EO.1979.39.2
Lukasa. Geheugenbord / Tablette mémorielle / Memory board. RD Congo. [Luba]. Wood, colourant, beads. Purchase from E. Deletaille. 1980. EO.1979.39.2.
Congolese objects on the Belgian market
The three nkasa (in singular lukasa) that are displayed here, were purchased by the museum from a private collector (in 1978) and a dealer (in 1972 and 1979), both from the area around Brussels. Even though these are relatively recent acquisitions, the archives do not shed any light on their history before they ended up in the museum. The three objects were acquired after Congo’s independence, at a time when the Tervuren Museum established itself as a dynamic buyer on the Belgian market for African objects. The policy of the museum was primarily aimed at orienting the collections towards African regions outside of the former Belgian colonies. Yet it still purchased Congolese objects to ‘complete’ the existing collection. Before 1960 there was not a single lukasa in the collections. Only few nkasa were acquired during the colonial period: they had to be hidden because of their secret purpose. Over time, societal developments have subsequently changed their status.
The export of cultural heritage
As is often the case with objects from the art market, only secondary sources can form an idea of the general context in which they circulated. In addition, at the time of the purchase of the three nkasa, the museum employees did not care that much that so little information was available about them. However, as part of the presidential policy of "Return to Authenticity", the Congolese state introduced a law in 1971 prohibiting the unauthorised export of objects belonging to the country's cultural heritage. Yet, the majority of the forty or so nkasa in both public and private collections seem to have arrived in the West during the 1970s.