Around 1935 the former Museum voor het Onderwijs obtained an important ethnographic collection from Blijdorp Zoo and the Colonial Museum in Antwerp: items from the west region of the Congo, today’s Democratic Republic of the Congo. The collection includes power figures, dignity rods and ornamental weapons, most going back to late 19th century. They belonged to population groups such as the Vili, Cabinda, Yombe and Woyo.