ABSTRACT

While the history of Norwegian museum acquisitions and collection formation has long been a topic of research, the extent to which colonial structures are still embedded in various Norwegian collecting institutions is seldom addressed. In this paper, we discuss the legacy of colonial collections in Norway through two case studies; Inge Heiberg’s collection of Congo ethnographica in various exhibitions at the University of Oslo’s Museum of Cultural History from the early 1900s to the present; and the Norwegian Kon-Tiki Museum’s initiative to repatriate human remains and other material excavated by Thor Heyerdahl on Rapa Nui in the 1950s. Presenting two cases that have been promoted as attempts at decolonisation – apparent “best practice” scenarios – we ask how the collections of Heiberg and Heyerdahl are used in current research and representations, and discuss whether the exhibiting and repatriation of the collections represent a continuation of, rather than break from colonial museum practice. We argue that attempts to revise current exhibition practices and research agendas prove consistently difficult. We conclude that in their very different ways, the cases illustrate that museums are effectively trapped in their collections. Heyerdahl and Heiberg still have the privilege of being curators of their collections.

摘要

虽然挪威博物馆收购和收藏形成的历史长期以来一直是研究的主题，但殖民结构仍然嵌入挪威各种收藏机构的程度很少得到解决。在本文中，我们通过两个案例研究讨论了挪威殖民收藏的遗产；从 1900 年代初期到现在，Inge Heiberg 在奥斯陆大学文化历史博物馆的各种展览中收藏的刚果民族志；以及挪威 Kon-Tiki 博物馆主动遣返托尔·海耶达尔在 1950 年代在拉帕努伊挖掘的人类遗骸和其他材料。提出两个被宣传为非殖民化尝试的案例——明显的“最佳实践”场景——我们询问 Heiberg 和 Heyerdahl 的收藏如何用于当前的研究和表示，并讨论这些藏品的展览和遣返是否代表了殖民博物馆实践的延续，而不是脱离了殖民博物馆的实践。我们认为，修改当前展览实践和研究议程的尝试证明一直很困难。我们得出的结论是，这些案例以截然不同的方式说明了博物馆实际上被困在了他们的藏品中。Heyerdahl 和 Heiberg 仍然有幸成为他们收藏的策展人。这些案例表明，博物馆实际上被困在他们的藏品中。Heyerdahl 和 Heiberg 仍然有幸成为他们收藏的策展人。这些案例表明，博物馆实际上被困在他们的藏品中。Heyerdahl 和 Heiberg 仍然有幸成为他们收藏的策展人。