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Not to be confused with Nanjing Municipal Museum.
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Nanjing Museum
南京博物院
Banner of Nanjing Museum, 2015-06-20.jpg
Established 1933
Location Nanjing, China
Type History museum, art museum
Collection size 400,000
Public transit access
  • Minggugong station  2 

The Nanjing Museum (Chinese: 南京博物院; pinyin: Nánjīng Bówùyuàn) is located in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province in East China. With an area of 70,000 square metres (17 acres), it is one of the largest museums in China, with over 400,000 items in its permanent collection. Especially notable is the museum's enormous collections of Ming and Qing imperial porcelain, which is among the largest in the world.

History

The Nanjing Museum was one of the first museums established in China. The predecessor of the Nanjing Museum was the preparatory department of the National Central Museum, which was established in 1933. The museum took over 12.9 hectares (32 acres) in the Half Hill Garden of Zhongshan Gate. Cai Yuanpei, the first preparatory president of the council of the museum, proposed building three major halls, named "Humanity," "Craft" and "Nature". Because of China's political instability in the 1930s, only the Humanity Hall was built. During the Japanese invasion, part of its collections were transferred to Southwest China, and in the end moved to the National Palace Museum in Taipei when the Kuomintang lost the Chinese Civil War. The historian Fu Sinian and anthropologist and archaeologist Li Ji were once preparatory presidents, and the archaeologist and museologist Zeng Zhaoyu was the first female president and also a founder of Nanjing Museum. In 1999 and 2009, extensions were built to the museum.

Buildings

Nanjing Museum2
Detail of the entrance gate

The main building was designed by Liang Sicheng in the 1930s combining Chinese and Western architectural styles. The front section is structure of traditional style and features a golden tiled roof. In the back is a Western-style flat-roof structure. Added in the 1990s to the west of the main building is an art hall which references Chinese architecture of the first half of the 20th century.

Exhibition halls

There are twelve exhibition halls at the museum. A highlight of the collection is a full-size suit of armor made from small jade tiles held together by silver wire.

  • Qin Garden
  • Earthen Ware Hall
  • Treasure Hall
  • Folk Art Hall
  • Bronze Ware Hall
  • Ming and Qing Porcelain Hall
  • Wu Weishan Sculpture Hall
  • Ancient Paintings Hall
  • Modern Art Hall
  • Jiangnan Silk Product Hall
  • Jade Hall
  • Lacquer Hall

Gallery

Paintings

  • Giant Bamboos and Stones by Li Kan

    Giant Bamboos and Stones by Li Kan (1245-1320), 13th century

  • Portrait of Jiang Shunfu

    A Ming portrait of the official Jiang Shunfu, late 15th century

  • Watching the Spring and Listening to the Wind by Tang Yin

    Watching the Spring and Listening to the Wind by Tang Yin (1470–1524), early 16th century

  • Camellia and a Lonely Bird by Zhou Shuxi

    Camellia and a Lonely Bird by Zhou Shuxi (1624–1705)

  • Fisherman and Fisherwoman by Huang Shen

    Fisherman and Fisherwoman by Huang Shen (1687-1772)

  • Four Beauties by Ni Tian

    Four Beauties by Ni Tian (1855–1919)

Lacquer

  • Western Han rectangular lacquerware box

    A Western Han (202 BC - 9 AD) red-and-black rectangular lacquerware box

  • Ming Dynasty lacquerware plate

    A Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) black lacquerware plate

  • Ming Dynasty lacquered bowl

    A Ming red lacquered bowl

  • Ming Dynasty mother-of-pearl and lacquer plates

    A pair of Ming Dynasty black lacquerware plates with mother-of-pearl inlaid designs of domestic scenes.

  • Lacquered box with character for luck, Qianlong Period

    A Qing red lacquerware box with the Chinese character for "spring" inscribed on the front, dated to the Qianlong Emperor's reign (1736-1795)

  • Lacquered plate, Qianlong Period, Qing Dynasty

    A red lacquerware plate, dated to the Qianlong Emperor's reign

Ceramics

  • Western Jin Celadon pot (top) with decorations

    A Western Jin Dynasty (265-316 AD) celadon ceramic jar with human figures, animals, and architecture.

  • Song Dynasty porcelain box with flower design

    A Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD) porcelain box with a flower design

  • Ming Dynasty porcelain dish, Hongwu Reign Period

    A Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) porcelain dish from the reign of the Hongwu Emperor (1368-1398 AD)

  • Ming Dynasty porcelain vase, Yongle Reign Period

    A Ming blue-and-white porcelain vase from the reign of the Yongle Emperor (1402-1424 AD)

  • Ming Dynasty porcelain dish, Xuande Reign Period

    A Ming blue-and-white porcelain dish from the reign of the Xuande Emperor (1425-1435 AD)

  • Ming Dynasty porcelain ding vessel, Xuande Reign Period

    A Ming blue-and-white porcelain ding vessel from the reign of the Xuande Emperor (1425-1435 AD).

  • Ming Dynasty porcelain vase, Zhengde Reign Period

    A Ming porcelain vase from the reign of the Zhengde Emperor (1505-1521 AD).

  • Ming Dynasty porcelain dish, Jiajing Reign Period (2)

    A Ming blue-and-white porcelain dish from the reign of the Jiajing Emperor (1521-1567 AD)

  • Ming Dynasty porcelain bowl, Wanli Reign Period

    A Ming porcelain bowl from the reign of the Wanli Emperor (1572-1620 AD).

  • Ming Dynasty porcelain vase, Wanli Reign Period (2)

    A Ming blue-and-white porcelain vase from the reign of the Wanli Emperor (1572-1620 AD)

  • Ming Dynasty porcelain box, Wanli Reign Period

    A Ming blue-and-white porcelain box from the reign of the Wanli Emperor (1572-1620 AD)

  • Ming Dynasty porcelain bowl, Chongzhen Reign Period

    A Ming blue-and-white porcelain bowl from the reign of the Chongzhen Emperor (1627-1644 AD)

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Museo de Nankín para niños

  • Nanjing Municipal Museum
  • List of museums in China
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