Guimet research plan 2026 2030

Axis 3

History

of the collections

The history of the collections at hand , their provenances and their acquisition

methods have always been the subject of a heightened attention and vigilance

within museums and specif ically in the musée Guimet . However , in recent years ,

the questions regarding the object ’ s origins have taken on a specif ic prominence ,

following the renewed views and mindsets on the sensitive subject of the colonial

past and , more generally , on the presence of non - European collections in Western

museums . Indeed , if the musée Guimet has always taken into account the history

of its collections for which it is responsible as a major aspect of the research

surrounding them , it is certain that this renewed look and the complex questions

it now raises implies a more in - depth consideration of the historical , economic

and relational contexts in which these acquisitions were made and their primary

motivations . Recent work in this f ield and communications aimed at the countries

from which the works originate have already been set up with Afghanistan ( DAFA

Collections ) , China ( Pelliot collection in Dunhuang ) , Cambodia ( Delaporte ,

Aymonier and EFEO collections ) , Vietnam ( Carpeaux photographic collection ,

Champa art ) , sometimes in the context of institutional cooperations ( DAFA , Ministry

of Culture and Fine Arts of Cambodia , Dunhuang Academy ) . These exchanges

and scientific research on these fundamental matters will have to be further

strengthened in the years to come .

These research projects into origins and provenance makes it possible to gather

information for the inventory and documentation of objects , but also to reconstruct

their historical trajectories and to unpack the relationships and chains of ownership

involved , hence its essentiality today . This work requires a proactive and methodical

approach It involves cross referencing the most diverse sources and documented

results in the most rigorous and exhaustive way possible This is why over the next

five years a sponsorship contract will be dedicated to provenance research

a priority and fundamental axis of the museum s strategic research plan

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