Museum of East Asian Art

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Incongruously placed just a stone’s throw from two of Bath’s iconic attractions, The Circus and The Royal Crescent, is a hidden gem of a museum. The Museum of East Asian Art is the only museum in the UK solely dedicate to arts and culture from East and South East Asia, with a collection of over 2,000 objects. The Museum truly showcases the exquisite craftsmanship from East Asia to rival the best of European art.

Spread over three floors of a converted Grade II listed Georgian townhouse, the Museum is a sanctuary of tranquillity in a busting World Heritage city: ceremonial jade objects as luminous today as they were over thousands of years ago sit alongside imperial household items, Ming vases, bronze Buddhas, Chinese Blue and White porcelain and other artefacts representing over 7,000 years of artistry and craftsmanship. The collection of Chinese art is particularly comprehensive, some of the Chinese bamboo and wood carvings are among the finest found in European collections.

The Museum of East Asian Art is an independent museum. It was founded by Brian McElney OBE, a prominent former lawyer and long-time resident of Hong Kong. After his retirement to the UK, Brian donated his collection to form the Museum which opened to the public in 1993 as an education charity. The collection has been added to by long-term loans and donations by the public over the years.