Please note: From Monday, 5 May up to and including Wednesday, 7 May and from Monday, 12 May up to and including Friday, 16 May 2025, the exhibition areas of the Ethnologisches Museum on the 2nd floor of the Humboldt Forum will be closed due to maintenance work. The exhibition areas will be open from Thursday, 8 May up to and including Sunday, 11 May 2025.

Focus on Collection Holdings

Large parts of the tangible and intangible collections from all over the world, which are now in the holdings of the Ethnologisches Museum, were assembled under colonial conditions; those responsible at the time, as well as collectors, made use of the (infra-)structures of European colonialism and also strengthened them through their interest in collecting. In the following, prominent examples from the Ethnologisches Museum's holdings are explained in detail.

The Benin Collection in Berlin

© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin / Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss / Alexander Schippel

Objects from the kingdom of Benin

The Outrigger Boat from the Island of Luf

© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin / Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss / Alexander Schippel

Historical Context and Provenance Issues

Ngonnso’ Statue

Ngonnso’
Ngonnso’ © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum / Eric Hesmerg

News: Path is Clear for Returning the Ngonnso’ to Cameroon (28 June 2022)

“Mandu Yenu”

“Mandu Yenu”: The Royal Throne of Bamum at the Ethnologisches Museum
“Mandu Yenu”: The Royal Throne of Bamum at the Ethnologisches Museum © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum / David von Becker

The Royal Throne of Bamum