Museum of the East in Moscow. The State Museum of Oriental Art

The Museum of Oriental Art is one of the richest and most interesting museums in Moscow. It is possible to get acquainted with numerous samples of creativity: objects of everyday life, weapons, religious attributes, sculpture, paintings of famous masters and unknown craftsmen from Eastern countries.

Historical digression

The Museum of the East in Moscow owes its appearance to the famous merchant and philanthropist Pyotr Shchukin. He opened the "Shchukin Museum" in Malaya Gruzinskaya Street, where he exhibited items from his eastern collection. The merchant collected various "antiquities" from Persia, China, India, was interested in ancient engravings. The museum was not closed even after his death in 1912.

After the revolution of 1917 the collection of Shchukin became the basis for the creation of the new museum Ars Asiatica ("The Art of Asia"). It was supplemented by exhibits from other private collections expropriated from the owners. It is noteworthy that the museum was born on October 30, 1918, and in the following year the first exhibition was opened.

Later, the museums of the East replenished and at the expense of artifacts donated by connoisseurs of art, and at the expense of objects obtained during archaeological and ethnographic expeditions. Part of the materials with the museum were shared by other state institutions.

In the postwar years, the main source of new exhibits came from countries that have chosen the socialist path of development or who have freed themselves from colonial dependence. In gratitude to the USSR for support, the leaders of the young states presented gifts to the leaders of the party and government, among which were real masterpieces. The geography of the museum expanded, it changed the names several times and, finally, in 1992 it was renamed the State Museum of the East.

Location of the museum

At first the Museum of the East in Moscow had no permanent premises. Until 1930, he managed to visit the "Hirschman's House" at the Red Gate, and in the Russian Historical Museum on Red Square, and at Rozhdestvenka in VHUTEMAS building, and on Kropotkinskaya Embankment. The first permanent location of the museum was the church of Elijah the Prophet. When you move to a new place in this building there is a storage facility. And later the Museum of the Peoples of the East placed its restoration workshops in it. The museum's scientific library is also located in the old building.

In July 1941, the most valuable exhibits were taken to Novosibirsk, part - to Solikamsk. The Museum of Oriental Art was closed. However, in May 1942 the exhibition of the artists of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan was launched in it. In 1944, the exhibits were returned from the evacuation. And in May 1945, the first permanent exhibitions were already started.

Museum of the East on Nikitsky Boulevard

The current building, which houses the museum, deserves interest in itself. The "Lunin House" on Nikitsky Boulevard was transferred to the museum in 1960. This mansion in the classical style was built for the family of Lieutenant-General Lunin after the fire of 1812. The architect of the main house of the estate was Domenico Gilyardi. On his project, they began to build a building with a large loggia and columns in Corinthian style, giving a solemn appearance to the front entrance. But by the end of the construction Lunin had died, and the widow's house was bought by the Commercial Bank. He was in the building until 1917.

Strict and graceful lines of the building are fascinating with their beauty. Huge halls and long staircases recall the traditional lavish balls of the XIX century. But, according to many museum workers, the premises are not suitable for the organization of exhibitions and especially for the work of storage facilities. It would have been better if a new, large and well-maintained building had been built for the rich fund of the most amazing museum.

Permanent exhibitions

The museum has a rich collection of works of art from different directions. In total there are about 150 thousand valuable exhibits in the funds, most of which are unique works of art. The Museum of the Peoples of the East in 1991 was, by the Decree of the President of Russia, referred to "Especially valuable objects of Russia's cultural heritage."

There are permanent exhibitions on which masterpieces of art of China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India, and Iran are exhibited. A huge part is composed of works of art from the countries of Central Asia and Kazakhstan. Great attention is paid to the Buddhist art of Buryatia, Mongolia, Tibet.

In the exposition devoted to the painting of Transcaucasia and Central Asia, a special place is given to the paintings of the famous masters Martiros Saryan and Niko Pirosmani. These works, unlike the traditional paintings of Oriental artists, make it clear that there are no limits and limits for the true creator.

A separate room is dedicated to the art of the peoples of the North, where special attention is paid to carving on walrus bones. It's hard to believe that even ordinary household items can be so beautiful.

Creative heritage of the Roerichs

In addition to the museum items of oriental culture and art, the department specializes in the museum, dedicated to the legacy of Nikolai and Svyatoslav Roerich. There are two halls in which 282 pictures of famous artists - father and son - are collected. The collection is one of the largest in the world. The traveler, philosopher and artist Nikolai Roerich spent the last decade of his life in a small village in the Himalayas. For his amazing paintings, depicting the magnificent views of the mysterious and distant Tibet, he was called the "master of the mountains." Most of the paintings that are in the museum are relevant to this period. Some of these bright and impressive paintings justify visiting the museum.

Nicholas Roerich became the founder of his own teaching, which brought together eastern mysticism, pantheism and high European culture. This direction of esotericism has found a lot of followers in the world. They are also attracted to the Museum of Oriental Art (Moscow).

In the memorial room of Roerich there are also rare books. Some of them exist in the world in a single copy. In addition, he collected a unique collection of Oriental antiquities.

Scientific work

From the first days the State Museum of the Peoples of the East began research activities. All the collected exhibits had to be studied, to establish the ways of their getting to Russia, to trace the way in history, the peculiarities of the art of the peoples inhabiting the eastern regions of Eurasia.

The archaeological direction began in 1926, when two important expeditions to Termez (Turkmenistan) were organized under the leadership of the then director V.P. Denike. Their result was the appearance in the museum of items from the excavations of the palace of the XII century.

In 1929, the first expedition for the purchase of Oriental art items was held.

Scientific work did not stop even during the Great Patriotic War.

Currently, almost two thirds of exhibits in the museum are the results of archaeological expeditions. Their age varies from the Neolithic to the XIV-XV centuries.

The scientific library of the museum has more than 80 thousand books on the art of the peoples of the East. Many of these publications are very rare, and there are absolutely priceless rarities.

Since 1987, the museum has a research institute. It employs more than 300 specialists, among whom there are many doctors and candidates of science. In addition to purely scientific work, they often conduct excursions to individual rooms and read lectures on Eastern culture and art.

Educational work

The Museum of the East in Moscow is one of the most active educational centers of the country. The lecture hall is constantly working there, lectures in which are read by excellent specialists, keen on their work. You can attend a separate lecture or buy a subscription for their cycle on a certain topic. Often there are exhibitions of contemporary art, especially paintings of our contemporaries, inspired by oriental motifs. There are thematic screenings of films devoted to the countries of the East, their past and present. From time to time collections from other museums of the world are displayed. For example, a great response was to an exhibition dedicated to the samurai, which arrived directly from Japan.

Those who are interested in the culture of the eastern countries, attract various peoples to the museum of the peoples of the East. For example, every week here, tea ceremonies are held, which fans of Japanese culture seek to enter. The Museum of the East organizes the work of painting studios for adults and children. Also, the theater of Indian dance "Tarang" became a regular partner of the museum.

If you want, you can get initial skills in playing oriental instruments, oriental dances, and the art of making bouquets - Ikebana.

By prior arrangement, you can work in the reading room of the museum library, using rich scientific literature on Eastern culture and art.

Work with children

For the younger generation, the State Museum of the Peoples of the East also offers a large selection of activities. These are thematic excursions around the halls of the museum, conducted by fine connoisseurs of oriental art, and lectures supplementing school programs on history, geography, world art culture. Lectures-concerts are very popular, which, along with verbal information about the creative work of the peoples of the East, demonstrate it visually and have an entertaining component.

For more than 20 years in the Museum of the East there is a children's art studio "Turtle". In it, students study painting, drawing, graphics, arts and crafts. And the junior members of the studio are happy to do modeling of plasticine and clay, origami and applique.

Children's tickets to the museum are much cheaper than adults, and for preschoolers admission is free. For other types of services - lectures, excursions, various classes - there are also various discounts.

For lovers of antiquity

At the museum an antique gallery "Sean" was created. It is the only one of its kind, since there are no other galleries dealing with oriental antiques in our country. Mostly it presents various art objects from Japan and China. Products made from various materials traditional in the East - bronze, porcelain, wood, bone - are in great demand among collectors. Jewelry, embroidery, carpets, national clothes not only from the Far East, but also from other countries of Asia and Africa are presented.

The most famous collection of Japanese miniature statuettes - netsuke and ozymono.

At the same time, the gallery offers museum visitors and relatively inexpensive items that can be bought as a souvenir, a birthday present or an anniversary and for decorating a house. Oriental fans, robes, bracelets and rings of traditional embossing - that's a small part of what you can get here.

It's worth a look

Of course, the Museum of the Peoples of the East in Moscow represents a huge collection of various art objects. But some of the exhibits attract more than others.

Such subjects include the largest figure in the world of an eagle made of ivory. She was brought as a gift to the coronation of Nicholas II from the Japanese emperor. Surprisingly, this work is done in a complex combined technique. The masters made the trunk and wings of the eagle from the tree. And on the plumage went a half thousand carefully polished plates of ivory. And there is an eagle in the background of the screen, which depicts a stormy sea - the favorite motif of Japanese artists.

A great impression on visitors is produced by a collection of Buryat masks used during ceremonies. Scary faces on them are called to scare off evil spirits and would be quite suitable for filming horror films.

The skill of minters and engravers is represented in the collection of silver jewelry from Turkmenistan and Dagestan (famous Kubachi products). Attracts looks the finest carving in walrus bone, made by the Chukchi craftsmen. And in the next halls you can see ivory products from the other side of the globe.

Numerous Buddha images, brought from different countries, are both similar and different. Some of them with a harsh expression, others smile, and still others are removed from the world and are directed into themselves. The figures of the Buddha from the Indochina peninsula are struck - with lobes of ears stretched to the shoulders.

Chinese masters became famous for carving ivory balls from each other, and they were made from a single piece of bone, sometimes during the life of several generations. Or a village carved on an elephant's tusk, where one can distinguish the features of each inhabitant and each one is individual! How can one not remember the "clay army" of Emperor Qin Shihuandi, each warrior in which was molded from a specific person!

Interesting collection of carpets. Here there are ancient products of natural silk handmade. At the same time, there are samples of modern carpets made of wool and other materials. There are products devoted to significant events in the life of the country.

In the years of Soviet power, a great place in the museum's expositions was occupied by the images of V.I. Lenin and other leaders of the world proletariat, executed in a variety of techniques: paintings, sculptures, carpets, wood carvings and bones ... Now the overwhelming majority of them are in the museum's storage facility .

The State Museum of Oriental Art is proud of the amazing examples of oriental painting. These are different landscapes on paper or on silk native to Japan and China. Made by ink on silk, the images are striking with their colors and the fineness of the work.

Porcelain products are represented primarily by Japanese figures-netsuke. They were used as a counterbalance to cargo on the belt, because Japanese kimonos do not have pockets. They are similar to other figures that were placed in the niche of a house where it was customary to hang a picture or a wise saying. These miniature sculptures are called ozymono.

In the museum there is something to see and the scientist, and the schoolboy, and just a lover of the mysterious world of the East. Especially as the prices for tickets are quite democratic, and for certain categories of visitors there is a system of discounts.

If you want to forget about the everyday routine, gray everyday life, visit the Museum of the East in Moscow!