Musée d'histoire naturelle de La Rochelle
Musée d'histoire naturelle de La Rochelle
We are delighted to welcome Musée d'histoire naturelle de La Rochelle as a participant of the WanBel global project.
The Muséum d’histoire naturelle de La Rochelle presents a focused and important group of Papua New Guinea objects within its Oceanic collections. It includes an exceptional early collection of island dance masks such as a unique mask from Vitu Island, a Tolai dukduk, an Elema kovave mask, and a Baining kavat mask from New Britain. Together, these works speak to ceremonial display, social distinction, and the diversity of artistic traditions across coastal and island PNG. The PNG holdings displayed on the 2nd and 3rd floors, sit within a wider Oceanic and extra-European collection assembled through older field collecting, donations, and contemporary institutional acquisitions.
The historic setting of the museum in the former palace of the governor of Aunis, a listed historic monument, adds an important layer to the presentation, linking the collection to the maritime, architectural and institutional history of La Rochelle itself.
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