Musee National des Costumes

The Musee National des Costumes occupies the former Palais du Gouverneur in the Quartier France district of Grand-Bassam, a single-story colonial building constructed in 1893 to house the governor of French Cote d'Ivoire before the capital relocated to Bingerville in 1900. The building itself, with its deep verandas and symmetrical colonial facade, is one of the best-preserved structures in the historic quarter and was converted into a museum dedicated to traditional Ivorian dress and textiles. The permanent collection is arranged by ethnic group and region, presenting ceremonial and everyday costumes from communities including the Baoule, Senufo, Dan, and Akan peoples, alongside masks, jewelry, and woven textiles such as kente-style cloth produced in the country's north. Display rooms follow the original layout of the governor's residence, with costumes shown on mannequins in what were once reception and living quarters, giving visitors a sense of both the colonial building's domestic scale and the diversity of Ivorian material culture. Labels are presented primarily in French, describing the regional origin and ceremonial use of each costume, such as pieces worn during initiation rites, funerals, or chieftaincy ceremonies. The museum's holdings are modest in size compared to the national museum in Abidjan, but its setting inside an original colonial-era building gives the collection an added layer of historical context, linking the story of Ivorian dress to the same quarter that once served as the colony's administrative center. The building has undergone periodic restoration to its roof and woodwork, and while some exhibit rooms show wear, the structure remains structurally sound and open to the public.