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Paper short abstract:

I will analyze how early pro-restitution arguments were once detoured as colonial propaganda by focusing on José de Oliveira's public defense of DIAMANG, an Angolan diamond mining company. DIAMANG's Dundo Museum, a 'Museum of African Art' in Africa, was used to validate the late Portuguese empire.

Paper long abstract:

The restitution of African heritage that will be prompted by Sarr/Savoy's report is being heralded by activists, journalists, and academics as groundbreaking. Nevertheless, there is a 'pre-history' to this possibility which should be taken into consideration. The Portuguese empire is never mentioned throughout Sarr/Savoys' report. This lapse constitutes a considerable blind spot because the restitution of African pieces and the creation of a major 'African Museum' in colonial Angola, the 'Museu do Dundo' (1942-1974), was central to Portuguese imperial propaganda from the early 1950's onwards.

This paper will focus on the propagandistic efforts of José Osório de Oliveira (1900-1964), a Portuguese writer and public intellectual. José Oliveira was engaged in defending DIAMANG's public image in Europe (Belgium, France and Germany) and Brazil. DIAMANG (1917-1988) was a diamond mining company, with mixed Belgian, British, North American, Portuguese and South African capital, responsible for the brutal colonization of 52.000 km2 at the northeasternmost province of Angola.

Central to José Oliveira's apologetic efforts was the account of the creation of a 'Museum of African Art' in Africa, where the 'indigenas' (racialized populations) could be taught about their own cultures and admire 'masterpieces' - theirs and those of other 'major' African civilizations. In his pamphlets and lectures, José Oliveira mentions other European intellectuals who defended either the restitution of African pieces, or the creation of museums 'in situ', as a way of legitimizing the colonial situation.

We must prepare for our exciting 'post-restitution' future by confronting their legacy and arguments.