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| Museu Nacional de Etnologia (Portugal) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Museu Nacional de Etnologia |
| Native name | Museu Nacional de Etnologia |
| Established | 1962 |
| Location | Lisbon, Portugal |
| Type | Ethnographic museum |
| Collections | Ethnography, material culture |
Museu Nacional de Etnologia (Portugal) The Museu Nacional de Etnologia is a national ethnographic institution in Lisbon dedicated to the collection, study, preservation, and exhibition of material culture from Portugal, Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. The museum, operating within Portugal's cultural institutions network, engages with national bodies and international partners to present transregional narratives linking Lisbon, Luanda, Goa, Macau, and Rio de Janeiro. It works closely with universities, museums, and cultural agencies across Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
The museum was founded in 1962 during a period of cultural investment under the Estado Novo regime and later reoriented after the Carnation Revolution of 1974 to reflect decolonization and postcolonial scholarship. Key figures and institutions associated with its history include directors and curators who collaborated with Instituto dos Museus e da Conservação, Universidade de Lisboa, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and the Museu do Oriente. Influential international contacts have included the British Museum, Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Anthropology (Madrid), and Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde. The museum's evolution intersected with events such as the Carnation Revolution, Portugal's accession to the European Economic Community, and cultural policies shaped by the Ministry of Culture (Portugal), impacting collections from Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, and São Tomé and Príncipe.
The permanent collections encompass ethnographic holdings from Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas, including material from former Portuguese territories such as Macau, Goa, and Daman and Diu, alongside acquisitions from Brazil, India, Indonesia, East Timor, and Timor-Leste. Collections feature textiles linked to Angola and Mozambique weaving traditions, ritual objects associated with societies in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, ceremonial material from São Tomé and Príncipe, and maritime artifacts connected to the Portuguese Empire and Age of Discovery. The archive includes photographic collections documenting expeditions related to António Madureira, field notebooks from collaborations with Jorge Custódio, and sound recordings of music from Fado contexts and African diasporic communities. The museum preserves musical instruments tied to traditions in Brazil and Mozambique, ritual regalia from Timor-Leste, and trade goods reflecting links to China, Japan, Indonesia (Dutch East Indies), and Sri Lanka.
Permanent and temporary exhibitions interpret material culture through cross-cultural themes, with past shows developed in partnership with institutions like the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Fundação Eugénio de Almeida, Instituto Camões, and the European Museum Forum. Educational programming has included collaborations with secondary schools in Lisbon, fieldwork training with departments at Universidade de Coimbra and Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas (UNL), and outreach with community organizations representing diasporas from Angola, Mozambique, Brazil, Guinea-Bissau, and Cape Verde. Special exhibitions have addressed topics linked to the Transatlantic slave trade, Maritime Silk Road, and urban migrations to Lisbon. The museum has organized curatorial exchanges and touring exhibitions with the Museu Nacional de Antropologia (Madrid), MEG – Musée d'ethnographie de Genève, and the Museum für Völkerkunde (Vienna).
Research programs focus on material culture studies, memory, heritage policy, and museology, often co-supervised with research centers such as CHAM – Centre for the Humanities, CEAACP – Centro de Estudos de Antropologia e Arqueologia Universidade de Coimbra, and the Instituto de História Contemporânea. Scholarly output includes exhibition catalogues, peer-reviewed articles in journals associated with Associação Portuguesa de Antropologia, conference proceedings from events like the International Council of Museums meetings, and monographs published in collaboration with the Imprensa Nacional‑Casa da Moeda and academic presses at Universidade do Porto. The museum participates in EU-funded projects with partners such as Horizon 2020 consortia and bilateral research with institutions like the Wellcome Trust and the British Academy.
Located in a purpose-adapted building in Lisbon, the museum houses conservation laboratories, object storage, a library and archive, and multimedia spaces for audiovisual presentations. Facilities support conservation practices aligned with standards promoted by ICOM and training initiatives with the European Confederation of Conservator-Restorers' Organisations. The library holdings include ethnographic monographs, colonial-era reports, and audiovisual archives accessible to researchers by appointment, built in cooperation with Arquivo Nacional Torre do Tombo and local municipal archives of Lisbon.
The museum is administered in coordination with national cultural authorities and receives funding from multiple sources including the Ministry of Culture (Portugal), project grants from the European Commission, cultural sponsors such as the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, and partnerships with universities and private foundations. Governance structures involve a director and advisory boards that liaise with bodies like the Instituto dos Museus e da Conservação and international networks including UNESCO and the International Council of Museums.
Situated in Lisbon, the museum offers guided tours, temporary exhibition schedules, educational workshops, and public lectures. Visitors may consult the museum for access to the library and archives, ticketing information, and opening hours, and can reach it via Lisbon transport links serving cultural institutions such as the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga and the Museu do Oriente. Category:Museums in Lisbon