The Museums of the Far East (french: Musées d'Extrême-Orient, nl, Musea van het Verre Oosten) is a complex of three museums in

Laeken () or () is a residential suburb in the north-western part of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. It belongs to the municipality of the City of Brussels and is mostly identified by the Belgian postal code: 1020. Prior to 1921, it was a sep ...

City of Brussels The City of Brussels (french: Ville de Bruxelles or alternatively ''Bruxelles-Ville'' ; nl, Stad Brussel or ''Brussel-Stad'') is the largest municipality and historical centre of the Brussels-Capital Region, as well as the capital of the Fl ...

, Belgium, dedicated to Oriental art and culture, specifically that of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. Consisting of the Chinese Pavilion, the Japanese Tower and the The Museum of Japanese Art, it forms part of the

Royal Museums of Art and History The Royal Museums of Art and History (french: Musées royaux d'Art et d'Histoire, nl, Koninklijke Musea voor Kunst en Geschiedenis) or RMAH is a group of museums in Brussels, Belgium. It is part of the Belgian federal institute of the Belgian ...

(RMAH). The buildings were designed by the architect

Alexandre Marcel Alexandre Marcel (11 September 1860 - 30 June 1928) was a French architect, best known for his Belle Époque interpretations of "exotic" international architectural styles. Marcel studied at the Parisian École des Beaux-Arts in the atelier of ...

at the beginning of the 20th century on behalf of King Leopold II. The three museums have been closed since 2013 because of structural weaknesses. Some items from their collections are on public display at the

Art & History Museum The Art & History Museum (french: Musée Art & Histoire, nl, Museum Kunst & Geschiedenis) is a public museum of antiquities and ethnographic and decorative arts located at the Cinquantenaire, Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark in Brussels, ...

at the Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark of Brussels. The Chinese Pavilion and Japanese Tower were designated historic monuments in 2019. The museum complex is situated the Mutsaard district, near to the

Royal Palace of Laeken The Palace of Laeken or Castle of Laeken (french: Château de Laeken, nl, Kasteel van Laken, german: Schloss zu Laeken) is the official residence of the King of the Belgians and the Belgian Royal Family. It lies in the Brussels-Capital Regi ...

, the official residence of the

King of the Belgians Belgium is a constitutional, hereditary, and popular monarchy. The monarch is titled king or queen of the Belgians ( nl, Koning(in) der Belgen, french: Roi / Reine des Belges}, german: König(in) der Belgier) and serves as the country's ...

. This site is served by Stuyvenbergh metro station on line 6 of the

Brussels Metro The Brussels Metro (french: Métro de Bruxelles, nl, Brusselse metro) is a rapid transit system serving a large part of the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It consists of four conventional metro lines and three ''premetro'' lines. The me ...

History

The idea for an outdoor display of oriental buildings, open to the public on the site, originated with King Leopold II, who had been particularly impressed by the ''Panorama du Tour du Monde'' at the Paris Exposition of 1900. The French architect

was commissioned in 1901 to build a Japanese

pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...

(known as a

Tō Multi-storied pagodas in wood and stone, and a ''gorintō'' Pagodas in Japan are called , sometimes or and historically derive from the Chinese pagoda, itself an interpretation of the Indian ''stupa''. Like the ''stupa'', pagodas were origi ...

). It was inaugurated in 1905. The Japanese Tower (french: Tour japonaise, link=no, nl, Japanse Toren, link=no) stands nearly tall, across the road from the rest of the museum buildings. Work on a larger Chinese Pavilion (french: Pavillon chinois, link=no, nl, Chinees Paviljoen, link=no) began in 1905. The building was originally intended to be a restaurant, but never served the purpose for which it was intended. In 1909, with the death of Leopold II, the original plan for a museum was abandoned and the building was donated to the Belgian state where it served as part of the Trade Museum of the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The enti ...

. From 1947 until 1989, the whole area was closed to visitors. The museums' section on Japanese art is housed in a building near the Chinese Pavilion, originally intended to serve as a stable and garage for the complex. The Chinese Pavilion and Japanese Tower were recognised as protected monuments in 2019. After closing to the public in 2013 for structural reasons, the complex was restored but not reopened to the public. The Flemish public broadcaster VRT reported in 2022 that the

Federal Government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

had decided the previous year not to re-open the complex although no formal announcement had been made to this effect.

Exhibits

The Museums of the Far East collectively refers to three separate museums situated close to each other which can be accessed on the same ticket. They are: * The Chinese Pavilion * The Japanese Tower * The Museum of Japanese Art One of the principal focuses of the museums' collection, Chinese porcelain and other ''

chinoiserie (, ; loanword from French '' chinoiserie'', from '' chinois'', "Chinese"; ) is the European interpretation and imitation of Chinese and other East Asian artistic traditions, especially in the decorative arts, garden design, architecture, lite ...

'', is housed in the Chinese Pavilion. The Pavilion's displays focus on Chinese art originally designed for export to the West. The Chinese Pavilion is situated in a

Chinese garden The Chinese garden is a landscape garden style which has evolved over three thousand years. It includes both the vast gardens of the Chinese emperors and members of the imperial family, built for pleasure and to impress, and the more intimate ...

. The Japanese Tower displays Japanese art, mostly porcelain created for export to the West. It is situated within a replica

Japanese garden are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden des ...

. The Museum of Japanese Art contains the bulk of the museums' collection of Japanese art and displays several suits of

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They ...

armour,

netsuke A is a miniature sculpture, originating in 17th century Japan. Initially a simply-carved button fastener on the cords of an box, later developed into ornately sculpted objects of craftsmanship. History Traditionally, Japanese clothing – ...

and decorative sword hilts, as well as

woodblock prints Woodblock printing or block printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper. Each page or image is crea ...

and other artifacts. It is situated in the complex's carriage house and has only recently opened to the public. Temporary exhibitions are also regularly held at the museum. Further examples of Asian art are also held by the RMAH at the

at the Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark in Brussels.

Gallery

File:Musées Extrême-Orient 915.jpg, View of one of the principal rooms of the Chinese Pavilion File:0 Laeken - Kiosque du pavillon chinois.JPG, Chinese Kiosk File:La tour japonaise à Laeken.jpg, View of the Japanese Tower from the Japanese garden File:Musées Extrême-Orient 953.jpg, Japanese-inspired

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

window depicting a

Samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They ...

, in the Japanese Tower File:Musées Extrême-Orient 949.jpg, Part of the Japanese garden near the Japanese Tower File:Musée d'art japonais 01.JPG, Out-building housing the collection of Japanese art, inaugurated in 2006

References

Notes

External links