This lecture, cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was recorded in Berlin by Prof. Bénédicte Savoy with the help of cameraman and editor Timur El Rafie.
Missionaries played no less an essential role than the military in the massive transfer of sub-Saharan material heritage to Europe, as demonstrated by the creation of the Lyon Missionary Museum in 1814. While these Catholic and Protestant priests initially brought back everyday objects and textiles from their travels, they soon paid particular attention to fetishes and all the ritual objects dedicated to the local cults they aimed to eradicate. They gradually established themselves as the leading specialists in the history of all these religious objects, which they organized to be sent to missionary collections and other museums throughout Europe.
