Comment se constituent les collections : l’exemple sénoufo

Abstract

This essay attempts to show that, if the constitution of the Senufo collections follows the vagaries of the western discovery of Southern Arts, it also presents some specificities related to collectors and institutions that have received these collections. The former presence of missionary collections (first quarter of the twentieth century) must be mentioned. Then disparate objects collected in the field were organized in small collections that have taken place in Metropolitan or African public museum collections. ­Ethnological and aesthetic studies, much later, are often related to temporary exhibitions. Thematic approaches of materials and techniques are later (last quarter of the twentieth century). Regional studies have come last with the upraise of African Museums (National or Regional) whose future is now far from assured. In this way could begin the return of artefacts to their primary users and to the artists who produced them.

Keywords

• Senufo
• statues
• collections
• mask