Tuesday 24 February 2015

Paris Musee Guimet

I went to the Musee Guimet of Asian art in Paris, which I had never been before.   It's a huge collection; I couldn't possibly see it all in one day.   There was a special show of artifacts from the Han dynasty, from around 200 BC, serving to remind us that civilization was elsewhere besides in the west. It is always amazing to encounter objects that are more than 2,000 years old.
A few things I liked:

A jade burial suit; I'd prefer that to being mummies.


A series of bells, obviously tuned to different pitches.  I wanted to hear them!:


A dancing figure:


Elsewhere in the museum I was intrigued by some examples of Korean art, about which I know nothing.

These date from the 19th century:
The sign of the bear:


Decorative boxes:
 Screen paintings of a cabinet:


And a close up of a Japanese screen painting of books: