Halfway through the gallery, two splendid specimens of Okapia (which later became the symbol of the museum) direct visitors towards a small but rich ethnographic section that includes the Piola and Ferrante collections.

These collections come from the Congo and consist of furniture and everyday objects used by the Congolese people, as well as musical and ritual objects. Of particular note are a precious Pngdudu mask (mask of invincibility) used in initiation rituals and a costume with related instruments and objects belonging to the “Leopard Men”, a resistance group that opposed the Belgian regime by carrying out targeted murders and passing them off as attacks by the feline.