The story — Pierre Bergé Museum of Berber Arts
In the very studio where Jacques Majorelle painted, a museum opened in 2011 devoted to North Africa’s oldest culture: the Amazigh, or Berber, culture. It bears the name of Pierre Bergé, who, together with Yves Saint Laurent, gathered rare Amazigh pieces over many years.
The museum displays more than six hundred objects from across Morocco — the Rif, the Middle and High Atlas, the Souss and the Sahara — including silver jewellery, decorated weapons, basketry, wooden vessels, textiles and carpets, and ceremonial costumes.
The highlight is the jewellery room: a darkened space where silver necklaces, bracelets and diadems glitter behind glass framed by mirrors, beneath a ceiling that recalls a starry sky. It makes visitors realise that Amazigh jewellery is not mere ornament but a language of belonging, status and protection.
The museum is small and can be visited in under an hour, yet it offers an essential key to Moroccan identity and perfectly complements the Jardin Majorelle and the Musée Yves Saint Laurent.
Don’t miss
- The jewellery room under a “starry sky”
- Ceremonial costumes from many regions
- Decorated weapons and everyday objects
- A map of Morocco’s Amazigh cultures
Photos
Some photos are illustrative.
