British Museum Department of Asia

Chinesestonewarestatue of a judgement figure, 16th century,Ming Dynasty.

TheDepartment of Asiain theBritish Museumholds one of the largest collections of historical objects fromAsia.These collections comprise over 75,000 objects covering the material culture of the Asian continent (including East Asia, South and Central Asia, and Southeast Asia), and dating from the Neolithic age up to the present day.

History

The department's collection began with a donation from SirHans Sloane,which contained a small number of objects from the Asian continent, including a collection of Japanese material acquired from the family of the German traveller and physicianEngelbert Kaempfer(who had led an expedition toJapan).Only a few objects were acquired from Asia between 1753 and the 1820s, but the collection expanded in the late 19th century to become one of the world's largest. This was mainly through a donation of a number of South Asian objects, such as the gilded bronze figure of Tara fromSri Lankain 1830, the Bridge Collection of East and Central Indian sculpture in 1872, and the Amaravati Collection in 1880. The collection of Asian material was greatly expanded during the tenure of SirAugustus Wollaston Franksas Keeper of the Department of Antiquities from 1866 to 1896, and in 1921 the Sub-Department of Oriental Antiquities was established. In 1933, the Asian collections of the Prints and Drawings Sub-Department were united with the Department of Oriental Antiquities, forming one of the most significant collections of art and antiquities of Asia in the northern hemisphere. In 2003, the Department of Oriental Antiquities and the Department of Japanese Antiquities merged to become the current Department of Asia.The Keepers of the Department of Asia include:Jessica Rawson,Robert Knox (1994–2006),Jan Stuart(2006–2014) and Jane Portal (2014–).

Highlights of the collection

Highlights include:

• The most comprehensive collection of sculpture from the Indian subcontinent in the world, including the celebrated Buddhist limestone reliefs fromAmaravati.
• An outstanding collection ofChinese artand antiquities, paintings,porcelain,lacquer, bronze, jade, and other applied arts.
• A fine collection ofBuddhist paintingsfromDunhuang,and theAdmonitions ScrollbyGu Kaizhi.
• A broad range ofIslamic artinpottery and tiles,paintings,metalwork,glass,seals, and inscriptions.
• The most comprehensive collection of pre-20th centuryJapanese decorative artsin the Western world.

The layout and collections of the department

Most of the Department of Asia is located in the King Edward's Building, which forms the northern section of the museum. It is split into several rooms and four main geographic areas:

• TheChina,SouthandSouth East Asiasection is located in rooms 33 (SirJoseph HotungGallery for China and South Asia) on the ground floor. This gallery reopened in November 2017 after a refurbishment.
• Amaravati, Buddhism-related carving gallery is located in room 33a (Asahi Shimbun Gallery) on the ground floor, at the western end of room 33.
• Chinese jadegallery (Selwyn and Ellie Alleyne Gallery) is located in room 33b on the ground floor.
• The SirPercival David CollectionofChinese ceramicsis located in room 95 on the upper floor
• TheIslamsection is located in room 34 on the ground floor.
• TheJapansection is located in rooms 92–94 on the upper floor.
• TheKoreasection is located in rooms 67 on the upper floor

China, South and South East Asia collection (including India)

The China collection is one of the largest collections of Chinese historical artefacts in the Western world. It focuses on porcelain, paintings, scripts and basic tools, with items ranging in date from theNeolithicera to the 20th century. One of the most important items is a collection of rareBuddhistpaintings fromDunhuang.China was one of the first countries to use coins, and the museum also has a large collection of Chinese coins (housed in theDepartment of Coins and Medals).

Objects in the South Asian collections of the Department date from some of the earliest civilisations in theIndus valley,about 7000 years ago. It includes an important collection of prehistoric material from theNilgiri mountainsin southern India.As well as ancient artefacts, the Indian collections include excellent examples of pottery, art (including many rareMughalpaintings), traditional scriptwork, and a large display of sculpture, including carvings from the GreatStupaatAmaravati.South Asia is also represented in the money collections, with a large number of coins dating back to the 4th century BC. The collection previously included some objects from the Islamic world, but these were merged with the collections of the Department of the Ancient Near East to form the Department of the Middle East.

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  TheDavid Vasesin Room 95
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  Asian Gallery: India Section
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  Ganeshasculpture
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  Sculpture of the goddess Ambikafound atDhar,India,1034 AD
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  Sculpture of the two Jain tirthankaras Rishabhanatha and Mahavira,Orissa, India,11th–12th century AD
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  Amravati Gallery
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  Asian Gallery: China Section
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  Room 95, the Sir Percival David Collection

Islam collection

TheJohn Addisgallery (room 34) houses the museum's collection of Islamic art, which now officially forms part of the Department of Middle East. This includes objects from the earliest centuries of Islam to the 20th century, and geographically fromEgypttoSpaintoIndia.The gallery's arrangement is mainly chronological, with western Islam – Egypt,Syria,IraqandTurkey— on the left of the descending staircase, and eastern Islam —Iran,Afghanistanand India – on the right. Highlights of the collection are a ceramic lamp from theDome of the Rockin Jerusalem, the uniqueJade Terrapin from Allahabad,aMughalwork of art from northern India, and a group of foundation inscriptions fromGaur, West Bengalin eastern India. At the end of the gallery are cases on Islamic Spain, science, arms and armour, coinage and a changing exhibition of contemporary graphics. The British Museum is actively collecting 20th-century material from the Islamic world, including calligraphy, popular religious prints, political posters, studio pottery and a rare 11th-centuryQur'an.

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  The John Addis Gallery
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  The John Addis Gallery
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  11th-century North African Qur'an
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  13th-century Arabic frieze

Japan collection

The Japanese section of the Asian department holds one of the most comprehensive collections of Japanese material culture in Europe. The Japanese galleries, Rooms 92–94 (theKonica-Minolta,Main andUrasenkegalleries), were opened on 6 April 1990,and includeprints,printed books, paintings,ceramics,swords,decorative arts, and early archaeological material. Part of the collection includes atea house,sponsored and built by the Urasenke Foundation, which exhibits both modern tea utensils and historictea ceremonywares.

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  British Museum, Japanese section –Samuraiarmour
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  British Museum, Japanese section –Boddhisattva
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  British Museum Kakiemon elephants

Korea collection

TheKorea FoundationGallery houses the museum's collection ofKorean artandarchaeology.Objects from pre-history to the present day include stone sculpture, paintings, printed books, screens and folk art, as well as ceramics,lacquerware,gold and bronze. Highlights of the exhibition include a reconstruction of a traditional Koreansarangbang(a study in a Korean home) and fine examples of 15th-century Korean script.

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  Traditional Koreansarangbang(study room) exterior
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  Korean Gallery
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  Traditional Koreansarangbang(study room) interior
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  Korean Gallery
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  Examples of early Korean script and handwriting

Further reading

• British Museum. Dept. of Oriental Printed Books and Manuscripts; Kennaway Douglas, Sir Robert (1898).Catalogue of Japanese printed books and manuscripts in the library of the British Museum, Volume 1.By order of the Trustees.Retrieved24 April2014.
• British Museum. Department of Oriental Printed Books and Manuscripts; Kennaway Douglas, Sir Robert (1877). British Museum. Department of Oriental Printed Books and Manuscripts (ed.).Catalogue of Chinese Printed Books, Manuscripts and Drawings in the Library of the British Museum.Longmans & Company.Retrieved24 April2014.

External links

• The Asia Department Home Page
• British Museum – Room 34: The Islamic world(Strictly no longer part of the Department of Asia)
• British Museum – Room 67: Korea
• British Museum – Rooms 92–94: Japan