MAO is one of the most important museums in Italy and Europe for its expertise and research of Eastern art.
The five galleries that make up the museum showcase works from South and South-East Asia, the most important collection of Chinese funerary art present in Italy, sacred and profane Japanese art, art from the Himalayan region, and a significant collection of Islamic art. Alongside the permanent collection, space is also given to temporary exhibitions.
The collections boast almost 2,300 works ranging from the Neolithic period to the beginning of this past century, plus more than 1,400 archeological finds dating to pre-Islamic times from the Iraqi digs at Seleucia and Coche.
The South Asia gallery houses collections from three major cultural geographic areas: Gandhara, India and Indochina.
China's millennial history and its control of vast territories generated a great variety of art forms. However, thanks to its centralised political structure and the organic nature of its cultural models, it can be characterised in a generally homogeneous way.
Japan’s artistic production reveals the originality of what developed from the merging of refined traditional craftsmanship with an almost religious respect for the intrinsic qualities of materials, together with a willingness to welcome outside elements issued from the highest levels of cultural expression.
The art of the Himalayan countries (Ladakh, Tibet, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan) shares a common Tantric version of Buddhism from which emerges a worldview that influences architecture, statues, painting, books and ritual instruments.
The Islamic section of the museum displays works from the Middle East, Persia, Turkey and the former Soviet republics of Central Asia. The collections include bronzes, ceramics and manuscripts, with particular emphasis on the aesthetic value of calligraphy.
All the online works of the Oriental Art Museum of Torino
