Belgian Museum grapples with its colonial history as it addresses nearly 40,000 items linked to conflict and oppression

For years, a lustrous necklace adorned with copper beads and glass gems was showcased at the Royal Museum for Central Africa located near Brussels. Believed to belong to a notorious 19th-century slave trader, this item featured ten brightly polished copper beads suspended on silk, alongside red glass "jewels" set onto an intricate medallion. However, the true origins of these African artifacts in Belgium remained unknown.

The museum documented the necklace's presence first back in 1959. A decade prior to that, a Greek resident of the former Belgian Congo attempted unsuccessfully to sell it at the museum after having acquired it from an anonymous mechanic who then obtained it from a Congolese chief – as per the archive records.

This straightforward narrative, however, concealed a much more complex and violent history. The necklace once belonged to Yakaumbu Kamanda Lumpungu, head of the Songye tribe in Kabinda, situated at the heart of today's Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). As an advocate for Congolese independence, Lumpungu was executed by colonial administration in 1936 due to false allegations of murder – a claim that his descendants vehemently refute. The necklace had been inherited from his father and gifted to his favorite wife, Mfute. His relatives have since expressed doubt over the possibility of Lumpungu voluntarily parting with such a significant possession.

Almost nine decades after Lumpungu's demise, this piece is among numerous artifacts on display in an exhibition currently running at the Royal Museum for Central Africa until September 29th. The museum underwent substantial changes and rebranded as the AfricaMuseum in 2018 following its renovation.

This event marks a shift away from promoting colonial ideals and towards acknowledging and addressing the complicated history surrounding these artifacts, sparking discussions on restitution and cultural representation within the museum setting.