Museums - Musée Africain, Lyon

Since 1861, the Société des Missions Africaines (Society of African Missions) has been asking its missionaries in Africa to send representative objects from the cultures they visit back to Lyon. The first of those pieces were exhibited at the Salon des Curiosités and then at the Lyon International Exposition in 1894. In 1920, the Musée des Missions Africaines opened its doors in Lyon. This was at the time of the heyday of the artistic world’s newfound recognition of African art. The new Musée Africain de Lyon, entirely remodeled, opened on January 28, 2001. In its 750-square-meter space, it shows 2,126 pieces in 138 vitrines. Objects are arranged according to geographic origin, from coastal regions to forest lands, and from the savanna to the North African coast. In addition to the objects on permanent display, the museum’s reserves contain some 4,000 pieces, which are regularly shown in temporary exhibitions. An important collection of masks from the Côte d’Ivoire and the Nigerian Gelede society are among the noteworthy objects in the collection.