Museum of Design and Decorative Arts

Category: Civil Architecture > Museum

District: Lisboa > Lisboa > Lisboa > Baixa

Location

The Museum of Decorative Arts and Design is located in a historic area of the Portuguese capital, near Baixa de Lisboa. It is housed in Palácio Azurara, a remarkable building situated on an elevated part of the old city. Its position gives it a special relationship with the historical urban fabric, characteristic of Lisbon's hills.

A Palace with History

This museum occupies the premises of an old palace, Palácio Azurara. Although its construction dates back to the 17th century, the building has been carefully restored to recreate the ambiance of an 18th-century Portuguese stately home. Exploring its spaces allows one to glimpse the daily life and aesthetics of the period, sensing the atmosphere of an aristocratic residence through the layout of the rooms and their original decoration.

Collections of Applied Arts

The museum's collection brings together an important collection of decorative arts, particularly focused on the period between the 15th and 18th centuries. It includes furniture, ceramics (such as faience and porcelain), textiles, goldsmithery, and painting. These pieces, of Portuguese origin and also from other provenances with ties to the country's history, were collected by Ricardo do Espírito Santo Silva, who later donated his collection, leading to the foundation that manages the museum today.

The Foundation and Traditional Crafts

The museum is part of the Ricardo do Espírito Santo Silva Foundation, an institution dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of Portuguese decorative arts and the traditional crafts associated with them. The foundation maintains workshops where master artisans continue to practice ancestral techniques in areas such as carpentry, gilding, bookbinding, decorative painting, among others. This connection to living crafts gives the museum an additional dimension, showcasing not only historical pieces but also the know-how that created them.

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt