Museum of the Orient

Category: Civil Architecture > Museum

District: Lisboa > Lisboa > Lisboa > Santos

Location

The Orient Museum is located in Lisbon, on Avenida de Brasília, next to Alcântara Dock. It is situated in a port area that, although sometimes referred to as Santos, is located in the vicinity of Alcântara. Its position offers a perspective on this area of the city, intimately linked to the Tagus estuary and maritime activity.

The Building

The museum occupies a historic building, originally constructed in the early 1940s to serve as a codfish warehouse. Designed by architect João Simões Antunes, this port building stands out for its scale, robust structure, and the almost complete absence of windows on its main facade, characteristics that reflect its original storage function. Inside, a dense structure of massive pillars is prominent. Recognizing its historical and architectural value, the building has been classified as a Monument of Public Interest.

The Collections

The Orient Museum is dedicated to exploring and presenting the complex and enduring relationships between Portugal and the peoples of Asia. Its main collection, which forms the basis of its exhibitions, offers a journey through approximately five centuries of cultural exchange and dialogue. The museum brings together two large and distinct sets of pieces that offer unique perspectives on this historical connection and the diversity of Asian cultures.

Portuguese Presence in Asia

A significant part of the museum's collection documents the Portuguese presence in Asia over more than five hundred years. Through a collection of artistic pieces and documents, the history of cultural encounters resulting from trade, missionary work, and simple contact between peoples is narrated. This collection includes objects of remarkable value, such as ancient Chinese and Japanese screens from the 17th and 18th centuries, highly rare Namban artworks that bear witness to the Luso-Japanese artistic dialogue, porcelains commissioned for the Portuguese market, and pieces related to the cultures of the peoples of Timor.

Art and Tradition of Asia

The museum's other major collection, known as the Kwok On Collection, comprises a vast and rich display of performing arts and popular traditions from across the entire Asian continent. Comprising over thirteen thousand objects, this collection delves into the great narratives, religions, and rituals that define Asian cultural identities, covering a vast territory from Japan to Indonesia, India to China. It includes a wide variety of pieces such as costumes, puppets, masks, musical instruments, and ritual objects, providing a comprehensive insight into the diversity of Asian beliefs, stories, and ways of life. This collection is internationally recognized, being considered one of the most significant of its kind in Europe.

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