Collections

Wooden carving of King, late 18th century

The Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas (AOA) holds a collection of around 9,000 objects from the modern Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly the Belgian Congo). A series of fieldwork expeditions made in the early 20th century by the Hungarian ethnographer, Emil Torday, resulted in the formation of a collection of over 3,000 objects, including superb wooden sculpture, most notably three king figures, as well as carved bowls, boxes, cups, other figures and masks; raphia textiles; unglazed pottery and weapons. Coins, medals and paper money from Congo are held by the Department of Coins and Medals (C&M), from early colonial currencies to the coins and banknotes of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Objects From The Congo On The British Museum Website