Musee du Quai Branly

Musee du Quai Branly

Yesterday was an "at home" day--the first since we started this trip six weeks ago.  We did ride around the area and shop for groceries for the week.  We spent several spring quarters in this town--Bures-sur-Yvette--in the 70s and the town seemed much the same. IHES--the Mathematics Institute that Rob visited--and l'Ormaille, the housing where we lived during our four visits--were relatively unchanged. In the afternoon Rob attended talks and I read.  A pleasant change to our usual hectic schedule.

bear costume from Oruro Bolivia

Today I took the metro into Paris and spent 5+ hours at the excellent Musee du Quai Branly near the Eiffel Tower.  The museum was designed by Jean Nouvel and brought together the ethnographic collections from two other museums. The extensive building along the Seine includes a circular entrance with a ramp leading to the long rectangular collection buildings which are raised on poles.  Surrounding and beneath the museum are gardens.

I've posted too many photos, but the variety of artifacts is quite amazing.  I barely made it through the main galleries before succumbing to hunger at 3.  A special exhibition on masks of the Ivory Coast was also comprehensive, identifying individual sculptors who covered a range of facial masks, mainly from the early 20th century.