Museum of Arts and Traditions of Sevilla

It is associated with Spain. The record gives 1973 as its date of establishment or first appearance. Its recorded seat is Museo de Artes y Costumbres Populares de Sevilla. It is recorded in the collection of Parque de María Luisa.

The museum occupies the Mudéjar Pavilion (Pabellón Mudéjar) designed by Aníbal González and built in 1914. It served as an art pavilion, the Pabellón de Arte Antiguo, for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929, when Aníbal González had the opportunity to design several additional permanent buildings for the plaza. The exterior is ceramic over brick, and has three doors with archivolts adorned with glazed tiles (azulejos). The building originally consisted of two stories over an aeration chamber (necessary because of the humidity). In the 1960s, the main floor, originally over 12 m high, was divided in two, with an intermediate level added by architect Delgado Roig. In 1972, as part of the preparations for the current museum, the various stories of the building were connected by a grand spiral staircase designed by José Galnares Sagastizábal. The museum was established by a decree of 23 March 1972, initially as a section of the Museum of Fine Arts of Seville. It opened its doors to the public 4 March 1973. For the next seven years, the museum fell under the responsibility of the Ministry of Education and Science, but the city government occupied more than half of the poorly maintained building. Neither institution took full responsibility. This situation led to a series of temporary closures. In 1976, the electric bill could not be paid, and the museum had to be shut until it could get power again. In 1979, heavy rains damaged the interior. On 26 March 1980, the City Council agreed to allow the Ministry of Education and Science to use the whole building, for as long as it was used for the museum, on the condition that the Ministry would suitably restore it. On this basis, the Ministry hired architect Fernando Villanueva Sandino. The resulting restoration converted the primitive aeration chamber into a new lower-ground floor. The museum reopened 18 October 1984; at that same time the new Andalusian Autonomous Government took over the museum, along with other museums in Andalusia that had been operated by the central government of Spain. In 1990 the main floor was further fitted out for temporary exhibitions, and in 1994 the Díaz Velázquez Collection was permanently installed, with a little over a third of the building remaining for temporary exhibitions.

The public portion of the museum occupies the lower-ground floor, the main floor, and the additional floor (now "first floor") that was created by Delgado Roig. The permanent exhibition space amounts to 5496 m2. The upper floor contains the museum library (specialized in ethnography and museology). There is also a photo archive, audiovisual and conference rooms, as well as a restoration studio and a photography laboratory. Temporary exhibitions can be visited independently of visiting the rest of the museum. As of 2010, the arrangement of exhibits is: • Main floor • Halls I–II: Díaz Velázquez collections of embroidery and lace. • Halls III–V: Temporary exhibitions • Halls VI–VII: Recreation of the Díaz Velázquez family dwelling • First floor • Halls I–II: Apparel, personal adornment, and religious objects • Hall III: Musical instruments and popular literature • Hall IV: Cultivation of wheat • Halls V–VI: Goldsmithing and embroidery • Hall VII: Fittings and furniture • Lower-ground floor • Hall I: Functions of domestic furniture (mobilario) • Hall II: Functions of domestic furniture (ajuar) • Hall III: Types of domestic containers • Hall IV: Traditional offices • Hall V: Ceramics and tilemaking • Hall VI: Ceramics workshops. Popular use of ceramics • Hall VII: Winemaking • Hall VIII: La Cartuja (?) and Japanese ceramics • Hall IX: Knives and firearms • Hall X: Metalwork • Hall XI–XII: Various techniques of processing • This floor also includes storage areas, archives, audiovisual space, and the restoration studio. • Sources: