L'Afrique naturalisée

Abstract

The way of displaying objects in folk museums tells us as much about the culture making the exhibit as about the cultures placed on display. Nowadays, museums mainly use two techniques to show African objects: "contextualization" with an ethnological dimension (as in the musée de l'Homme in Paris) and an aesthetic approach (as at the Dapper Foundation and in the musée des Arts africains et océaniens in Paris). Beyond this art/ethnology dichotomy however, certain museums (for instance, the musée de la Chasse et de la Nature in Paris) seem to fit nature and culture together in the rooms devoted to Africa. Spears, weapons, masks and sculptures are displayed alongside stuffed animals, elephant tusks, hides and skins, all of which are presented as hunting trophies. In contrast, the Asia room mainly contains religious objects. As the 20th century closes, objects from Asia still seem unequal in position to the material objects from other geographical zones.