Claude Ardouin
is participant at
Where is Art Contemporary? The Global Challenge of Art Museums II
Abstract
The British Museum African Collections: from the Historic Collections to Collecting the Modern Cultures
The paper gives an overview on the African collections at the British Museum, starting from the historic collections, and discusses the on-going reflection to define the orientations and priorities for the development of the African collections.
The British Museum was founded in 1753 on the basis of Sir Hans Sloane’s bequest of his collection of books, manuscripts, coins and curiosities collected starting from late 17th century. The oldest African items in the museum were acquired by Sir Henry Sloane in the 1750s. Currently the main African collections are in the custody of the Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas – heir of the former Department of Ethnography and the former Museum of Mankind – and the Department of Egypt and Ancient Sudan. Small specialised collections are also kept under other departments: prehistoric artefacts from Eastern Africa in the Department of Prehistory and Europe and modern currencies in the Department of Coins and Medals.
The historic collection has grown during the 19th and the 20th centuries through purchases, donations and field work in archaeology and ethnography, reflecting at the same time the British colonial history. Its development has been guided over the years by the combination of the criteria of relevance with research interests and opportunities. With now more than 100,000 objects, it is one of the World’s major African collections, offering a unique resource for the cultural history of the African continent starting from the 19th century.
During late 20th century shifts in the museum’s research and collecting interests grew driven by important new factors such as the rapid growth of modern urban cultures all over the continent; rapid changes in the traditional cultures; the blossoming of contemporary artistic creativity by new generations of Africa artists; the growth of the African Diasporas overseas. The museum has actively engaged with collecting modern African cultures and also works of contemporary Africa-based and artists from the African Diaspora. The changing interests had brought to reflect on the orientations of the collection development and to integrate the modern cultures and contemporary artists. For a museum like the BM, where traditionally the collection has been anthropological, such a challenge involves a wide range of issues. Among others: What are the broad objectives and the priorities of a sustained policy to collect the modern cultures and contemporary African artists? What are the criteria for choosing artists and works? How to address the funding? How to address the display and interpretation? Which strategy for virtual displays and interpretation? How to store and manage?
At the same time the active development of research and collection partnerships with museums in various African countries opens new opportunities to revisit the interpretation of the historic collections.
