Worlds within Wien (Vienna)

I had a number of attractions in mind to see in Vienna, but upon learning that they had a “World Museum” in the Hofsburg castle complex, I made an impromptu decision to prioritise it over the Schonbrunn Palace or the Albertina. 

While Austria had never colonised the countries of far away continents, it had produced plenty of wealthy adventurers, some of who had carried off beautiful and/or valuable items from the nations they had interacted with. 

I was amazed to see a shiny, brown musical instrument, patterned with red, from Algeria, a nation which is quite mysterious to me. Other highlights included a regal Mexican headdress with huge green feathers, Native American shoes which looked like something a modern fashionista would love, the full armour of a samurai uniform (complete with a dragon on top of the helmet), and Indonesian sculptures of mythical creatures. I was also impressed by the African collection, which included red and purple velvet robes worn by the king of Ethiopia. They were embroidered with a golden thread in a pattern resembling flowers, befitting royalty. In the same room, sculptures from Benin depicted its former social hierarchies, while conjuring up the military might of the kingdom through its elaborately armoured soldiers. Representations of big animals like lions and crocodiles rounded off this collection, and spoke to a sophisticated arts scene in that country. 

My one complaint about the World Museum was that the items weren’t given enough room to breathe. Often a corner of a painting was obscured by the next item, almost as if the curator cared more about the collective impact of each display case than the integrity of each individual work. Was it a lack of respect for world cultures?

To go against my own theory, there was a sign explaining how Austria was complicit in the Western colonial mindset, and encouraging visitors to allocate equal respect to the cultures of the rest of the world. Hmm. 

Savouring a hot chocolate in the museum’s café afterwards (as well making do with a Thai green curry which was utterly devoid of flavour), I overheard a young person in a headscarf conversing with a more typical-looking Viennese local about antiracism measures. They were in agreement that white people had to get out of the way of people of colour trying to effect change, because asserting their lack of understanding in how to help them was creating more harm than good. 

This was admittedly the closest I came to a meaningful conversation in Vienna, but it’s something. The conservative atmosphere of the city rubbed me the wrong way, but I did enjoy the many splendid sights I saw (such as the National Library, the Belvedere Palace and the Kunsthistorisches Museum). The World Museum stands out as a symbol of Austrian effort to appreciate the worth of other nations, and come to terms with its own problematic history as a result.