Restaurants, bars and museums in Lisbon · Page 238

Filters

Museu Nacional de EtnologiaOpens in a new tab

Belém · Museums

The Museu Nacional de Etnologia stands on Avenida Ilha da Madeira, 1400-203 Lisboa, in the Belém neighbourhood. Its story is bound up with the history of Portuguese anthropology. The collection holds around 40,000 objects gathered in several parts of the world and represents about 80 countries across five continents. The strongest holdings come from Portugal, mainland and islands alike, and from the former colonies. The idea for the museum took shape in 1959, when an exhibition called "Vida e Arte do Povo Maconde" was assembled from objects gathered in research led by Jorge Dias among ethnic minorities of the Portuguese overseas empire. The museum itself was founded in 1965 as the "Museum of Overseas Ethnology", with Jorge Dias as first director. After his death in 1973, Ernesto Veiga de Oliveira became director. In 1975 it moved from temporary facilities into its present building, designed by the architect António Saragga Seabra, which opened in 1976 with the exhibition "Modernismo e Arte Africana". A lack of staff and materials closed it a year later. It reopened in 1985, and in 1990 it received its current name. Most objects came from missions organised by the museum or requested by it, while others were bought from private collectors or donated. The museum also holds 11,600 objects from the Popular Art Museum, mostly gathered in the 1930s and early 1940s for the propaganda exhibitions of the Estado Novo. The Portuguese Rural Life Galleries, open since 2000, present agricultural, grazing, traditional technology and home utensil collections, largely assembled in the 1960s and 1970s by Ernesto Veiga de Oliveira and Benjamim Pereira. The Amazonian Galleries, from 2006, show pieces from around 40 Amazonian groups, especially on the Brazilian side. Since January 2013 the permanent exhibition "The museum, many things" has been organised around seven sets that may change over time. They are Balinese shadow theatre; dolls from Southwest Angola; pot lids with sayings from Cabinda; Portuguese folk music instruments; the tally from Rio de Onor, a set devoted to one object; masks and puppets from Mali; and the sculptures of Franklim, a set devoted to an author. Two storage rooms can be visited on guided tours, with previous booking required. The museum opens on Tuesday from 14:00 to 18:00 and Wednesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00. It is closed on 1 January, 1 May, 13 June, 25 December and at Easter. An adult ticket costs 3 euros. Free visitor parking is available, entered from Rua Luís Castanho de Almeida. Carris routes 728, 714, 732 and 751 serve it, as does Belém station on the Cascais line.