Based on the principle of inalienability of the public domain, the collections held at the musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac are national collections and belong to the French State. Since its creation, the museum has been conducting research into the history of its collections.

The questioning of colonial heritage and requests for the restitution of cultural property to the countries or communities of origin have opened up new perspectives for this mission, which is carried out in a spirit of transparency through scientific partnerships with the countries and communities of origin.

The research policy on the history of the collections

Provenance research and collection documentation are among the priorities of the scientific and cultural policy of the musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac. Multidisciplinary research projects and multi-institutional partnerships are conducted with scientific teams from the countries of origin and indigenous communities to shed light on the shared history of the collections. This commitment to transparency is in line with the museum's cooperation policy.
Find out more about the museum's international cooperation efforts.

To implement its research policy on the history of the collections, the museum has created a curatorial position responsible for coordinating provenance research. It mobilises its own scientific staff and calls on the services of the researchers and interns within its ranks. The museum also forges partnerships with research laboratories, universities and other museums in France that house works of art originating from Africa, Oceania, Asia and the Americas.

Research priorities & criteria for collections acquired during the colonial period

The museum is actively engaged in a documentary project specifically dedicated to the provenance of collections assembled during the colonial period. This project aims to trace the journey of artworks from their context of use and acquisition to their inclusion in national collections.

Research priorities have been set for a corpus of works related to the spoils of war, colonial confiscations or proven thefts. Several evaluation criteria have been established: 

The definition of criteria for identifying the corpus is based on the work of European museums that have undertaken similar initiatives.

(Septembre 2023)