In the epoch of overseas discoveries, Europeans accumulated fragments of the realities they found in cabinets of curiosities. The private collectors specialized in different branches of "natural history" and this led to the emergence of scientific museums in the 18th century. At the end of the 19th century, universal exhibitions displayed "primitive" artifacts side by side with Western technologies, suggesting the "barbarism" of colonized peoples. But, at the beginning of the 20th century, the avant-gardes rediscovered the art nègre, using it as a source of artistic renovation. This article begins by describing these various forms of dealing with the cultural expressions of others, in order to understand the meaning of the recently opened Musée Branly. The French museum, devoted to non-occidental societies, provides an opportunity to reconsider some fundamental issues. Should we exhibit these artifacts as ethnographic testimonies or works of art? Can we expect traditional "authenticity" in a global era? What are the ethical issues involved in the acquisition of these objects? In the last part of the article, the notion of "primitive" art itself is put into question.
anthropology of art; Musée Branly; museology; "primitive" art
