About this place
Founded in 1825, the museum is now housed in the count’s castle, built in the 13th century by Philippe Hurepel.
Through the Gallo-Roman underground passages, the Guard Room, and the Barber’s Room, you can admire rich collections, some of which are unique in Europe. The collection of ancient Greek vases is the largest in France after that of the Louvre.
The first fortified castle without a keep, it was converted into a barracks under Francis I. Later used as a prison, the city purchased it in 1974 and opened its municipal museum there in 1988.
Designated a historic monument, the castle-museum offers more than 5,000 m² of galleries displaying magnificent French and foreign earthenware, beautiful porcelain, paintings, and sculptures (Rodin, Barye, Carpeaux, etc.) from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, as well as paintings by 19th-century masters inspired by the Opal Coast (Boudin, Corot, etc.).
Also worth exploring:
* Egyptian antiquities: a mummy and the inner coffin of the boatman Néhemsimontou (8th century B.C.), the sarcophagus of the singer of Amun (20th and 21st Dynasties), funerary boats and statuettes...
* Gallo-Roman antiquities: column bases, funerary bas-reliefs, stone sarcophagi, bronze statuettes, and more
* The collection of explorer Alphonse Pinart, which includes tools, weapons, and exquisite carved wooden masks from various Eskimo and Aleut tribes of Alaska.
* The glassware collection: display cases 12 and 13 in the museum contain heavy blue bottles from the High Empire and works of art from the Late Empire originating from workshops in Cologne and Trier.
* The ceramics collection: glazed pottery and earthenware from Desvres, Boulogne, and Delft dating from the 17th and 18th centuries.
* Objects from Oceania, including a Maori war canoe (New Zealand).