The Buddhism of Madame Butterfly on display at the new Musée d'ethnographie de Genève

Recently reopened to the public in a new location, the Musée d'Ethnographie de Genève (MEG) is being launched with a completely new exhibition and a calendar of activities with international appeal.

To take on this ambitious project, which is expected to offer two exhibitions a year, the museum wanted to equip itself with a “fleet” of dedicated display cases with great versatility in order to meet a wide range of needs, given the varied nature of the museum’s collection. The cases were also to be easy to use and quick to set up.

The display cases, which were designed by the Atelier de Scénographie Pascal Payeur and created by Goppion,

meet these needs perfectly – they are modular, able to be disassembled and assembled by groups even in large sizes, with the highest levels of preventative conservation thanks to a great level of airtightness and a passive climate control system (silica gel).

Each of the display cases has a flexible lighting system (lighting elements are placed with magnets on bars and can be moved – on the bottom or on the top - depending on display needs.

The various types of display cases (wall, island and table models) come from two distinct series of System M (Modular), which has just been recently developed by Goppion:

1. Cube display cases (120x120x240 cm) are able to be mounted and assembled in various configurations (in a line, in a square, in an L). These are display cases that are non-standard. They are the largest modular display cases on the market, and to create them, we had to do special research into engineering them to guarantee rigidity, stability and airtightness. A storage rack, which has been created specifically for the display cases and is supplied with them, makes it easier to store the pieces after they’ve been disassembled.

2. Cadre display cases. Equipped with a more rigid structure thanks to the external framework, which also makes for a characteristic aesthetic feature, these are larger in size (up to 360 cm) than the other line. They come with wheels so that they can be moved easily.

Our display cases will first be used during “The Buddhism of Madame Butterfly” exhibition, which was inaugurated on Sept. 8 with important works from the museum alongside pieces from other museums in Switzerland and Europe, including special participation by the Musée Guimet in Paris.