A significant collection of Ivorian cultural heritage, amassed by a German researcher during the 20th century, has finally returned home. The artefacts, purchased between the 1930s and 1970s, are now on public display, allowing a new generation to connect with their ancestral legacy.
A Legacy Returned: From Zurich to Abidjan
German ethnologist Hans Himmelheber, who died in 2003, spent decades travelling across Ivory Coast. He built a vast archive of ritual objects, 15,000 photographs, and a dozen films. Recently, Switzerland's Rietberg Museum handed back approximately 107 pieces from this collection to their country of origin.
Today, these masterpieces from the Senufo, Dan, Baoule, and Guro peoples are showcased in the cities of Abidjan and Man. Ivorian schoolchildren now crowd around exhibits that once fascinated visitors in Zurich, examining intricate masks, finely carved turtles, and ceremonial spoons.
More Than Just Objects: A Colonial Context
The return is part of a growing, sensitive global movement to repatriate cultural artefacts taken from former colonies. Michaela Oberhofer, head of the Africa and Oceania collections at the Rietberg Museum, acknowledged the complex history. She noted that while Himmelheber "always bought his pieces," the colonial context sometimes forced people to sell their cultural property.
An exhibition at the Adama Toungara museum in Abidjan, running until March 8, retraces Himmelheber's journeys. It features 24 of the 107 returned objects, including a striking "wabele" hood mask and a delicate Dan runner's mask, alongside thousands of digitised photos and films.
Reconnecting Generations and Challenging Stereotypes
The restitution, formalised by a 2025 agreement between Switzerland and Ivory Coast, included funded research projects and workshops. Himmelheber's photos and films were screened in 16 Dan villages he frequently visited, often moving younger generations who recognised their ancestors.
Himmelheber was a meticulous documentarian of artists' techniques. His son, Eberhard Fischer, stated his father treated Ivorian artists as seriously as European masters like Picasso or Paul Klee, challenging the anonymisation of African art. The collection also includes ornate loom pulleys and pottery, disproving stereotypes that African art is limited to masks and figures.
Francis Tagro, director of Abidjan's soon-to-reopen Museum of Civilizations, called the donation key to diversifying their collections. Meanwhile, Ivory Coast anticipates the return of the historic Djidji Ayokwe "talking drum," taken by French colonial troops in 1916 and approved for repatriation by the French parliament in July.
