Museu Nacional de Etnologia

About the museum

The Museu Nacional de Etnologia is linked to the history of Portuguese anthropology. Jorge Dias, who had directed the Centre for Ethnological Studies since 1947, and his team carried out research into material culture, including fieldwork in northern Mozambique. An exhibition on the Makonde in 1959 gave rise to the idea of creating a museum, which was founded in 1965 with the programme of representing the cultures of peoples from all over the world.

The current building was completed in 1975 and opened the following year with the exhibition “Modernismo e Arte Africana” (Modernism and African Art). The museum closed shortly afterwards and reopened to the public in 1985. Its programme was based on the absence of a permanent exhibition, in favour of temporary exhibitions, and on storage areas organised for researchers and accessible to the public.

The collection comprises about 40 thousand objects, mainly from mainland and island Portugal and from the former colonies, as well as from the Brazilian Amazon and Indonesia. Since 2013 the permanent exhibition “O museu, muitas coisas” (The Museum, Many Things) has been on display, in seven sets: the Balinese shadow theatre, dolls from south-west Angola, pot lids with proverbs, Portuguese folk instruments, the tala of Rio de Onor, masks and puppets from Mali, and the sculptures of Franklim Vilas Boas.

Two storage areas are open to the public: the Galerias da Vida Rural (Rural Life Galleries), since 2000, and the Galerias da Amazónia (Amazon Galleries), since 2006. There are also visits to the Galerias de África (Africa Galleries), by prior registration.

Highlights

• Permanent exhibition “O museu, muitas coisas”, in seven sets
• Galerias da Vida Rural, with about 3,000 pieces
• Galerias da Amazónia, with objects from about 40 peoples
• Wayang Kulit shadow theatre of Bali
• Masks and puppets from Mali
• Guided visits to the Galerias de África (Africa Galleries)

Permanent exhibitions

• O museu, muitas coisas – Permanent exhibition in seven sets of objects, including the Balinese shadow theatre, dolls from Angola, Portuguese folk instruments and masks from Mali.
• Galerias da Vida Rural e da Amazónia (reservas visitáveis) – Storage areas open to the public, with collections of rural life in Portugal and of Amerindian peoples, mainly from the Amazon.

Founded

1965

Operated by

Museus e Monumentos de Portugal, E.P.E.

Visitors per year

approx. 5,217

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Residents of Portugal: free access to the museums and monuments of Museus e Monumentos de Portugal up to 52 days a year, on any day of the week, upon presentation of the Cartão de Cidadão at the ticket office.

Standard ticket: €10. 50% discounts on the standard ticket for visitors aged 65 or over, young people aged 13 to 24 and families with at least one adult and one child. Free admission also for unemployed residents of the European Union, researchers and museum professionals on duty, former combatants, accredited tourism and media professionals, and members of ICOM, ICOMOS and APOM; free admission requires proof at the ticket office.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

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Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Museum bookshop, library and media library.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

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