Europe

Started before the museum opened in 1975 under the leadership of Samuël Glotz, the European collection is the richest in our institution and also the largest in Belgium, with 7,750 items covering the 17th century to the present day. From 1981 to 2007, Michel Revelard continued the acquisition work with passion, conducting extensive field research and devoting several exhibitions to masked practices in Europe.

This collection brings together a wide variety of pieces illustrating winter festivals (from November 11th to Candlemas) and carnivals (from Shrove Tuesday to Easter). Both are closely linked to nature, the cycles of life, and the fertility of the earth and women. These periods of transition, considered to be moments of passage between winter and spring, are traditionally seen as conducive to the opening of a parallel world, that of the Underworld. This is why disturbing figures such as devils and witches frequently appear during these celebrations. These festivities are also marked by a permission, even an encouragement, to engage in all kinds of excesses and socio-cultural and political parodies.

At the same time, Europe saw the emergence of more theatrical forms of masquerade, such as the Commedia dell'arte. Born in Italy in the 16th century, this burlesque tradition, codified around emblematic masks such as Arlequin and Polichinelle, has profoundly influenced the performing arts and masked practices in Europe.

Although presented here according to their continent of origin, these pieces come together in our exhibition in a resolutely thematic way, inviting new dialogues between cultures and a cross-cultural reading of masked practices around the world.

This old costume from the Villingen carnival dates back to the 1700s and represents the ‘Weberigel’, the city's tower guard.

This papier-mâché mask comes straight from the famous Venice Carnival.