- List of museums with major collections of Asian art
This is a list of museums with major collections of
Asian art . This list is controversial, in so far as it contains only qualitative analysis of museum holdings. These may or may not reflect actual artistic quality of collections in question.#
Forbidden City *, Beijing, China
#: 1,000,000 objects [Wen, Lianxi (ed.) (1925). _zh. 故宫物品点查报告 [Palace items auditing report] . Beijing: Caretaker Committee of the Qing Dynasty Imperial Family. Reprint (2004): Xianzhuang Book Company. ISBN 7-80106-238-8]
#National Palace Museum *, Taipei, Taiwan
#: 700,000 objects [http://www.orientalarchitecture.com/taipei/natlpmindex.htm]
#National Museum of China , Beijing, China
#: 620,000 objects [http://english.people.com.cn/200612/13/eng20061213_331891.html] (Includes contemporary collections, science, technology and decorative arts, however the vast majority derives from the Imperial collection, divided between Beijing and the National Palace Museum, Taipei)
# Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK
#: 160,000 objects [http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/asia/about/index.html]
#National Museum of Korea , Seoul, South Korea
#: 150,000 objects [http://news.sawf.org/Travel/3572.aspx]
#Shanghai Museum *, China
#: 120,000 objects [http://www.shme.com/travel/museum/museum.htm]
# National Museum, Japan
#: 120,000 objects [http://www.shme.com/travel/museum/museum.htm] (This includes the combined holdings of the three museums that make up the National Museum, i.e.Tokyo National Museum ,Kyoto National Museum ,Nara National Museum )
#British Library , London, UK
#: 90,000 objects [http://www.bl.uk/collections/orientalcollections.html] [http://www.bl.uk/collections/chinesehistory.html#Stein] (No sculptures or architectural elements, the world's largest collection of ancient manuscripts from Asia, including the Stein Collection)
#British Museum , London, UK
#: 75,000 objects [http://www.untoldlondon.org.uk/collections/SE000073.html] [http://www.uk.emb-japan.go.jp/en/japaninfo/culture/britishmuseum.html]
# The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
#: 60,000 objects [http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/introduction.asp?dep=9]
#Musée du quai Branly , Paris, France
#: 58,000 objects [http://www.quaibranly.fr/en/collections/permanent-collections/asia/index.html]
# Musee Guimet, Paris, France
#: ~50,000 objects [http://www.museeguimet.fr/-The-collections-]
# Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA
#: ~40,000 objects [http://www.mfa.org/collections/sub.asp?key=22&subkey=109] (Asian collection includes books, prints, postcards and modern paraphernalia; website indicates a massive collection, which is misleading)
#Horniman Museum , London, UK
#: 32,000 objects [http://www.horniman.ac.uk/collections/asia.php]
#Museum für Asiatische Kunst , Berlin, Germany
#: 20,000 objects [http://www.smb.museum/smb/kalender/details.php?objID=13313&lang=en&typeId=10]
#Art Institute of Chicago , USA
#: 35,000 objects [http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/prints/index.php] (The Near & Middle East objects are included within the scope of the collection, overinflates size)
#Freer Gallery of Art /Arthur M. Sackler Gallery , Washington, D.C., USA
#: 18,200 objects [http://www.asia.si.edu/collections/default.htm]
# Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, USA
#: 17,000 objects [http://www.asianart.org/collection.htm]
#Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art , Kansas City, USA
#: 10,450 objects [http://www.nelson-atkins.org/art/Chinese.cfm]* These three museums specialise in only Chinese items; the collections are not comprehensive for all Asia
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