Last week we spend our easter holidays at the Côte d’Opale, a beautiful area in northern France. We stayed in a small village, Wissant, situated between its two famous big cliffs, the Cap Gris Nez and the Cap Blanc Nez. They are the French points of the coast the closest to England and you can indeed spot the cliffs at Dover, 33 km away, at the horizon. Wissant is located 20 km north of Boulogne-sur-Mer; which has an impressive 13th century castle that houses the Boulogne-sur-Mer Museum. Founded in 1825, this museum is especially known for having the largest collection of Greek vases outside the Louvre. There’s also an extensive Egyptian collection which includes a full-scale mummy and various sarcophagi. Apparently it’s the fifth biggest collection in the world; but suprisingly only one room was reserved for it. Of course, it were the non-European rooms that made the visit worth the trip. To start, there’s an incredible ensemble of Alaskan masks (on which more in a later post) from the Isle of Kodiak. Unfortunately the quantity and quality of the African art on view was a bit underwhelming – notwithstanding a few older objects. This was in sharp contrast with the grand hall reserved for the Oceanic art which had multiple masterpieces and many early collected 19th century clubs on display. Below a photo report.
