Papaye n° 3
DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC OF CONGO : WATCH OUT !
In
may 1997, While Laurent Kabila’s rebellion was taking control of Kinshasa, the
capital city of Zaire which became later The D. R. of Congo, the National Museum
Institute of Zaire was plundered . Many items of great cultural, artistic and
historic value were stolen, including the royal wooden statue of Kuba Ndop
bushoong. The IMNZ was the place where, around 50 000 objects, which composed
one of the most beautiful and important African collections, were kept.
Fortunately these objects had carefully been labelled and recorded. This work enables the International Council of Museums to alert museums,
galleries, African Art’s collectors and lovers in case of possible
acquisitions of any artistic object from Central Africa. The Democratic Republic
of Congo had signed since 1961, the Haye convention of 1954. However, the
country didn’t sign the Second
Protocol of the Convention.
source : UNESCO publication