Barbier-Mueller Museum, Ethnographic museum in Old Town Geneva, Switzerland.
The Barbier-Mueller Museum is an ethnographic museum in Geneva's Old Town housing a major collection of tribal and classical artworks. Its holdings span sculptures, textiles, ornaments, and decorative objects from societies across Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe.
The collection began forming in the early 1900s when a private collector started acquiring artworks from around the world. The museum opened to the public in 1977 and has since remained in Geneva's historic center.
The collection reflects how people across different societies created objects that held meaning in their daily and spiritual lives. Visitors encounter tools, ornaments, and artworks that reveal what mattered to ancient craftspeople and their communities.
The museum occupies a historic building in Old Town Geneva accessible on foot from the city center. Visitors should come prepared to explore multiple floors and allow several hours to view the collection properly.
The institution publishes extensive catalogs and art books documenting its collection, making research materials available to scholars globally. It also sends traveling exhibitions to museums worldwide, allowing its artworks to reach audiences far beyond Geneva.
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