Les collections d'Insulinde du Musée de l'Homme. Inventaire sommaire d'un trésor méconnu (1ère partie)

Abstract

Christian Pelras The ethnographie collections of artefacts originating from the Malay world, or "Insulindia" (present-day Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines) owned by the Musée de l'Homme in Paris comprise 10,215 items and can be compared with similar collections in many European museums. In 1878, at the time of the creation of the "Musée d'Ethnographie du Trocadéro" which predated the Musée de l'Homme (created in 1937), there were only 64 Insulindian items. In 1918 their number had climbed to 2,833, and in 1950 to 5,206. Since then, their number has nearly doubled, reaching more than three times the Polynesian collections in the same museum. This article is a preliminary description of this collection, at a time when it is about to be transferred, together with other exotic collections, to a brand new Musée des Arts et Civilisations which will be mainly devoted to the creations of "primeval art". The article first records the way the collection grew out of donations and other acquisitions over more than a century, and second, reviews the contents of the collections by ethnic groups. The second installment of the article will be published in Archipel No. 63.