From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Art museum in Xicheng District, Beijing
The
Capital Museum
(
Chinese
:
首都博物?
) is an
art museum
in
Beijing
,
China
. It opened in 1981 and moved into its present building in 2006, which houses a
large
collection of ancient
porcelain
,
bronze
,
calligraphy
,
painting
,
jade
,
sculpture
, and
Buddhist statues
from
imperial China
as well as other Asian cultures
Part of the museum's collections were formerly housed in the
Confucius Temple
on
Guozijian Road
in Beijing.
Overview
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]
The Beijing Capital Museum today contains over 200,000 cultural relics in its collection.
[2]
Only a small fraction of the collection is exhibited, and a significant percentage of the museum's art collection comprises artifacts unearthed in Beijing.
[3]
The Capital Museum was established in 1981 with a collection of some 83,000 objects.
[3]
Although the museum pales in comparison to the visitors received in other major art museums in Beijing, such as the
Palace Museum
in the Forbidden City, the
National Museum of China
, and the
National Art Museum of China
, it has become one of the leading cultural institutions in the city.
[3]
The Capital Museum's massive roof and the gradient at the entrance square is the work of architects
Jean-Marie Duthilleul
and Cui Kai. It was influenced by ancient
Chinese architecture
,
[4]
and the stone-made exterior wall was meant to symbolize the city walls and towers of ancient China.
[4]
A piece of
danbi
(a massive stone carved with images of dragon, phoenix and imperial artifacts) is embedded on the ground in front of the north gate of the museum. A decorative archway from the
Ming Dynasty
, set in the reception hall, shows the "central axis" feature that is commonly seen in Chinese architecture.
[4]
The Bronze Exhibition Hall, which has an oval-shape, was meant to symbolize the unearthing of ancient relics by its slanting design which extends from the ground to the exterior of the museum.
[4]
See also
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References
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External links
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