Chiefly representative of the decorative arts of the 17th and mainly 18th century, when all arts were at their peak, the Louis Vouland collection brings together furniture, objets d'art and other works of art, acquired over forty years from antique dealers or big auctions and estate sales in Nice, Marseille, Paris...

Nearly 200 ceramic objects, on permanent exhibition, illustrate through their diversity the evolution of chinaware in Europe, its relations with the Far East, and the relations between different porcelain centers in France, such as Nevers, Rouen, Strasbourg, Lyon and more particularly those in the south, Marseille, Moustiers, Montpellier, their workshops, their techniques and their decorations. Porcelain figurines and objects from Saxony, Vincennes, Sèvres add refinement and preciosity.

The great tapestries of Flanders, Aubusson and Gobelins, with their mythological motifs, adorn the walls while the finer tapestries of Beauvais with shepherd or literary themes, canvas stitched tapestries and silks decorate walls and armchairs leaving the oriental rugs to enhance the floors.


The collector's taste for authenticity clearly appears in the choice of elegant furniture in the Regency, Louis XV and Louis XVI styles: commodes, consoles, corner cupboards, secretaries, accessory furniture, gilded and painted wood and Parisian marquetry made by the great master cabinetmakers such as Migeon, Ellaume, Boudin, Tuard, while a preference is shown for the provinces in the chairs coming from the famous Lyon workshops.

The silver and gold plate pieces, dishes emblazoned with coats of arms, coffeepots, creamers, tumblers, saltcellars, wine-tasters, candlesticks, intimately combine daily life with the taste for luxury in the art of entertaining and in personal objects, while the gilded bronze, chiseled in to stands, handles, frames, protects the furniture, enriches the vases, ornaments the clocks, reflecting the light from the chandeliers and lamps.

A new collection of works by regional artists, especially painters from the Avignon School of the late 19th century, brings to the Museum a Provençal touch.