The event is both historic and symbolic : a selection of some 120 masterpieces of African, Asian, Oceanic and American art is now on display at the Louvre. These outstanding pieces of sculpture come, in the main, from the Musée de l'Homme, the Musée National des Arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie and several other French national or local museums. In addition, however, a number of important foreign museums have agreed to lend key works, some of which have never been seen outside their country of origin. Furthermore, this presentation represents the first opportunity to see some of the remarkable acquisitions with which French museums recently consolidated their own holdings. Fending the opening of the Musée du Quai Branly in 2004, this Pavillon des Sessions display represents the first step towards realising the ambition stated by the President of the Republic : namely, to endow France with a modern institution dedicated to the arts and civilisations of Africa, Asia, the Pacific Islands and the Americas.
