MEB 45-245ab

Research by: Sarai Martín López
Institució dipositària: Museu Etnològic i de Cultures del Món (MuEC)
Nº inventari institucional: MEB 45-245ab
Breu descripció institucional: Babouche
Advertiment: Definition given in the institution's own inventories, which we do not necessarily share and which in some cases may be offensive or the result of prejudice.
Material: Satin, sewn and embroidered
Advertiment: Terms used by scientific and academic institutions to describe the material collections held by museums of ethnology, natural history or zoology, which overlook other non-Western forms of designation and classification. While we do not necessarily share these terms, we nevertheless use them in provenance research such as this.
Mesures: 8 cm x 20,5 cm x 25,8 cm
Mètode d’adquisició: Purchase
Advertiment: This refers to the process of acquisition of the object/specimen by the institution currently holding it, and not to the first transfer it underwent from its original context. If you have information that may be relevant to the provenance of the object/specimen, please write to comunicacio@traficants.org.

Lloc d'adquisició: Chefchaouen (Morocco)
Advertiment: Data extracted from the documentary collections of the institution, which may be erroneous or incorrectly transcribed. The historical toponymy (often of colonial origin) has been retained to give coherence to the research.
Place of production/origin: Chefchaouen (Morocco)
Advertiment: Data extracted from the documentary collections of the institution, which may be erroneous or incorrectly transcribed. The historical toponymy (often of colonial origin) has been retained to give coherence to the research.
Collector: August Panyella and Eudald Serra
Advertiment: The personal or institutional names that appear, often associated with the colonial order, may be offensive or the result of prejudice. These references are used to give coherence to the research.
Donant: Not recorded in the museum's inventories
Advertiment: The personal or institutional names that appear, often associated with the colonial order, may be offensive or the result of prejudice. These references are used to give coherence to the research.
Classification group: Not recorded in the museum's inventories
Advertiment: Data extracted from the documentary collections of the institution, which may be erroneous or incorrectly transcribed, and which we do not necessarily share. We keep a terminology (tribe, people, ethnicity, race, country, etc.), created or manipulated during the colonial period, to give coherence to the research.
Holder of the legal property rights: Barcelona City Council
Advertiment: Reference is made to the holder of the rights recognized by the legal and juridical systems of the former colonial metropolises, regardless of the property rights that may emanate from the communities of origin.

Summary of results

This is a pair of babouches bought by August Panyella and Eudald Serra from Ahmed ben el Hach el Talidi in Chefchaouen on 8 January 1956, during the third expedition of the Ethnological and Colonial Museum to the Spanish Protectorate of Morocco.

Chronological reconstruction of provenance

According to the list of expenditure on acquisitions, these babouches are part of a lot of seven pairs of ‘old’ babouches (numbered 234 to 249) that cost a total of 860 pesetas (the individual price is not recorded) (MEB_L128_07_03). They were purchased on 8 January 1956 from Ahmed ben el Hach el Talidi in Chefchaouen (MEB_L128_07_04). There are no further specifications on the production of the babouches.

Estimation of provenance

This pair of babouches was purchased from Ahmed ben el Hach el Talidi in Chefchaouen as part of a batch of seven pairs of babouches for a price of 860 pesetas. It is included in a larger batch of purchases that cost a total of 2,100 pesetas: ‘2 brass trays, 1 silver snuffbox, 2 silver bracelets, 6 silver amulets, 2 reed flutes, 1 earthenware inkwell, 2 earthenware pipes, 7 pairs of babouches’.

Possible alternative classifications

It is recommended that missing information be added to the inventory: the price of the lot (860 pesetas), and the seller (Ahmed ben el Hach el Talidi).

Complementary sources

Archives:

MEB_L128_07_03
MEB_L128_07_04

Bibliography:

López Bargados, A. i Martín López, S. (2022). Entre zocos e internados. Itinerarios y procedimientos en las expediciones del Museo Etnológico y Colonial de Barcelona al Protectorado español sobre Marruecos (1952-1956). Ajuntament de Barcelona.

Soriano, M. D. (2010). Historia, tradición y cultura: Las colecciones africanas del período colonial del Museu Etnològic de Barcelona. Dins Actes del 7è Congrés Ibèric de Estudis Africans (p. 1-20). Lisboa.