Authentically African

"Together the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren, Belgium and the Institut des Musées Nationaux du Zaïre (INMZ) in the Congo have defined and marketed Congolese art and culture. In Authentically African, Sarah Van Beurden traces the relationship between the possession, definition, and display of art and the construction of cultural authenticity and political legitimacy from the late colonial into the postcolonial era. Her study of the interconnected histories of these two institutions is the only work of its kind in English. Drawing on Flemish-language sources other scholars have been unable to access, Van Beurden illuminates the politics of museum collections, showing how the INMZ became a showpiece in Mobutu Sese Seko's effort to revive "authentic" African culture and reconstructing debates among Belgian and Congolese museum professionals. She also casts light on the art market, showing how IMNZ's traveling displays helped generate an international market for Congolese art. Authentically African tells a new history of decolonization as a struggle over cultural categories, the possession of cultural heritage, and the right to define and represent cultural identities"--Back cover.