Staatliche Museen zu Berlin: Profile

Buddha (Pakistan, 2--3. century) in the module "Buddhist Art in South Asia. Stupas, Buddhas, Bodhisattvas" of the Museum of Asian Art in the Humboldt Forum © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin / Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss / Alexander Schippel

Processional bull Nandi, mount of god Shiva (19th/20th century) in the module "Art of Hinduism in South Asia". Hinduism in South Asia" of the Museum für Asiatische Kunst in the Humboldt Forum © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin / Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss / Alexander Schippel

Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara in Water-Moon Pose (China, Song Dynasty, 960 - 1279) in the module "Art and Religion: Sacral Art in China and Japan" of the Museums für Asiatische Kunst in the Humboldt Forum © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin / Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss / Alexander Schippel

The teahouse in Museum für Asiatische Kunst’s module “Art and Religion: Sacral Art in China and Japan” at the Humboldt Forum, developed by URA Architects in Kanazawa, Japan, in close consultation with the Chadō Urasenke Tankōkai Berlin Associatio © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin / Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss / Alexander Schippel

Tosa Hirochika: The tale of the young heavenly prince Amewakahiko, Japan, Muromachi period, 15th century (detail) © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum für Asiatische Kunst / Jürgen Liepe

Writing Manichaean priests and Old Turkic text, northern Silk Road, Khocho, 9th century © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum für Asiatische Kunst / Jürgen Liepe

God and Musician, northern Silk Road, Kizil, cave 171, 2nd quarter of 5th century © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum für Asiatische Kunst / Jürgen Liepe

Tosa school: Story of the demise of the Taira clan, Japan, Edo period, 17th century © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum für Asiatische Kunst / Jürgen Liepe

Exhibition view of the module "Court Art of China" of the Museum für Asiatische Kunst in the Humboldt Forum, on the right dragon robe for imperial princes (China, 1st half 19th century) © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum für Asiatische Kunst / Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss / Alexander Schippel

Twelve-part screen in Koromandel lacquer technique (China) in the module "Chinese Painting in Transition. Change. Between Tradition and Modernity" of the Museum für Asiatische Kunst in the Humboldt Forum © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum für Asiatische Kunst / Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss / Alexander Schippel

Profile of the Museum für Asiatische Kunst

The history of the Museum für Asiatische Kunst (Asian Art Museum) can be traced back to the Brandenburgische Kunstkammer, the inventory of which already listed a few objects from today’s collection. The Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst was then founded in 1906, and was the first of its kind in Germany. In 1963 the Museum für Indische Kunst was established.

It emerged out of the Indian department of the Museum für Völkerkunde, today Ethnologisches Museum, which was founded in 1873. In December 2006, both collections were united to form the Museum für Asiatische Kunst. The unification of both museums was principally the result of Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation’s long-term plans to relocate its collections to the Schlossplatz in Berlin-Mitte where they are presented in the innovative framework of the Humboldt Forum. Together with the collections of occidental cultural artefacts on the Museumsinsel Berlin, a landscape of scholarship and learning of world renown and with a truly global reach has been created.

Further Information

Mission Statement of the Museum für Asiatische Kunst (PDF, 436 KB)