Animals from A to Z, Mucem, Marseille: 3 October 2018-4 March 2019

Humankind’s relationship with animals has been hugely complex and multifaceted. From food to pest control, and poetry to religion, wild beasts have always featured in our social life and civilizations. Now Frédéric Mougenot, a curator at Mucem, wants to capture that relationship in a single exhibition: Animals from A to Z.

Each of the 26 objects on display represent a letter of the alphabet, and are drawn from across Mucem’s collection. In keeping with the complex theme, the objects themselves are extremely varied (so don’t worry, you won’t be poring over 26 arrowheads or dusty old coins). Highlights include the letter “G”: an antique shaving bowl illustrated with a giraffe. The bowl speaks to the 19th-century fascination with giraffes as exotic creatures, first brought to the public attention by the Sultan of Egypt, who gifted “Zarafa” to the king of France.

“B” explores the goat [bouc]. This fairly harmless-looking creature has long been tied up with religious ideas of the devil (the devil has horns, so do goats, therefore…) The object on display is an amulet shaped as a pair of horns on a pedestal, historically used in Italy to ward off the “evil eye”.

The sheer variety and strangeness of this exhibition promise not to be boring. Those who don’t normally enjoying peering at historical or archaeological displays will benefit from this very creative A-to-Z structure. You might need to take a French dictionary with you, though, to work out how on earth goats can end up under the letter B…

MuCEM (Musée des Civilisations de l'Europe et de la Méditerranée)

7 Prom. Robert Laffont, 13002 Marseille