"Belgian Ethnologist" Jean-Pierre Hallet Hand Signed Magazine Page Todd Mueller

Description

Up for auction
"Belgian Ethnologist" Jean-Pierre Hallet Hand Signed Magazine PageDated 1980.
This
item
is certified authentic by Todd Mueller Autographs and comes with their Certificate of Authenticity.
ES-5457E
Jean-Pierre Hallet
(1927 – 1 January 2004) was a
Belgian
(born in Africa)
ethnologist
,
naturalist
, and
humanitarian
known best for his extensive work with the
Efé
(
Bambuti
)
pygmies
of the
Ituri Rainforest
. He wrote the 1964
autobiographical book
,
Congo Kitabu
, the 1973 ethnologic book
Pygmy Kitabu
(a more detailed description of life with the Efé and neighboring pygmies), and the 1968 book
Animal Kitabu,
which details his extraordinary collection of animals in the Congo and in Kenya. He initiated the
Pygmy Fund
for the benefit of the Efé. Jean-Pierre's father was
André Hallet
, a famous Belgian painter of African scenes. He lived on the shore of
Lake Kivu
, in modern
Rwanda
. Jean-Pierre, born in Africa, spent his early childhood there. He was then sent to Belgium with relatives for his "formal" education, which included the study of agronomy and sociology at the
University of Brussels
(1945–1946) and at the
Sorbonne
(1947–1948). During 1948 he returned to Central Africa to work as an
agronomist
with the Belgian Ministry of Colonies. It was in this capacity that he initially traveled throughout central Africa, interacting with various cultures and tribes. Both the art works of André Hallet and many pieces from Jean-Pierre Hallet's
African art
collections have been sold at international art auctions. Jean-Pierre donated much of his
Central African
art collection to the
UCLA
African Art exhibit of the Museum of Cultural History (later renamed the
Fowler Museum
), which was part of the rationale for the museum's creation.
Dr. Hallet and his family owned one of the largest authentic Central African art shops in the United States—at the Third Street Promenade in
Santa Monica, California
, near Los Angeles—until the late 1990s.
[2]
The shop was managed by Hallet with his wife Liane Hallet, and two of his stepchildren, Janou Lightning and Kristina Hill. Some of the profit from these art sales was used to benefit the
Efé
pygmies. He made many visits to the Eastern Congo region to visit the Efé (and friends he had made during several decades) and to further his goals of securing land and protection for the Efé. In one instance he was captured by rebel forces in Eastern Congo during the
First Congo War
and detained until Congolese troops were able to free him.