[2] During the interwar period, the collections grew considerably due to Belgian scientific expeditions around the world most notably in Apamea (Syria), in Egypt by the Egyptologist Jean Capart, and in Easter Island in 1936, or by excavations in archaeological sites across Belgium.

Tools, vases and jewellery are put back into context thanks to models and reconstructions, which allow visitors to get an idea of the evolution of daily life during those different periods.

The Middle East, one of the cradles of civilisation, is presented through reliefs, jewellery and many earthen objects dating from prehistoric times to the dawn of the Islamic period (c. 610 AD).

This section showcases the important collections of artefacts from Asian countries, such as China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, as well as the Americas (showing pre-Columbian civilisations and contemporary societies), Oceania (particularly Easter Island) and the Islamic world.

The diversity of peoples and cultures that make up the Islamic world is reflected in works from Spain (Al-Andalus), North Africa, the Near and Middle East, and India.

Works from China, Korea, India and Southeast Asia allow visitors to discover the secular and religious world of this vast continent with diverse cultures and religions.

Vietnamese ceramics, Tibetan paintings, Khmer sculptures, Laos drums, delicate Chinese jades and an Indonesian puppet theatre are some examples.

The collections devoted to Polynesia and Micronesia bring together archaeological and ethnographic objects evoking daily life, weaving, the work of bark, stone, wood and bone.

One of the centerpieces is undoubtedly the colossal sculpture of Pou Hakanononga, the god of tuna, brought back from Easter Island in 1935 by the Belgian training ship Mercator.

Through 4000 years of history, from 2000 BC to the present day, statuettes, painted vases, jewellery revive the Inca, Mayan and Aztec civilisations.

The ethnographic collections also make it possible to discover the feathered art of the native people of Amazonia (such as the famous Moctezuma coat ) and the first nations of North America, represented in particular by the impressive totem pole that welcomes visitors who enter these rooms.

In addition to sculptures, stained glass, ceramics, silverware, altarpieces and tapestries from the 15th and 16th centuries constitute, by their number and quality, a world famous collection.