Between the 1930s and the 1970s, German ethnologist Hans Himmelheber journeyed across the Ivory Coast, amassing a collection of ritual objects.
Today, about 100 pieces he bought from local artists — along with 15,000 photographs and a dozen films — have been handed back to their country of origin.
Masterpieces from the Senufo, Dan, Baoule and Guro peoples, as well as everyday objects, are now on show in the cities of Abidjan and Man.
Photo: AFP
Ivorian schoolchildren crowd around masks, finely carved turtles and ceremonial spoons once admired by visitors of Zurich’s Rietberg Museum.
They have flocked to the Himmelheber archive at the Adama Toungara museum in Abidjan.
Running until March 8, the exhibit retraces the journeys made by the researcher, who died in 2003.
It also features 24 of the 107 returned objects, alongside thousands of digitized photos and films shot by Himmelheber.
Among the highlights: a striking “wabele” hood mask and a Dan runner’s mask with delicate feminine features.
The return of cultural artifacts taken from former colonies in Africa and elsewhere has become a sensitive issue, with museums, institutions and collectors in Europe and the US facing pressure to give them back.
Although Himmelheber “always bought his pieces... we cannot ignore the colonial context that sometimes forced people to sell,” Rietberg Museum Africa and Oceania collections head Michaela Oberhofer said.
Although returns of African cultural heritage are increasing, experts said such gestures remain rare.
“This donation is key to diversifying our collections,” said Francis Tagro, director of Abidjan’s Museum of Civilizations, set to reopen this year after renovations.
Switzerland and Ivory Coast last year signed a deal on cultural asset returns.
Alongside the restitution, research projects and workshops were funded.
Himmelheber’s photos and films were screened in 16 Dan villages he often visited, shown to younger generations.
“Some people recognized their ancestors — it was very moving,” Oberhofer said.
A meticulous researcher, Himmelheber documented artists’ techniques and styles during his travels.
“African art is anonymized,” said his son, Eberhard Fischer. “But my father treated artists as seriously as Picasso or Paul Klee.”
Oberhofer said Himmelheber’s trips also revealed ornate loom pulleys and pottery, challenging stereotypes that African art is “limited to masks and figures.”
Ivory Coast now awaits the return of the Djidji Ayokwe “talking drum,” which French colonial troops took in 1916.
Its return was approved by the French parliament in July last year.
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