Museum of East Asian Art, Bath facts for kids
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| Established | 1993 |
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| Location | Bath, Somerset |
The Museum of East Asian Art, also known as MEAA, is located in Bath, Somerset, England. It's just a short walk from The Circus in central Bath. The museum is inside a beautiful old Georgian house that has been carefully restored.
This special museum is the only one in the United Kingdom completely focused on the arts and cultures of East and Southeast Asia. Its collection includes nearly 2,000 amazing objects. These range from ancient pieces made around 5000 BCE (that's about 7,000 years ago!) to items from today. You can see ceramics, jades, bronzes, and bamboo carvings. These treasures come from countries like China, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia.
Contents
Discovering the Museum's History
The Museum of East Asian Art was started by a man named Brian McElney. He worked as a lawyer in Hong Kong for over 35 years. During his time there, he became very interested in East Asian art, especially Chinese art. In 1958, he bought his first piece, which was an ivory sculpture of a goat and its kid. From then on, Brian's collection grew to include many jades, ceramics, and bronzes.
After Brian retired from law in 1983, he came back to England. He found the money to fix up and prepare the old Georgian building that now holds the museum. He officially founded the museum in 1990. Brian then gave his entire private collection to the museum. He set it up as a charity in the UK to help people learn. The museum first opened its doors to the public in April 1993. Most of the objects you see today were part of Brian's original gift. However, new items have been added over the years through donations and purchases.
Since it opened, the MEAA has become one of the largest collections of East Asian art outside of London. It's still the only museum in the UK dedicated only to the arts and cultures of East and Southeast Asia. With almost 2,000 objects, the museum helps visitors understand the rich art and cultures of China, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia. It also has one of the best jade collections in the UK, showing off the amazing skills of East Asian artists.
Bath's Connection to Asia
The city of Bath and the surrounding West Country area have their own historical links to China. In the 1700s, trading Chinese tea and porcelain was very important in England. Bath was the second most popular place after London for these activities. By the middle of the 18th century, drinking tea had become a big part of social life in the city.
The museum shows this historical link with its collection of Armorial Porcelain. These are special porcelain pieces that were made for important families in 18th-century Bath. One example is the Pratt Family Tureen. This piece was bought with help from several groups, including the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) and The Art Fund charity.
Exploring the Museum's Collection
The Museum of East Asian Art has a permanent collection of ceramics, jades, bronzes, and bamboo carvings. These are displayed in the two upper galleries of the museum. These galleries hold most of the nearly 2,000 objects, which date from around 5000 BCE to today. More objects are kept safely in the museum's storage vaults. These items are regularly rotated into the main displays. The Franklin Tsu Gallery on the ground floor is used for special temporary exhibitions.
The museum often hosts temporary exhibitions and has a full schedule of events. In 2008, the museum won an award for its "Season of Tibet" exhibitions. This was one of their most popular exhibition series ever. In 2010, an exhibition of modern papercuts was so popular that it was extended. It was held to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
The museum also shares its collection with other places. It is a partner in a traveling exhibition organized by the National Geographic Society. This exhibition includes almost 100 items from the museum's collection. When the exhibition was in Oman, the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, visited it. He was very interested and even suggested the exhibition might visit the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
The Museum of East Asian Art also has a quarterly events program. They host many events both at the museum and in other locations. These have included a talk by Antiques Roadshow expert Lars Tharp and Bath's very first East Asian Film Festival.
2018 Incident
In April 2018, some items were stolen from the museum. The museum closed for a short time after this event. It reopened to the public on May 3, 2018. In May 2019, the police announced that 18 of the stolen objects had been returned to the museum. Some of these returned items were damaged.
