African Arts during the Second World War: Spoliations, Destructions, Displacements
Les arts d’Afrique pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale : Spoliations, destructions, déplacements
Published on Monday, May 12, 2025
Abstract
The contemporary focus on African cultural property looted during the colonial period has served to shift the focus back to African artefacts as central to the historical issues of the twentieth century. However, the question remains as to whether this assertion extends to the Second World War period. In the context of contemporary research into objects from colonial contexts and those looted between 1933 and 1945, the fate of African works during this period remains an unresearched subject. This study day will shed light for the first time on the multiple consequences of the war on African art, including its commercialisation, movement and disappearance, both in Africa itself and in Europe.
Announcement
In conjunction with the program Répertoire des acteurs du marché de l'art en France sous l'Occupation (RAMA), and as part of the research projects initiated by the French National Institute of Art History (INHA) pertaining to the art market and provenances, INHA is organizing a study day titled African Arts during World War II: Spoliations, Destructions, Displacements, on November 13, 2025 in Paris.
Context
Current concerns regarding contentious collecting practices of African cultural property during the colonial era have helped repositioning the arts of Africa as central to the 20th century’s historical stakes and challenges. But what about the period of the Second World War? Deliberate avoidance, lack of interest, or lack of sources, African arts have found themselves to the margins of the history of spoliations, destruction and displacement of works of art during the 1933-45 period, with research largely focusing on European art. At the crossroads of current research on the translocation of works in colonial contexts and that on the looting of cultural goods between 1933 and 1945, the fate of African artworks during the Second World War remains an unthought field of research, that requires a close reading of the archives, between the lines and against the grain.
The aim of this Study Day is to propose a first exploration of this topic, considering the multiple consequences of the war on African artefacts, their displacements, erasures and repositioning - both on the African continent and in Europe. This meeting will provide an opportunity to establish a state of the field, and to identify and bring together researchers with specialized knowledge. The goal is to formulate key questions through a collective and open approach, by proposing a framework that takes into consideration a plurality of perspectives and areas of expertise: art historians, historians, anthropologists, archaeologists, provenance researchers, museum curators, lawyers. The issues at hand are multifold, from the history of collections, to the identification of stakeholders, the translocation of works, and the specific status of African objects in the context of racist theories of fascism.
Possible themes
- African objects in looted Jewish collections
- Material culture in Africa looted during the war
- (In)Visibility of African objects in World War II archives
- Market players and trade networks for African artworks during the war
- Collections under the bombs, between shelter and destruction
- Repercussions of the war on cultural events in Africa (museology, art and archaeology)
- Specificity of African material culture in the context of the Second World War
- Common problematics between African arts and “degenerate” art
- Double sensitivity, double spoliation of African material culture, between colonial context and Second World War
Abstracts submission
If you would like to participate, please send a 10 lines-abstract as well as a short bio including your title and institution (one paragraph maximum) in French or in English to artsafrique2025@inha.fr.
Deadline for submission: June 1st 2025.
Conveners
- Yaëlle Biro, Scientific Coordinator, Art Market and Provenance, INHA, Paris, France,
- Delphine Delamare, Doctoral Student, INHA,
- Lola Mirti, Doctoral Student, INHA
Scientific Committee
- Abel Assefa, Director and chief curator, Yimtubezina Museum and Cultural Center, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- Cécile Bargues, Art historian, Paris, France
- Yaëlle Biro, Art historian, Scientific Coordinator, Art Market and Provenance, INHA, France
- Julien Bondaz, Ethnologist, Laboratoire d’anthropologie des enjeux contemporains, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Associate Researcher, Centre Alexandre Koyré (UMR 8560, EHESS-CNRS-MNHN), France
- Didier Houénoudé, Art historian, Professor, Université Abomey-Calavi, Benin Republic, and Saxony Museums, Germany
- Anne-Solène Rolland, Director of the Department for Heritage and Collections, Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, France
- Isabelle Rouge-Ducos, Art historian, Mission for the research and restitution of looted cultural properties between 1933 and 1945, Paris, France
- Bénédicte Savoy, Art historian, Professor, Technische Universität Berlin, Germany
- Ibrahima Thiaw, Archeologist, Professor, Université Cheick Anta Diop, Dakar, Senegal
- Esther Tisa Francini, Chief of archives and provenance research, Museum Rietberg, Zürich, Switzerland
Subjects
- History (Main category)
- Mind and language > Representation > Cultural history
- Zones and regions > Africa
- Mind and language > Representation > History of art
- Periods > Modern > Twentieth century
- Mind and language > Representation > Heritage
- Periods > Modern > Twentieth century > 1939-1945
- Zones and regions > Europe
Places
- Institut national d'histoire de l'art - 2 rue Vivienne
Paris, France (75002)
Event attendance modalities
Full on-site event
Date(s)
- Sunday, June 01, 2025
Keywords
- afrique, seconde guerre mondiale, patrimoine, histoire de l'art, spoliation, destruction, déplacement
Contact(s)
- Yaëlle Biro
courriel : yaelle [dot] biro [at] inha [dot] fr
Information source
- Lola Mirti
courriel : lola [dot] mirti [at] inha [dot] fr
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« African Arts during the Second World War: Spoliations, Destructions, Displacements », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Monday, May 12, 2025, https://doi.org/10.58079/13wji
