Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Musée d'Art et d'Archéologie du Périgord (MAAP) came into being in 1804 when Count Wlgrin de Taillefer created a first museum in the Jesuit chapel of Périgueux. In 1808, the collections, enriched, were transferred to the vomitory of the arenas and renowned "Vesunian Museum". When Taillefer died in 1833, his antiquities were bequeathed to Joseph de Mourcin, who deposited them in the chapel of the White Penitents in 1835, marking the official birth of the museum as the "Museum of Antiques and Art Objects".

In 1836, the museum became departmental and took the name of "Archaeological Museum of the Dordogne Department". Directed by Joseph de Mourcin, then by Dr.Édouard Galy, he settled in 1869 in the former Augustine convent, which was released from prison. In 1857, a fine arts section was added, presenting local and European works. The legacy of the Marquis de Saint-Astier in 1891, composed of 150 paintings, prompted the city to build a new building, inaugurated in 1903 after a contest won by architect Charles Planckaert.

The present museum, built between 1895 and 1898, preserves an organization inherited from its history, with archaeological, ethnographic (Africa, Oceania) and artistic collections. Among his major pieces are prehistoric remains such as the skeletons of Regourdu and Chancelade, medieval works (diptych of Rabastens, Limousin enamel) and non-European collections (Kota, Bambara, Marquises). The cloister, created in the 19th century, exhibits Gallo-Roman and medieval lapidary elements, while the western wing presents the fine arts, renovated in 2002.

MAAP has been a municipal museum labeled "Musée de France" since 2002. He actively participates in cultural life with temporary exhibitions, workshops and events such as Heritage Days. Since 2020, it has been listed as historical monuments. Its building, blending classical and Romanesque styles, suffers however from degradation (infiltrations) and a lack of space, limiting the exploitation of the chapel of Augustines, the last vestige of the original convent.

Ethnographic collections, including sub-Saharan collections, are the subject of a draft inventory in the context of potential restitutions of works from the colonial context. These pieces, acquired through military, religious or ethnographic missions, reflect historical "dissymmetric relations". The museum collaborates with five other regional institutions to document their provenances and identify problematic or claimed works by the former colonies.

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