Durham University Oriental Museum facts for kids

The Oriental Museum is a special museum at the University of Durham in England. It used to be called the Gulbenkian Museum of Oriental Art and Archaeology. This museum has a huge collection of over 23,500 amazing objects. These come from places like China, Egypt, Korea, India, and Japan.

The museum was started because the University had many objects from Asia. These items were used for teaching and research. They needed a proper home! The museum's collections from China and Egypt are very important. They are known as being of "national and international importance."

Discovering the Oriental Museum's Story

The Oriental Museum opened its doors in 1960. It was created to help with teaching and research at the University. Over the years, its collections have grown a lot. This happened thanks to many generous gifts and purchases.

How the Collections Started

The museum's first big collection came from Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland. He sold his ancient items from places like Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Ancient Egypt. These arrived in the late 1950s. They were first kept in two rooms at Hatfield College, Durham. After a small fire in 1956, many items had to be put into storage.

Expanding to the Far East

In 1952, Raymond Dawson joined the University. He was an expert in Indian Religions and Philosophy. His arrival helped the museum's collection grow to include items from the Far East. Mr. Dawson first organized Chinese art shows using loaned items.

A big part of the Chinese collection came from Harold MacDonald. He was a British official who had collected many gifts and old items. In 1955, he loaned his large collection to the museum for five years.

A New Home and Big Donation

As the University's Oriental School grew, it moved to Elvet Hill House. This is where the museum is located today. Since some collections were still stored in different places, the University looked for help. They wanted to officially create a museum.

In 1957, they received a huge gift of £60,000 from the Gulbenkian Foundation. This money helped build the first part of the museum. In honor of this gift, the museum was named the Gulbenkian Museum of Oriental Art and Archaeology. The building was finished in 1959. By the end of that year, all the collections were moved. This included a gift of 3,000 Chinese objects from Sir Charles Hardinge. The museum officially opened in May 1960.

A Piece of the Moon!

In October 1969, something very special arrived. A tiny piece of Moon rock was sent to the University! Before scientists studied it, the rock was shown at the museum for two days. Over 12,000 people came to see it! The museum even stayed open until 8:30 PM to let everyone have a look.

Important Recognition and Recovery

In 2008, the museum's Egyptian and Chinese art collections received a special status. They were recognized as being very important. Also, 150 pieces from the collections traveled to Japan for an exhibition. Over 185,000 people saw them!

In 2012, some Chinese items were stolen from the museum. Luckily, the police found them, and they were returned safely to the museum.

Awards and Support

In March 2012, the museum won a national award. It was called "The Bronze Hear by Right." This award was given by the National Youth Agency.

Funding for New Galleries

After the Moon rock display, the museum looked for more money to finish building its second stage. While that didn't happen right away, in the 1980s, new side galleries were added. In 2000, more funding helped create a mezzanine floor. This allowed the museum to show even more items.

In 2012, the museum received another grant of over £80,000. This money helped create exciting new galleries. These new spaces are dedicated to the art and culture of Japan and Korea.

Amazing Collections to Explore

The Oriental Museum has many different collections. Each one tells a unique story about the history and culture of various parts of Asia.

• China: This collection has over 10,000 objects! They range from the ancient Zhou Dynasty to the Qing dynasty. You can see about 1,000 pieces of Chinese pottery. About 400 of these are from the Malcolm MacDonald collection. There are also nearly 2,000 beautiful pieces of Jade and hardstones. These came from Sir Charles Hardinge.

• Korea: This is one of the smaller collections, with just over 500 pieces. It includes objects from the Goryeo and Joseon Dynasty periods. You can find bronze mirrors and special ceramics with sanggam decoration. Many items were donated by Richard Rutt and Henry de Laszlo. The museum has also added modern Korean art. This means the collection covers a long time, from 600 AD to 2013.

• Indian subcontinent: This collection has 1,500 objects. It ranges from stone sculptures to Mughal jade and Gandharan sculptures. There are also over 5,000 photographs taken by John Marshall.

• Japan: The Japanese collection mainly covers the Edo and Meiji periods. But it also has objects from the Muromachi and Momoyama periods. You can even see a bronze Buddha head from the Kamakura era.

• South East Asia: This collection mostly comes from two main groups of items. One is the Harold MacDonald collection, which includes gifts he received. The other is the Roberts Collection of Balinese art.

• The Levant and Middle East: This collection has many items found during archaeological digs. Some came from Sir Leonard Woolley's excavations at Ur. Others are from Kathleen Kenyon's work at Jericho. The main part of this collection comes from the Northumberland Collections. It includes ancient seals and cuneiform tablets (ancient writings).

• Ancient Egypt: This is a very large collection with over 6,700 objects! It grew from two main groups of items. The Northumberland collection has over 2,500 pieces. These were bought from the Fourth Duke of Northumberland. The Sir Henry Wellcome collections added 4,600 items. You can see an 18th dynasty funeral mask. There's also a Shabti (a small statue) of Prince Bahmery. And don't miss the statue of the Vizier Paser from the 19th Dynasty, during the time of Ramesses II.