The museum was built in 1910 by a Dutchman who was trying to prevent Balinese art from being looted and taken to the Netherlands and the United States. With the participation of Walter Spies, the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography was opened in the building. It consists of many traditional pavilions that reproduce the architecture of palaces and temples. Masks, Malay daggers - krises, paintings and sculptures illustrate the history and lifestyle of Bali.

In the northern part of the pavilion, the masks and costumes of Rangda and the barong are exhibited. In the main building there are several exhibits of the prehistoric period, sarcophagi dating back to the 2nd century BC. BC, cages made of bamboo or Indian cane, designed to transport fighting cocks. Two black-and-white photographs are documentary evidence of a puputan.