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Restitution vs. Retention: Reassessing Discourses on the African Cultural Heritage

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2023

Jérémie Eyssette Open the ORCID record for Jérémie Eyssette [Opens in a new window]
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Abstract

In order to reappraise discourses on the restitution vs. retention of Africa’s cultural heritage, Eyssette examines the Musée du Quai Branly (France), the AfricaMuseum (Belgium), the British Museum (UK), and the Humboldt Forum (Germany) as one representative spectrum for analysis showing the mutual imbrications of their changing strategies and practices. After detecting biases in retentionist arguments on security, accessibility, law, and ethics, Eyssette stresses symmetrical shortcomings in restitutionist discourses on provenance research and the instrumentalization of heritage for economic gains or post-colonial rebranding. The conclusion determines whether these four institutions are retentionists, rhetorical restitutionists, or truly reformed restitutionists.

Résumé

Résumé

Afin de réévaluer les discours sur la restitution ou rétention du patrimoine culturel africain, Eyssette examine le Musée du Quai Branly (France), l’AfricaMuseum (Belgique), le British Museum (Royaume-Uni) et le Humboldt Forum (Allemagne) comme unité analytique représentative montrant les imbrications mutuelles de l’évolution de leurs stratégies et pratiques. Après avoir détecté des partis pris dans l’argumentaire rétentionniste sur la sécurité, l’accessibilité, la loi, et l’éthique, Eyssette souligne des failles symétriques dans les discours restitutionnistes sur la provenance et l’instrumentalisation du patrimoine en vue de gains économiques ou d’une image post-coloniale. Les conclusions déterminent si ces quatre institutions sont rétentionnistes, rhétoriquement restitutionnistes, ou véritablement reconverties en restitutionnistes.

Resumo

Resumo

Com vista a reavaliar os discursos sobre a restituição vs. a retenção do legado cultural africano, Eyssette debruça-se sobre o Musée du Quai Branly (França), o AfricaMuseum (Bélgica), o British Museum (Reino Unido) e o Humboldt Forum (Alemanha) enquanto elementos de um espectro de análise representativo que revela as estreitas relações mútuas das suas estratégias e práticas evolutivas. Começando por identificar vieses nos argumentos retencionistas sobre segurança, acessibilidade, lei e ética, Eyssette destaca as fragilidades dos discursos restitucionistas sobre a investigação dedicada à proveniência dos legados culturais e a instrumentalização desses legados para obter benefícios económicos ou criar uma nova imagem pós-colonial. Na conclusão, estabelece-se se estas quatro instituições são retencionistas, retoricamente restitucionistas ou se, pelo contrário, sofreram uma verdadeira reforma e são genuinamente restitucionistas.

Keywords

African cultural heritagerestitution vs. retentionAfricaMuseumMusée du Quai BranlyHumboldt ForumBritish Museumdigitizationaccessibilityprovenance
Type
Article
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 66 , Issue 1 , March 2023 , pp. 101 - 126
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the African Studies Association

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