The museum is a new Ethnographic collection housing and showcasing artworks from all parts of Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Americas, and it certainly is a rich eclectic mix of masks, sculpture, textiles, ceramics, artefacts, paintings......
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The Museum also has a very interesting programme of temporary exhibitions and currently showing are a Maori Exhibition as well as the " Samourai - armure du guerrier" and a very challenging but fascinating exhibition which documents the rise and fall of freak shows and human zoos entitled "L'Invention du Sauvage" which runs until June 2012....
Human zoos, incidentally, astonishingly closed as late as 1958......hence the Museum is well worth a visit for learning a great deal about the world in which we live, including its more than chequered past.....
10 comments:
Great post Catherine. I have enjoyed both my visits to le Musee Branly. I am almost ashamed to confess my favorite part is not the collections inside, but the "Mur Megetal" on the building facade. I still don't understand how they get those plants to grow alongside the wall yearound, in spite of the harsh Paris winter and all that pollution! Incidentally, the gastronomic restaurant inside the museum (les Ombres) is well worth a visit: The food is excellent, service impeccable, and the best tables overlook the Eiffel Tower. Great light show at night! Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)
Marvelous post and terrific captures, Catherine! Interesting history! Would love to pay a visit there myself!! Hope you have a great week ahead!
Sylvia
Hey, how long are you going to be in Paris ?!? Or did you just stop in for a weekend trip ??? We were just at Quai Branly a couple of times this fall, the Photo Quai photo expo was very good, and the museum is always a pleasure. They had a New Zealand special exhibit on the Maori culture running recently. The cafeteria is also very good, even if one doesn't have time or budget for the gastronomic restaurant upstairs... Anyway, hope you had a lovely time...
Yes, I was waiting for these pictures. I understood from your comments on my blog (also about this museum) that we "almost met"! I hope that next time you are in Paris, we can visit something really together! :-)
Hi Owen and Peter - this visit was at the beginning of December when I was in Paris with students for a Model United Nations Conference and didn't have a moment to myself outside the supervisory role - will let you know when I can get back to Paris on my own terms as it would be fun to meet and visit somewhere together...
Hi Veronique - glad you enjoyed the museum too - and yes we also ate in the cafeteria which I thought was great - will have to try the restaurant next time though as that sounds a real treat...
Hi Sylvia - glad you enjoyed the post - I know you love travelling around the world on your computer - your lovely comments are always much appreciated...
Looks like a treasure trove of design inspiration. I think I'd skip the exhibit featuring human zoos, though!
Oooh! This is my kind of museum. Really informative post, I love the shot of the masks.
This is one of the museums in Paris that I did not visit yet. But I'm impatient to visit it. The inside seems very interesting , and the outside with the vegetal wall, sounds so intriguing..
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