Thirst for Knowledge Meets Collecting Mania

Museum der Kulturen Basel presents the exhibition Thirst for Knowledge Meets Collecting Mania, explores the motives for this former collecting mania and poses questions as to the appropriate handling of sensitive objects today.

Museums face challenging times: what seemed a must for an ethnographic museum in the past – such as a collection of skulls – is now a sensitive issue. In collecting, objects were removed from their original contexts, items made of rare and precious materials such as ivory or gold aroused desires, and exotic weapons were acquired by the score.