Mbole figure. Height: 69,5 cm. Image courtesy of the MAS (# AE.0673).
As previously reported, the Antwerp MAS – Museum aan de Stroom, which holds the collection of the former Ethnographic Museum, recently launched their online collection database (which can be browsed here). Thanks to the efforts of Els De Palmenaer (keeper of the Africa collections), the provenance and acquisition date are now also visible ! This is quite helpful when establishing a terminus ante quem for the creation date of a specific object. While viewing an object entry you can click on ‘Extended display’ in the left tab to show both data fields. The Mbole figure above, for example, was acquired from Henri Pareyn, together with seven other Mbole figures, on 13 April 1920.