The Corfu Museum of Asian Art is the only museum in Greece exclusively dedicated to Asian art and antiquity and is housed in the Palace of Saints Michael and George. The palace alone is reason enough to visit. It is a stunning neoclassical gem that was built in the 19th century during the Ionian Islands British occupation. In the 19th century it came into the possession of the Greek State and is now home to the museum.
Built across three floors, four halls on the ground floor are open to the public and three are used for the Museum’s temporary exhibitions and the permanent galleries of the museum are found in the two first floor wings. The east wing, called the Gregorios Manos wing, houses part of the Museum’s Chinese collection and the west wing, known as N. Hadjivassiliou wing, is home to artefacts from India and its wider surrounding area, as well as some pieces from Japan.
The entire collection is made up of about 10,500 objects, many of which come from the original private collection of Gregorios Manos (1850-1928), a Greek ambassador to Austria, who bought up around 9,500 Chinese, Korean and Japanese artefacts at auction in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Built across three floors, four halls on the ground floor are open to the public and three are used for the Museum’s temporary exhibitions and the permanent galleries of the museum are found in the two first floor wings. The east wing, called the Gregorios Manos wing, houses part of the Museum’s Chinese collection and the west wing, known as N. Hadjivassiliou wing, is home to artefacts from India and its wider surrounding area, as well as some pieces from Japan.
The entire collection is made up of about 10,500 objects, many of which come from the original private collection of Gregorios Manos (1850-1928), a Greek ambassador to Austria, who bought up around 9,500 Chinese, Korean and Japanese artefacts at auction in the 19th and 20th centuries.
He then carefully and accurately catalogued all of the pieces himself and then founded the museum. The private collections of N. Hadjivassiliou and C. Chiotakis, as well as from individual item donations made by I. Siniossoglou, P. Almanahos and I. Kollas, further bolstered the holdings of the museum with the Hadjivassiliou collection, in particular, adding 400 works from India, Pakistan, Tibet, Siam and Northeast Asia.
Among the holdings are Chinese ceramics, bronzes, lacquer, painting, textiles, wood sculptures, items of precious materials, jewellery and more from the Neolithic period to the 19th century; Japanese ceramics, bronzes, lacquer, painting, prints, textiles, everyday items, Kabuki masks, musical instruments, Samurai armour and weaponry and more from 4th to 19th century Japan; Korean ceramics and paintings from the 19th to the 20th centuries; Indian stone, wood and bronze religious sculptures and miniature paintings from the 2nd century BC to the 19th century AD; Afganistan-Pakistani Gandhara grey schist buddhist reliefs from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD; and bronze religious sculpture and painted votive banners from Nepal and Tibet from the 17th to the 19th century.
Among the holdings are Chinese ceramics, bronzes, lacquer, painting, textiles, wood sculptures, items of precious materials, jewellery and more from the Neolithic period to the 19th century; Japanese ceramics, bronzes, lacquer, painting, prints, textiles, everyday items, Kabuki masks, musical instruments, Samurai armour and weaponry and more from 4th to 19th century Japan; Korean ceramics and paintings from the 19th to the 20th centuries; Indian stone, wood and bronze religious sculptures and miniature paintings from the 2nd century BC to the 19th century AD; Afganistan-Pakistani Gandhara grey schist buddhist reliefs from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD; and bronze religious sculpture and painted votive banners from Nepal and Tibet from the 17th to the 19th century.
An incredible source and venue for seeing and studying a wide range of Asian art from different countries and periods, this museum costs only a few euros to visit and offers a lot of bang for your buck! Just find a vacation rental in Corfu and spend an afternoon exploring this excellent museum.
Photo credits
picture 1: Piotrus / CC BY-SA 3.0;
picture 2: Dr.K. / CC BY-SA 3.0;
picture 3: Jean Housen / CC BY-SA 3.0
picture 1: Piotrus / CC BY-SA 3.0;
picture 2: Dr.K. / CC BY-SA 3.0;
picture 3: Jean Housen / CC BY-SA 3.0
