Musée-bibliothèque Paul Arbaud

About the museum

The Musée-bibliothèque Paul-Arbaud is located at the entrance to the Mazarin quarter, on the site of a former Feuillant convent built in the mid-17th century. The convent was sold as national property and destroyed during the Revolution. The museum is named after its founder, Paul Arbaud, born in Paris in 1831, a collector, bibliophile and patron who devoted his life and his father's legacy to gathering pieces of great variety.

A widower with no children, he bequeathed his collections and his mansion by will in October 1910 to the Académie d'Aix, of which he was an honorary member, on condition that it maintain them and open them to the public. He died on March 17, 1911. The Académie des sciences, agriculture, arts et belles-lettres d'Aix has owned the premises since 1912 and has its seat there.

The museum holds a collection of about two hundred and fifty pieces of Provençal faience, mainly from Moustiers and Marseille: decorations after engravings by Antonio Tempesta, grotesque decorations and apothecary jars from the Clérissy manufactory. It also keeps Paul Arbaud's library, which researchers can consult by appointment. The museum holds the “Musée de France” designation.

Highlights

• Collection of Provençal faience from Moustiers and Marseille
• Paul Arbaud's mansion, seat of the Académie d'Aix
• Decorations after engravings by Antonio Tempesta
• Collector's library, available to consult by appointment
• “Musée de France” designation

Permanent exhibition

• Collection de faïences provençales – About two hundred and fifty pieces from Moustiers and Marseille: decorations after Tempesta, grotesques and apothecary jars.

Operated by

Académie des sciences, agriculture, arts et belles-lettres d'Aix

Visitors per year

approx. 3,073

Admission & discounts

Rates published by the museum for the period of the current exhibition.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

On foot, up the Cours Mirabeau: the museum is in the second-to-last street on the right, between the Fontaine Moussue and the Fontaine des Quatre-Dauphins.

Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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