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The Role of a National Museum the Case of the National Museum of Cambodia

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The Role of a National Museum the Case of the National Museum of Cambodia BALANCING POLITICAL HISTORY, ETHNOGRAPHY, AND ART: THE ROLE OF A NATIONAL MUSEUM THE CASE OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF CAMBODIA Mr. Kong Vireak Director, National Museum of Cambodia INTRODUCTION It is not without difculty that one can For its modest defnition, museums are discuss and debate the role of the Cambodian a major expression of cultural identity in every National Museum within this theme. In its society. The role of national museums in defning context of having been part of a French Protec- and shaping a nation’s identity has been a much torate, the National Museum of Cambodia was discussed topic of late. In introducing, perhaps, created with a mandate to cover archaeology the most stimulating collection of essays on the and art history but also to balance the colonial subject, Darryl McIntyre and Kirsten Wehner in history with the great past Cambodian civiliza- the introduction to their co-edited publication, tion. Since it opened till the present day, the Na- National Museums: Negotiating Histories – Con- tional Museum of Cambodia’s core collections The Exterior of the National Museum of Cambodia ference proceedings (2001), drew attention to the and displays center on archaeological and art Image courtesy of the National Museum of Cambodia difculties contemporary national museums objects, which include exclusively the statues of face in trying to “negotiate and present com- Indian Gods of Hinduism and Buddhism, with peting interpretations of national histories and the exception of a small number of pre-historic Mouhot(1826–1861), such as Travels in the Central and researchers. The discovery of Khmer sites national identities.”1 How national museums and ethnographic objects. which complement Parts of Indo-China (published in 1863) and perhaps resulted in a true scientifc and museological seek to represent competing histories, contested the art collections. even more so from engravings of Mouhot’s draw- expansion that raised the question of the role certainties and cultural diference through their ings, the image of Angkor, became emblematic of archeology in ‘cultural colonisation’. In the structures, spatial arrangements, collection pol- What is the role in balancing political of the most spectacular form constructed for case of Cambodia, this question should be noted icies and exhibition strategies has been analyzed history, ethnography and art that the National the International Colonial Exposition in 1931, within a context of ruins and heritage objects by many scholars and practitioners, generating Museum of Cambodia plays? This may become which captured the French imagination. The being taken possession while being ‘processed’ an extensive literature on the subject. the turning point for a new mandate for a Cam- International Colonial Exhibition attempted for archaelogical purposes. After the French bodian National Museum to challenge. to display the diverse cultures and immense re- naturalist and explorer, Mouhot, the frst agent The 5th Asian National Museums As- sources of France’s colonies. It was the pinnacle of such processing was the lieutenant Ernest sociation (ANMA) focuses on the competing IN THE BEGINNING, THERE WERE of a number of exhibitions that reconstructed Doudart de Lagrée, who took advantage of a and difcult mandates that national museums ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE ARTS the colonies in 1878, 1889 and 1900, in Paris, and reconnaissance to Angkor, before he became the address.The Asian Civilisations Museum of Sin- in 1906 and 1922, in Marseille. leader of the French Mekong Expedition of 1866- gapore is the chair of this conference and defnes Needless to say, Cambodia is among the 1868, a major scientifc expedition of the 19th the central theme of the conference as Balancing richest country in terms of its cultural materials. Cambodian archaeological work was, and century. If archaeological deposits, in the form Political History, Ethnography and Art: The Role However, until the late 19th Century, Cambodia essentially remains, focused on its great monu- of Khmer sculptures, defne the cultural identity of a National Museum so as to encourage public was lesser known to the West. Infuenced by ments. The temples, by their number, their gran- of Indochina, it is signifcant that the frst move discussion among the Asian National Museum publications such as the journal, World Tour, deur and beauty, almost ineluctably monopolise to conserve them was part of their appropriation practitioners. (1863), travel accounts by the explorer Henri the attention of the few concerned institutions and exportation to France. The other prominent 2 The Mekong Expedition was the frst systematic exploration of the Mekong River. Led by Ernest Doudard de Lagrée and Francis Garnier, the expedition ascended the river from its mouth 1. Daniel McIntyre, and Kirsten Wehner. In National Museums: Negotiating Histories: Conference Proceedings, (Canberra: National Museum of Australia, 2001), xiv. to Yunnan between 1866 to 1868. Delaporte was a young naval ofcer and chosen to accompany the expedition because of his talent in drawing. 10 11 Balancing Political History, Ethnography, and Art: The Role of a National Museum Kong Vireak The Case of the National Museum of Cambodia fgure in this process was Louis Delaporte, a lieu- began and a new phenomenon arose: tourism. latter’s study in jewellery, sculpture and weaving. A number of guides as well as various catalogues tenant and member of the Mekong Expedition From October to December 1907, two hundred and publications relevant to the collections are of 1866-1868.2 He would later describe his initial visitors visited the Angkor site. Tourism also His museum was not conceived simply already known to the public. emotion: “I could contemplate these monuments brought with it a competition with other colo- as a place to conserve and display collections. of art ignored for too long without feeling a nial powers, such as the British and Dutch, who From the beginning, it was integrally linked strong desire to make them known to Europe sought archaeological treasures. For immediate to the School of Cambodian Arts (École des BALANCING POLITICAL HISTORY, and enrich our museums (with) a collection of solutions, many of the statues and architectural Arts Cambodgiens), whose mission was to train ETHNOGRAPHY AND ART: SPECIAL Khmer antiquities whose place was all marked elements at Angkor were transported to the artisans in diverse skills. Such was the vision of EXHIBITION AND THEIR ROLE next those of Egypt and Assyria.” With the cre- then newly created Dépôt de Conservation d’Ang- its founder, George Groslier who intended that IN BALANCING NATIONAL AND ation of the Trocadero Indo-Chinese Museum kor, Angkor Conservation Depot in Siemreap. As objects from antiquity provide a source of inspi- REGIONAL IDENTITIES in 1880, Louis Delaporte introduced the Khmer the number of objects increased in this depot, a ration for modern art. He considered modern civilization to the pantheon of universal arts. museum was needed. art somewhat slugish after a long sleep. Yet, he As the number of visitors to the National thought modern art was potentially powerful. Museum of Cambodia has increased, there is In Indochina, the essential scientifc in- FROM ARCHAEOLOGICAL For this reason, 19th and 20th Century objects a need to shape the public’s understanding of stitution of archaeological investigation is École RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION of everyday life are presented as being of artistic their country’s history. The National Museum française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO), the French OF MONUMENTS TO THE MUSEUM: value in the museum. As such, apprentices in of Cambodia has arrived at a the turning point School of the Far East. Established in 1898 by the THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE jewellery, metal-casting, drawing, sculpting and in its development. Instead of its traditional Governor General Paul Doumer(1857–1932), it NATIONAL MUSEUM OF CAMBODIA weaving of the time worked in a most propitious role of collecting, preserving and sharing its was frst named the “archaeological mission” in atmosphere. It must also be said that antiquities rich collections, it now fnds that it plays an spite of its objects of study being very broad. It is In Phnom Penh, two museums with a had already begun to disappear from sites. They expanding role in supporting the development of not limited to the study of extinct societies, since mandate to cover archaeology and art history were making their way to various foreign collec- communities and major economic activities. In it includes philology and ethnology. EFEO was were established. The frst was established by tions. Legal controls for their protection were performing such important duties, the National created under the aegis of the Institut de France, decree on August 17, 1905 under the authority not well-established. To mitigate cultural losses, Museum of Cambodia needs to consider the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres. of the higher Resident of Cambodia and the a museum was clearly ever more indispensable. role of cultures and communities which cross When ofcials of the EFEO have to reafrm the scientifc control of the EFEO. The museum national borders and cultural objects that have school’s authority, such as it’s scientifc control was built in 1908 by a Kuhn-Cambodian archi- In 1917, the frst stone was solemnly been retooled and contextualized over diferent of museums in Indochina, they still prevail in tect who graduated from the Central School of laid; thus launching the project of building historical periods. garnering this legitimacy at the highest national Paris. It was located in the grounds of the royal a museum. Construction was completed in scientifc bodies. Another notable point is the palace and was funded by the royal treasury. 1920. This was followed by the inauguration of From 2010, the National Museum of issue of preservation of ancient monuments in This fact gives an indication of the interest of the museum, then called The Albert Sarraut Cambodia has promoted special and temporary Indochina.
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