The State Museum of Oriental Art?Why this museumWestern museums of the East were formed by colonial routes; this collection grew out of nationalised private collections and Soviet expeditions. Hence the Central Asian, Caucasian, Buryat and Chukchi sections that London and Paris lack: there the East begins with India and Egypt, here with what lay inside the country and next to it. That is the reason to come.
Getting there — not checked. Arbatskaya and Pushkinskaya have no lifts. Surface transport along Nikitsky Boulevard. Moscow metro stations almost never have lifts to the platform, except on the Big Circle line and the MCC. A wheelchair user is better served by the surface buses, which are low-floor across the centre.2 hours
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Founded on 30 October 1918. About 150,000 items: the Far and Near East, Central Asia, the Caucasus, Buryatia, Chukotka.
The building. The Lunin House, a model of Moscow Empire style, built by Domenico Gilardi in 1818–1823. The rooms were barely altered and still look little like galleries.
Good to know. The museum has a second site, Pavilion 13 at VDNKh, and a branch in Maykop. Several halls are given to the painting of Nicholas and Svyatoslav Roerich; in our view that is not what makes the trip worth it.
Central Asian and Caucasian carpets and metalwork transferred from the State Museum Fund; Iranian Qajar painting and tilework; Chinese bronze and porcelain, Japanese prints; a Korean section rare for Russia; Buddhist sculpture of Buryatia and Mongolia.
Two hours. 50 minutes — the Central Asian and Caucasian halls: carpets, metalwork, ceramics — the strongest part of the collection and the part London and Paris do not have. 40 minutes — Iran and the Near East: Qajar painting, tilework, miniatures. 30 minutes — China, Japan and Korea: bronze, porcelain, prints. Look at Gilardi’s Empire interiors as you go: the rooms were barely altered for the museum.
| Mon | closed |
| Tue, Fri–Sun | 11:00–20:00 |
| Wed, Thu | 12:00–21:00 |
Iranian painting of the 18th and 19th century, recently acquired by the museum. A small show in the main building on Nikitsky Boulevard.