This museum was created in 1835, but was not housed in its current location in the pavilions of the Cinquantenaire complex until 1889. Its history goes even further back in time, however, and its collection includes curiosity objects and memorabilia given to the Dukes of Burgundy and the Habsburgs from as early as the fifteenth century.
Its mission today is to present a wide panorama of diverse civilizations and cultures, from prehistory through the present day. Sub-Saharan Africa and Melanesia are not represented in the current collection, as objects from those areas were transferred to the Musée Royal de l’Afrique Centrale in Tervuren. The non-European pieces are exhibited in the Cinquantenaire on two levels, grouped together by cultural area. On the ground floor, the Oceanic hall remains as it has been since it was reinstalled in 1982 in a manner that at the time was considered highly innovative. The works in it are grouped by ethnographic origin and provide an examination and comparison between the techniques and creations of the various Polynesian islands. The museum conducts ongoing archaeological research on Easter Island, which it began with the Franco-Belgian expedition of 1934–1935, and it has important archives of this work. The most important work in this collection is the colossal Pou Hakanononga statue, collected by the expedition of the vessel Mercator in 1935. An important tapa collection is also held in the museum’s reserves. The Indonesian world occupies the two galleries on the first floor, where the island cultures are represented by their artistic and ethnographic creations. Particularly noteworthy among the objects displayed are Dayak masks from Borneo, stone funerary monuments, weapons from the Batak of Sumatra, and a collection of manuscripts and textiles.
The museum's American galleries opened in 2005.