Burke lived and worked in some of the most remote locations in Africa in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Although he was given everything he needed from the American Embassy, he and his wife, Linda, shopped and bartered at local markets and often bought "junk" they didn't need in order to help out local children and merchants. Some of his prized possessions include an African dance costume given to Burke as thanks for hosting a group of locals at their home in Central African Republic, and a hand-carved wooden boat that is an exact replica of the Liverpool, a British mail ship the locals often saw from a delta-area village in Nigeria. Your collection is a particularly interesting one, not just because it is from the early days of the Peace Corps and from an area experiencing great social and political upheaval, but also because of your collecting philosophy and motivation," Cay wrote in an e-mail on Nov. 1. "All of these factors impressed the committee and the director."
Guinea RPCV Kevin Burke gives his collection of African Art from the Central African Republic, Chad, Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone to Harvard's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
Peace Corps relics head to museum
Caption: Kevin Burke of Buzzards Bay and his wife, Linda, pack up memorabilia from his 30 years at various posts throughout Africa to donate to the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University. Above is Burke’s ID from his early days as a Peace Corps volunteer.
By Aaron Gouveia
STAFF WRITER
November 19, 2007
BUZZARDS BAY — The hand-carved wooden cars and trucks are from the Central African Republic, while the ivory elephant carving hails from Guinea. The other trinkets are from Chad, Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone.
Kevin Burke, a Buzzards Bay resident and former Peace Corps volunteer and Foreign Service officer for the U.S. government, collected them all over a 30-year span. Soon his entire collection will be on display at Harvard's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in Cambridge.
As Burke, 66, stood in his garage last week boxing up all his artifacts, he had a story behind each item. It was the first time he'd looked at many of his treasures since he put them in storage almost 40 years ago, he said.
Worried that his three sons might discard many of the items in the future, Burke began contacting museums around the world two years ago to find a home for his belongings. However, Burke said, he had trouble finding a taker because his wasn't a traditional art collection.
"My motivation in these acquisitions was not as a collector, but as one keenly interested in each and every aspect of subsistence-level people trying to participate in the mainstream economy," Burke said. "I was totally fascinated to see what things were created and brought to the primitive marketplaces to gain access to local currency."
Market stall fare
Burke lived and worked in some of the most remote locations in Africa in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Although he was given everything he needed from the American Embassy, he and his wife, Linda, shopped and bartered at local markets and often bought "junk" they didn't need in order to help out local children and merchants.
Some of his prized possessions include an African dance costume given to Burke as thanks for hosting a group of locals at their home in Central African Republic, and a hand-carved wooden boat that is an exact replica of the Liverpool, a British mail ship the locals often saw from a delta-area village in Nigeria.
Burke hadn't taken the elaborate, beaded dance dress out of its cardboard box for 40 years, so he was amazed to find it extremely well-preserved, beads still intact.
In addition to the African objects, Burke is sending his passports — totaling more than a dozen — and scores of black-and-white photos from his time abroad.
Archival notes
In order for his collection to be accepted, Burke said, he had to label each artifact and provide context — where it came from, when he purchased it and the history behind each item.
Officials from the Peabody Museum did not return phone messages seeking comment on Friday, but Burke provided copies of e-mail correspondence with Amy Wolff Cay, assistant registrar at the museum.
"Your collection is a particularly interesting one, not just because it is from the early days of the Peace Corps and from an area experiencing great social and political upheaval, but also because of your collecting philosophy and motivation," Cay wrote in an e-mail on Nov. 1. "All of these factors impressed the committee and the director."
A chapter closed
Burke, unsure when the exhibit will open, admitted to shedding a few tears as he combed through his belongings in preparation for their move to Cambridge. Burke is not being paid for his donation. He is simply thankful the Peabody wanted it.
For Burke, the donation officially closes that chapter of his life, and the retiree plans to continue working part time for the Army Corps of Engineers in the Cape Cod Canal field office during the summer.
"I'm happy they (the Peabody Museum) took a liking not only to the art, but the nature of the collection," Burke said.
Aaron Gouveia can be reached at agouveia@capecodonline.com.
