“Kolloquium Provenienzforschung” on Chagga Cultural Heritage at the Linden-Museum Stuttgart

The German Lost Art Foundation invites you to the next event within the series „Kolloquium Provenienzforschung“.

On Monday, 28 April 2025, at 6 pm, we will be presenting the Kolloquium “Starting point, not the final point. Provenance Research on Chagga Cultural Heritage at the Linden-Museum Stuttgart and Its Implications“. The event will take place at Deutsches Zentrum Kulturgutverluste, Außenstelle Berlin, Seydelstraße 18, 10117 Berlin. It is possible to join the event via Webex. For online participation please register with Andreas Bohne (andreas.bohne@kulturgutverluste.de).

The Linden-Museum Stuttgart houses at least 6,680 cultural artifacts from Tanzania, including 450 belonging to the Chagga people of Kilimanjaro. These items entered the Linden-Museum collection during the German colonial period. Dr. Valence Silayo is currently conducting systematic research on ethnographic materials. The project focuses on the cultural history, significance, and utilization of these artifacts, their relevance to today's society, and the context in which German colonial officials appropriated them.

The project is part of the reappraisal of German colonialism in present-day Tanzania, which has made considerable strides in recent years. Noteworthy examples include exhibitions at the Humboldt Forum, the Stade Museums, and other research initiatives. Visible progress has been made through civil society pressure, which led to the renaming of Petersallee to Maji-Maji-Allee in Berlin. Steps can also be seen at the highest political level, such as the visit of Federal President Steinmeier to Tanzania in 2023 and this year's visit to Germany by the Tanzanian National Committee for Discussions on the Return of Antiquities, Artifacts, and Human Remains from Germany.

Despite significant efforts from Tanzanian and German experts, gaps in provenance research within German museums persist. The field remains in its early stages, facing challenges related to funding and collaboration. While communities have made restitution claims for ancestral remains and cultural artifacts, the Tanzanian government has not officially articulated these claims.

Thus, projects are continuously needed but can only serve as the starting point for a long-term reevaluation process. Can a satisfactory conclusion be reached for the reevaluation?

Dr. Valence Silayo is a lecturer in Archaeology and Heritage at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He is currently on a Gerda Henkel research fellowship at the Linden-Museum Stuttgart, where he is researching the Chagga collections that entered the museum's holdings during the German colonial period. Dr. Silayo will present the initial results of his research, connect them to demands for a German and Tanzanian reevaluation and culture of remembrance, and provide insight into current political processes.

The event will be conducted in English.

In cooperation with the Tanzania Network e.V. and the Linden-Museum Stuttgart

With your registration and participation, you allow the organizer to record the event and to use it for public relations and documentation (§ 22 KunstUrhG). The organizer collects, processes and uses your personal data within the scope of performing the statutory task of the German Lost Art Foundation.