Banke Hotel Art Collection

The Banke Hotel 5* in Paris exhibits Derby Hotels Collection’s most important collection of ethnic jewellery from Africa, Pre-Columbian America and Asia.

The collection is permanently displayed on each floor of the hotel in glass cases classified by culture. From Papua New Guinea, China, India and Tibet to the ancient tribes of Africa. Particularly notable are the ritual necklaces from Papua New Guinea, silver and ivory bracelets from Sri Lanka, shaman costumes from the Ivory Coast and talisman boxes from the Mali desert.

The Banke Hotel 5*, located next to the Opera House, was one of the first buildings constructed in the Haussmann style on Rue la Fayette in the early 20th century. Previously the surface occupied by the hotel corresponded to the garden of the mansion of the queen Hortensia de Beauharnais, mother of the emperor Napoleon III, also called Charles Louis Napoleon. The building was designed by the architects Paul Friesse and Cassien Bernard in collaboration with the engineer Gustave Eiffel, who designed the central staircase. Today, it is a listed building protected by Paris City Council.