"The material dimension of cultural and religious contact: the example of the White Fathers' missionary collection"
A status report Missionary collections are a phenomenon that goes hand in hand with the strengthening of the Christian missionary movement from the mid-19th century, especially in Europe. They primarily consist of objects collected by Christian missionaries during their commitment in the missionary field. In the missionaries´ countries of origin, missionary societies used the collected objects for various purposes, including publicity for their work and societies. Due to their range of influence, the presentation of missionary collections had significant effects on the perception of the ‘other’ in Europe. The existence of missionary collections as a source of religious and cultural contact is currently under acute threat. In 2021 and 2023, CERES took over two collections from a Catholic missionary congregation (White Fathers), which are analysed as a case study. This presentation will provide a first status report on the collection inventory and the initial research results.
