‘When is a work of art colonial?’ This and other questions are the subject of the special exhibition Colonialism in Objects, which takes a critical look at the Museum Fünf Kontinente’s past. On display are unique historical artefacts such as sculptures, paintings, cast bronzes and lacquerware that were brought to Munich in the colonial era, many of which are now rated as masterpieces. The exhibition documents how these objects were looted, bought, exchanged or accepted as gifts in European colonial regions in Cameroon, Tanzania, Nigeria, Namibia, India, Pakistan, China, New Guinea, the Philippines and Samoa. What it reveals in the process is the violence, racism and attempt to stamp out the cultures of the colonized peoples that went hand in hand with colonial appropriation.
The Museum Fünf Kontinente was founded in 1868, just under 20 years before the foundation of a German colonial empire. However, even then cultural artefacts were being acquired from the colonies of other European states. In around 1900 the museum turned into an institution of German colonialism. A colonial conqueror became museum director. Trophies from colonial campaigns were presented, brutal acts of violence were dressed up as heroic deeds and outstanding cultural artefacts degraded as proof of perceived European superiority. The people who had created the works and knew how to interpret them, and whose cultures were passed on via these artefacts, were consigned to oblivion.
While the standing of ‘world art’ has risen considerably in recent times, the violence of colonialism has faded from collective memory. The Museum Fünf Kontinente is currently undergoing a process of transition. The presentation of Colonialism in Objects together with the colonial history of the museum is one indication of this change, which is fuelled by critical input from civil society and work with experts from societies from which the collections now in the museum originate. The perspectives of these researchers are given prominence in the exhibition. Their knowledge of the cultural contexts of the works enables us to understand not only the profound significance of these objects but also the loss and trauma of the colonial era.
Publication about the exhibition
Richard Hölzl/Museum Fünf Kontinente (ed.) with contributions by Moritz von Brescius, Albert Gouaffo, Anne Hartig, Christopher Kast, Stefanie Kleidt, Thoralf Klein, Godwin Kornes, Cassandra Mark-Thiesen, Nancy Rushohora, Markus Seemann, Alma Simba, Hilke Thode-Arora: Der Kolonialismus in den Dingen. Das Museum Fünf Kontinente und die Kolonialzeit, Schnell und Steiner Verlag, Regensburg 2024.
Events accompanying the special exhibition
Events accompanying the special exhibition can be found in the programme section on the museum's website.
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