Museu Casa de Nhozinho, museum in São Luís, Maranhão
Museu Casa de Nhozinho is a museum in a historic house from the early 1800s in central São Luís, preserving the work of a local artisan. The building spans multiple floors with exhibits of handmade dolls, ceramics, textiles, wood carvings, and objects that show how people lived and worked in Maranhão.
The building was constructed in the early 1800s and served as both home and workshop for the local artisan Antônio Bruno Pinto Nogueira, known as Nhozinho, who died in 1974. The house opened to the public as a museum in 2002 to preserve his legacy and the craft traditions of the region.
The museum shows how local artisans of Maranhão worked with natural materials like plant fibers and clay to create objects for daily life. These pieces reflect the traditions and customs of São Luís residents and remain part of the region's living culture.
The museum is open daily except Mondays and is not crowded, allowing plenty of time to view the exhibits at a leisurely pace. The staff are welcoming and happy to answer questions about the objects and their significance.
What makes the collection notable is Nhozinho's masterful work with buriti, a local plant fiber he transformed into artistic pieces that are rarely seen elsewhere. This traditional technique has largely faded from practice, but the museum preserves examples of how he shaped this material into detailed sculptures and functional objects.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
