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Paper short abstract:

The collection of Munduruku objects preserved at the Weltmuseum of Vienna is one of the best preserved in Europe. This paper aims at showing the first results of an ongoing research in which contact with some Munduruku representatives was made and a dialogue on the objects was established.

Paper long abstract:

The collection of Munduruku objects preserved at the Weltmuseum of Vienna is one of the more interesting and well preserved in Europe. Mostly assembled at the beginning of the 19th century by Johann Natterer it reunites artworks that, except for a few ones, Munduruku people do not produce anymore. After studying the collection in October 2020, in December 2021 and February 2022, I had the chance to meet some representative of Munduruku people, show them some pictures of the “Austrian” objects and start a dialogue on their meanings and their importance in the past and in/for the present. With this paper I aim at showing the first results of this ongoing research, joining the debate about the process of rethinking and decolonization of museum institutions. Besides reflecting on the best ways to treat Munduruku objects in such a way to respect cultural ownership and reveal histories and narratives usually silenced by Western hegemonic perspective, I will focus on the methodological issue of museological collaborative approach, its limits and responsibilities. This last point is, in general, still quite problematic but very important because involving native representatives is a basic prerequisite for the production of alternative narratives which, once disseminated both inside and outside the space of the museum, might have positive consequences in the “re-education” of society and of the State in terms of civil and political inclusiveness.