic objects at cheap prices. In addition, with progressive seculariza tion, there has been a noticeable decrease in religious vocation.' This phenomenon has resulted in the closing down of some reli gious institutions, the disposal of buildings, and the reorgani