Die Gesellschaft der Freunde des Musée d’Ethnographie du Trocadéro, Mäzenin eines Museum (1928–1935)

Abstract

As the institutionalization and professionalization of anthropology came comparatively late to France, throughout the 1930s public resources remained scarce and patronage played a crucial role, whether in the material reorganization of the Trocadéro Museum, media coverage of its activities, the arranging and financing of its missions or publishing its findings. The central role of the Société des Amis du Musée d’Ethnographie du Trocadéro (SAMET) is analyzed in this context. With its many activities and its influence over the higher echelons of society the Association was able to legitimize the Museum at crucial moments and support its thorough-growing reorganization. Furthermore, SAMET was crucial in training young anthropologists (both men and women, it should be noted), organizing ethnographic missions and establishing an international network of professionals and collectors capable of reinvigorating the Trocadéro Museum’s collections and its multifaceted activities.