The event is both historic and symbolic: a selection of some 120 masterpieces of African, Asian, Oceanic and American art is now on display at the Louvre. These outstanding pieces of sculpture come, in the main, from the Musee de l'Homme, the Musee National des Arts d'Afrique et d'Oceanie and several other French national or local museums. In addition, however, a number of important foreign museums have agreed to lend key works, some of which have never been seen outside their country of origin. Furthermore, this presentation represents the first opportunity to see some of the remarkable acquisitions with which French museums recently consolidated their own holdings. Pending the opening of the Musee du Quai Branly in 2004, this Pavillon des Sessions display represents the first step towards realising the ambition stated by the President of the Republic: namely to endow France with a modern institution dedicated to the arts and civilisations of Africa, Asia, the Pacific Islands and the Americas.