Le musée sort de sa réserve : les collections extra-européennes

Who hasn't dreamt of visiting the backstage areas of a museum?
You may already be familiar with the visible side of the Musée de la Loire: paintings, sculptures, engravings, ceramics, tools, models... meticulously displayed on the walls and in the display cases. Haven't you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes?
As the museum continues its second ten-yearly inventory, aimed at checking the presence and condition of the collections, it is offering you the exceptional opportunity to slip into the shoes of a curator for a few moments. You'll be able to follow the progress of this extraordinary project, which is carried out every 10 years by museums with the Museums of France label, and which takes place in secret, well away from the usual visitor circuits.
Last year, as part of the project to include the Loire's nautical knowledge as an intangible cultural heritage site, we looked at the collections through the lens of 'trades' and 'tools'. In 2026, we invite you to travel the world through our collections, which are more than a century old. This month, we're heading for Asia and even Africa, with visits to Japan, China, India, Tibet, Thailand and more. Would you like to learn how to tell the difference between a netsuke and an okimono, rub shoulders with Buddha, Krishna or Guanyin, play the khên or the murali and why not try your hand at wielding a katana, a dao sword or even a kilij? Join us for a change of scenery!
First you'll push open the door of our storerooms for the ever-popular behind-the-scenes look at the museum. Did you know that almost 93% of our collections are stored there? This unique tour will be followed by a workshop where you will have the opportunity to take your own hands on a work of art from the selection.