Museums - Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle de Rouen

Rouen’s rich ethnographic collections include over 2,500 objects. There is a preponderance of pieces from Congo and Gabon, including weapons, headdresses, masks, receptacles, and items of apparel from the Lecomte, Delavoipiere, and Lesieur collections. The Oceanic objects include fetishes, idols, dance masks, weapons, and utensils from the Rameau collection. There are also musical instruments and navigation related pieces—especially noteworthy among them is a Maori canoe prow collected by Admiral Cecille in 1839, considered to be one of the finest known examples. There are also North American objects from the Rumeau collection, California Indian objects from the excavations of M. Cessac in 1881, Lapp pieces donated by G. Pouchet (son of F.A. Pouchet), Mexican works collected by L. Mehedin in 1905, South American items collected by the Crequi Monfort and Sénéchal de la Grange missions in 1908, Chinese works sent by Admiral Cecille in 1844, and Japanese objects from the Adeline collection.