Musée colonial de Marseille

About

The Musée Coloniale de Marseille is a museum dedicated to the products of the former French colonies, mainly botanical products. Created by Édouard Heckel in 1893, it is the first purely colonial museum in France. Its goals are both scientific, economic and commercial.

It was founded at the same time as the Institut colonial de Marseille, also a creation of Heckel. His collections, long neglected, have been greatly diminished over time and the hazards of decolonization. They include rare pieces including a unique sample of a missing palm species.

They form a set of great value not only heritage, but still relevant in several fields of study present (environment, ecology, biodiversity... and of course history) Their attractiveness is renewed by the movement to upgrade university heritage that began in Europe at the turn of the 21st century. Listed as a historical monument with their original furniture, they are being classified.