British Museum Department of Asia

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The Department of Asia in the British Museum holds one of the largest collections of historical objects from Asia. 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.^[1]

History

The department's collection began with a donation from Sir Hans 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 physician Engelbert Kaempfer (who had led an expedition to Japan).^[2] 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 from Sri Lanka in 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 Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks as 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.^[3] 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 from
  Amaravati.^[4]
• An outstanding collection of
  porcelain
  , lacquer, bronze, jade, and other applied arts.
• A fine collection of Buddhist paintings from Dunhuang, and the Admonitions Scroll by Gu Kaizhi.
• A broad range of Islamic art in pottery and tiles, paintings, metalwork, glass, seals, and inscriptions.
• The most comprehensive collection of pre-20th century Japanese decorative arts in 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:^[5]

• The
  South East Asia section is located in rooms 33 (Sir Joseph Hotung Gallery for China and South Asia) on the ground floor. This gallery reopened in November 2017 after a refurbishment.^[6][7]
• 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 jade gallery (Selwyn and Ellie Alleyne Gallery) is located in room 33b on the ground floor.
• The Sir Percival David Collection of Chinese ceramics is located in room 95 on the upper floor
• The Islam section is located in room 34 on the ground floor.
• The Japan section is located in rooms 92–94 on the upper floor.
• The Korea section 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 the

• 
  The David Vases in Room 95
• 
  Asian Gallery: India Section
• 
  Ganesha sculpture
• 
  Sculpture of the goddess Ambika found at Dhar, India, 1034 AD
• 
  Sculpture of the two Jain tirthankaras Rishabhanatha and Mahavira,

  Orissa, India

  , 11th–12th century AD
• 
  Amravati Gallery
• 
  Asian Gallery: China Section
• 
  Room 95, the Sir Percival David Collection

Islam collection

The

• 
  The John Addis Gallery
• 
  The John Addis Gallery
• 
  11th-century North African Qur'an
• 
  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 (the

• 
  British Museum, Japanese section – Samurai armour
• 
  British Museum, Japanese section –

  Boddhisattva
• 
  British Museum Kakiemon elephants

Korea collection

The Korea Foundation Gallery houses the museum's collection of Korean art and archaeology. 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 Korean sarangbang (a study in a Korean home) and fine examples of 15th-century Korean script.

• 
  Traditional Korean sarangbang (study room) exterior
• 
  Korean Gallery
• 
  Traditional Korean sarangbang (study room) interior
• 
  Korean Gallery
• 
  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. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
• 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. Retrieved 24 April 2014.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Department of Asia, British Museum.

• 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

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