Top UK Destinations for Chinese Objects and Chinoiserie Interiors Part 4.

 

Part 4.

The Ashmolean




Beaumont Street, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 2PH

http://www.ashmolean.org   

We are in our second famous UK university city now Oxford. The Ashmolean is the University of Oxford's museum of art and archaeology, founded in 1683. Highlights from the China galleries include artefacts relating to the importance of writing in Chinese society, featuring displays on the iconic art of Chinese calligraphy; many items from the museum’s collection of Chinese greenware ceramics, the largest found anywhere outside of China; displays on the cult of collecting, and collectible luxury and prestigious objects; and a collection of Buddhist sculptures.

Pitt Rivers

http://objects.prm.ox.ac.uk/pages/PRMUID23551.html


S Parks Rd, Oxford OX1 3PP

https://www.prm.ox.ac.uk/

Staying in Oxford the Pitts Rivers museum is a treasure trove of antiquities the Chinese and East Asian artefacts are scattered throughout the museum, which displays a large percentage of its 500,000+ collection at any one time. Chinese highlights include beautiful hair ornaments adorned with bright blue kingfisher feathers, carved ivory figures, and an important collection of 1,000 photographs of China from the fall of the Manchu dynasty.

 

Badminton House



The Estate Office, Badminton,South Gloucestershire, GL9 1DD

https://www.badmintonestate.com/  

Badminton House is a large country house and Grade I Listed Building in Badminton, Gloucestershire, England, and has been the principal seat of the Dukes of Beaufort since the late 17th century. The Chinese Bedroom is lined with hand-painted 18th-century Chinese export wallpaper features copies of Chinese furniture by William and John Linnell, the originals now residing at the Victoria and Albert Museum.[1]

Museum of East Asian Art



12 Bennett Street, Bath, Somerset, BA1 2QJ

http://www.meaa.org.uk  

In the wonderful Roman City of Bath, we find the only UK museum solely dedicated to the arts and cultures of East and South East Asia. The Museum of East Asian Art is an independent museum. It was founded by Brian McElney OBE, a prominent former lawyer and long-time resident of Hong Kong. With collections representing more than 7000 years. MEAA’s collections consist of some 2,000 objects. The majority of these are of Chinese origin, spanning from 5,000 BC to the present. The museum also allows the voices of the local Chinese population to be heard ‘The Eastern Voices in the West Country oral history project was initiated and developed by MEAA. Its aim was to promote cultural understanding amongst local communities and unveil the previously unexplored history of Chinese immigrants to Bath.’

 

The Terracotta Warriors Museum



Eastgate, corner of High East Street & Salisbury Street, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1JU

http://www.terracottawarriors.co.uk  

The Terracotta Warriors Museum in Dorchester, Dorset, is one of the few museums outside China exclusively dedicated to the amazing Terracotta Warriors. All the terracotta warriors displayed in the museum have been specially made for exhibition by the technicians of the Lintong Museum Cultural Relic Workshop, Xian, China, as well as workshops of the China National Arts & Crafts Corporation, Xian.

Complementing the display of terracotta warriors is the imposing costumed figure Qin Shi Huang di - the first emperor of China with General Meng Tian. Both are in full costume and accompanied by other examples of recreated costume and armour representative of what would have been worn by the Royal Guard. In addition to this a reconstruction of part of an excavation scene shows a small section of one of the pits giving an idea how the figures were gradually unearthed from the soil.

A journey through Chinese history illustrated with antiquities covering two millennia takes the visitor back to the time of Qin Shi Huang di. Cinematic and audio presentations inform and entertain. There is also an Advance Guard of half-size terracotta warrior’s representative of the many different types of the terracotta army.


During our travel around the UK, we have seen that there are a vast array of Chinese objects and chinoiserie all over the country with many museums and country houses trying to redress the way their collections are displayed and interpreted. In many cases they acknowledge much more needs to be done.



 http://culturesyndicates.com 

 

 

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