The Museum of… Our pick of the UK’s specialist collections
There's a corner of the west country that is seriously focused on the east. Simon Stephens explores the Museum of East Asian Art
Where
Bath, Somerset
What
The museum is in a restored Georgian house in the Circus in Bath. It receives no public funding, and relies on admissions, shop sales and donations. Founder Brian McElney donated his personal collection to the museum and this now makes up its permanent collection.
The museum has a strong temporary exhibitions programme. It currently has one about UK artists who create manga cartoons and another about the prominent characters that appear in Asian art. Both shows end on 7 December
Opened
1993
Collection
Its 2,000 objects include ceramics, jades and bronzes from China, Japan, Korea and south-east Asia. The items range in date from about 5000 BC to the present day
Help at hand
Five full-time and three part-time staff
Survival tip
"Don't be afraid to think big, and keep your sense of humour," says the museum's curator Michel Lee
Highlight
The handling collection, which uses original objects, not reproductions
Sticky moment
Lee says: "We once had a display case, which we later found out had a weak spot in the glass. Someone accidentally banged into the weak spot and the entire case crumbled, taking with it several ceramic pieces.
Also, before our museum upgraded to contact alarms, thieves came into the museum and stole two Japanese articles. We were one of four museums targeted, and the thieves seemed to have an interest in things Japanese. Thankfully, a friend of the museum saw one of the pieces in Portobello Market in London, which allowed us to track down the other stolen object."
Current projects
The next exhibition is Shen: Chinese Icons of Divinity (3 January-13 April 2008), The museum is also putting part of its collection online. On the education side it is running Access to Art, a series of free workshops for 80 students with special educational needs in Bath and Northeast Somerset. It has also developed Welcome to China, a scheme to teach students about Chinese history, culture, and language
www.meaa.org.uk
Bath, Somerset
What
The museum is in a restored Georgian house in the Circus in Bath. It receives no public funding, and relies on admissions, shop sales and donations. Founder Brian McElney donated his personal collection to the museum and this now makes up its permanent collection.
The museum has a strong temporary exhibitions programme. It currently has one about UK artists who create manga cartoons and another about the prominent characters that appear in Asian art. Both shows end on 7 December
Opened
1993
Collection
Its 2,000 objects include ceramics, jades and bronzes from China, Japan, Korea and south-east Asia. The items range in date from about 5000 BC to the present day
Help at hand
Five full-time and three part-time staff
Survival tip
"Don't be afraid to think big, and keep your sense of humour," says the museum's curator Michel Lee
Highlight
The handling collection, which uses original objects, not reproductions
Sticky moment
Lee says: "We once had a display case, which we later found out had a weak spot in the glass. Someone accidentally banged into the weak spot and the entire case crumbled, taking with it several ceramic pieces.
Also, before our museum upgraded to contact alarms, thieves came into the museum and stole two Japanese articles. We were one of four museums targeted, and the thieves seemed to have an interest in things Japanese. Thankfully, a friend of the museum saw one of the pieces in Portobello Market in London, which allowed us to track down the other stolen object."
Current projects
The next exhibition is Shen: Chinese Icons of Divinity (3 January-13 April 2008), The museum is also putting part of its collection online. On the education side it is running Access to Art, a series of free workshops for 80 students with special educational needs in Bath and Northeast Somerset. It has also developed Welcome to China, a scheme to teach students about Chinese history, culture, and language
www.meaa.org.uk