National Museum of Brazil--Destroyed in Fire-- Begins to Rebuild

Tupinambá Cloak Returned

Huge fire guts Brazil's 200-year-old National Museum in 2018

The National Museum of Brazil, located in Rio de Janeiro, is the oldest scientific institution of Brazil and was one of the largest natural history and anthropology museums in the Americas.

In 2018 Brazil Lost Most of the National Museum in a Fire: 92.5% of its archive of 20 million items were destroyed.

Efforts to rebuild

To give its supporters a glimpse at conservators’ continuous efforts to rebuild, the institution is partially reopening. Beginning June 5th, and running through the end of the month, museum guests will get the chance to learn more about the restoration process through guided tours of three refurbished rooms.¹

In place of losing the majority of its precious contents, the museum has also been gifted close to 14,000 donations from international collections, including manuscripts, ceramics, fossils, and Indigenous artifacts.

Tupinambá Cloak Returned

A rare 16th-century Tupinambá cloak was donated from the National Museum of Denmark.² The cloak was taken from the Tupinambá people during the Portuguese colonial period and had been on display in Copenhagen since 1689.³ Attributed primarily to “increased awareness” on the part of the Danish Museum’s director and international relations with the Brazilian government, the process to make the restitution of the splendid scarlet ibis feather cloak official went on for two years and took place in secrecy, as described by Elisangela Roxo in her article “The Return of the Tupinambá Mantle.”⁴

Brazil works to restore burnt National Museum

1. National Museum of Brazil to Partially Reopen After Fires. Art & Object. June 4, 2025.

2. Denmark returns iconic indigenous cloak to Brazil. BBC News. September 12, 2024. C& América Latina (C&AL) is a dynamic, critical art magazine focusing on the connection between Afro-Latin America, The Caribbean and Africa.

3. Khadyg Fares The Return of the Tupinambá Cloak: Restitution and Internal Colonialism. C& América Latina (C&AL), Wed 7 Feb, 2024. C& América Latina (C&AL) is a dynamic, critical art magazine focusing on the connection between Afro-Latin America, The Caribbean and Africa.

4. Elisangela Roxo, “The return of the Tupinambá mantle: The National Museum of Denmark will return to Brazil a sacred relic that has been in Europe since the 17th century.” Revista Piauí. June 27, 2023.