Guimet Museum
The Guimet Museum (French: Musée Guimet) is a museum of Asian art located in Paris, France. It has one of the largest collections of Asian art outside Asia .
The museum which was first located at Lyon in 1879 and was handed over to the state and transferred to Paris in 1885, was founded by Émile Étienne Guimet, an industrialist. Devoted to travel, Guimet was in 1876 commissioned by the minister of public instruction to study the religions of the Far East, and the museum contains many of the fruits of this expedition, including a fine collection of Chinese and Japanese porcelain and many objects relating not merely to the religions of the East but also to those of Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. One of its wings, the Panthéon Bouddhique, displays religious artworks.
From December 2006 to April 2007, the museum harboured the collections of the Kabul Museum, with archaeological pieces from the Greco-Bactrian city of Ai-Khanoum, and the Indo-Scythian treasure of Tillia Tepe.
Works of Art of the Guimet Museum
| Museums with major collections of Asian Art |
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Please Note - * : These three museum's specialise in only Chinese items, the collections are not comprehensive for all Asia - *¹ National Museum of China: Includes contemporary collections, science & technology and decorative arts, however the vast majority derives from the Imperial collection, divided between Beijing and the National Palace Museum, Taipei - ² National Museum: This includes the combined holdings of the three museums that make up the National Museum, i.e. Tokyo National Museum, Kyoto National Museum, Nara National Museum - ³ British Library: No sculptures or architecural elements, the world's largest collection of ancient manuscripts from Asia, including the Stein Collection - Misleading Collection: ² Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: Asian collection includes books, prints, postcards and modern paraphernalia, website indicates a massive collection, which is misleading - Misleading Collection: ³ Art Institute of Chicago: The Near & Middle East objects are included within the scope of the collection, overinflates size. n.b. it should be noted that this list is controversial, in so far as it contains only qualitative analysis of museum holdings. These may or may not reflect actual artistic quality of collections in question. |
Greco-Buddhist art
 Gandhara Buddha, 1st-2nd century CE. |
 Hellenistic decorative scrolls from Hadda, northern Pakistan. |
 Standing Buddha, ancient region of Gandhara, northern Pakistan, 1st century CE. |
 Stone palette of a Nereid sea-goddess riding a Ketos sea-monster, Sirkap, 2nd century BCE. |
 Wine-drinking and music, Hadda, 1st-2nd century CE. |
 A Corinthian capitol with a Buddha at its center, 2nd century CE, Surk Kotal, Afghanistan. |
 The Bodhisattva Maitreya, 2nd century, Gandhara. |
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 Scene of the life of the Buddha. 2nd-3rd century. Gandhara. |
 Portraits from the site of Hadda, 3rd century CE. |
Serindian art
 "Heroic gesture of the Bodhisattva", 6th-7th century terracotta, Tumshuq (Xinjiang). |
 Head of a Bodhisattva, 6th-7th century terracotta, Tumshuq (Xinjiang). |
Chinese art
 Han Dynasty Horse (1st-2nd century C.E.) |
 Buddha triad, Eastern Wei (534-550), China. |
 Tang Dynasty Foreign Merchant |
 Northern Qi depiction of Sogdians |
 A tag describing a Chinese artifact, with both Chinese and French captions |
Indian art
 An aniconic representation of Mara's assault on the Buddha, 2nd century CE, |
 The Bodhisattva Maitreya, 2nd century CE, Mathura. |
 A Buddha, 2nd century, Mathura. |
 Buddha of the Gupta period, 5th century, Mathura. |
 Head of a Buddha, Gupta period, 6th century. |
Southeast Asian art
 Mons Wheel of the Law (Dharmacakra), art of Dvaravati, c.8th century. |
 A Cambodian Buddha, 14th century |
External links
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