The Minister welcomes the exemplary collaboration between the actors of the art market and
teams from the Heritage Branch and the Quai Branly Museum, who
has allowed the return of this major object in the collections of the State.
Spotted during the sale of Armand Charles' collection, this nail fetish is
returned to the musée du quai Branly by Annie Salles, the collector’s daughter, during a
official ceremony, during which Frédéric Mitterrand presented him with the insignia
a knight in the Order of Arts and Letters to salute this generous gesture.
This nail fetish Nkisi or Nkondé - personal or community magic object -
in the kongo cultural area (former kongo kingdom that went from the south of Gabon to
Angola), was collected in Gabon at the beginning of the 20th century. Donated to the Museum
of the Trocadéro in 1931, this rare object then disappeared from the
the Man. It is then found in the personal collection of Armand Charles,
collector of African art.
The nail fetish reappears on December 2, 2009, during the sale of the collection
Armand Charles orchestrated by Enchères Rive Gauche at the Drouot Hotel. By checking
the references of the object in the sales catalogue which mentioned the expert’s book
Raoul Lehuard «Nail Fetishes of Lower Zaire» published in 1980 - in which the
fetish is referenced with a photograph -, the buyer realizes while the object
originally belongs to the Museum of Man. The sale is therefore cancelled. Annie Rooms,
daughter of collector Armand Charles, then decides to return this fetish to the state
nails bought in good faith by his father.
It is thanks to its precise documentation that the work was formally identified
as part of the national collections. Through this official presentation, the Minister
recalls that the prevention of theft in museums and the fight against trafficking
cultural property is a priority for the Ministry of Culture and
Communication, as he reminded all institutions. That is
by a constant and concerted action between all the actors
possible returns of works in national collections such as that which is
celebrated today.
Official presentation of the nail fetish Nkondé tsangui (Gabon) at the Musée du quai Branly Monday, July 12, 2010
Frédéric Mitterrand, Minister of Culture and Communication, handed over to the Quai Branly museum the nail fetish Nkondé tsangui (Gabon), which disappeared from the Dumusée de l'Homme reserves, probably between 1944 and 1955 and recently recovered.
Published on 12.07.2010
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