Guimet some culture. (Guimet National Museum of Asiatic Arts)

Member Name: peel.rebekah

Product:	Guimet National Museum of Asiatic Arts
Date:	24/04/01 (67 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Absolutely wonderful collection of Asiatic art.

Disadvantages: None I can think of.

The Musee Guimet has very recently opened its doors after over five years of refurbishment, curation and restoration; having lived in Paris for about the same number of years, and having never heard of the museum or its collection previous to the recent spate of coverage, I was keen to find out what all the hype was about.

*A Little History.

The museum is also known as the Musee National des Arts Asiatiques, and was originally the extremely ambitious project of Emile Guimet (1836-1918), an industrialist from Lyon (he was also an accomplished musician and author of Le Dieu d'Apulee and L'Isis Romaine). During his travels through Asia, he managed to accumulate an impressive and important collection of objet d'art - religious statues, materials, paintings and artifacts. The collection was originally housed in Lyon, but in 1884, Guimet gave it to the state; the collection moved to Paris and was attached to the national museums. The collection grew during the 1920's and 30's when it came under the administration of French Museum Directorate, and received pieces from Afghanistan via the French Archeological Delegation.

*The Museum.

I have it on good authority that the museum was in considerable need of attention prior to its closure; patronage was low, the ceilings were leaking and the collection was not presented in a particularly visitor friendly manner. So the Guimet closed its doors and brought in outside help, in the form of two architects, Henri and Bruno Gaudin, and a pack of culture hungry curators.

First impressions are that the Guimet still needs a little fine tuning - Only one of the front doors is allowed as an entrance (sign posted with a small piece of paper sticky taped to the door), and one is then channeled to a small pay point (not much room for pushchairs and wheelchairs, but then the staff are immediately on hand to help).

From here on in, things vastly improve: You are greeted
by a magnificent white space (the museum is 5500m2 in total), with a sweeping staircase to the left, and the towering presence of the Grand Naga (a multi-headed stone statue, all 13 tones of it, from Cambodia). This part of the collection is religious statues (mainly stone, but also bronze and wood) that range in date from 2000-1000 BC, to 18th Century.

There is a delicate wooden statue on the right that immediately caught my eye; it is dwarfed by the Grand Naga, several large Buddhas and plentifully limbed deities. The face has long since deteriorated with the passing of time, the fine detail has been worn away, but on seeing this little treasure, I knew that I was going to enjoy the rest of the museum.

The ground floor is dedicated to India (on the left) and South East Asia (entrance and right hand side): Buddhas, Shivas, priests and Ganeshes aplenty, this is better than The Discovery Channel. I wish I had the patience to describe every single statue to you, but no, I'll just pick up on the ones that really touched me: In the right hand room, at the back, a statue of Shiva in a female form; she is made from wood, with ancient paint still adorning her robes. Her eyes are clear and staring, and her arms outstretched: Victor was beginning to get a little whingey, so I placed him in front of her, his eyes widened and he immediately fell silent. I like this statue.

Moving to the first floor, and Nepal/Tibet, Afghanistan/Pakistan, China and Central Asia. This part of the collection is mainly smaller, decorative pieces (but of course with the odd Buddha here and there - mainly because one of the sections is dedicated to Buddhist China), and holds some truely enchanting pieces. A firm favourite was the Ritual Zun Vase, made in the form of an elephant: This piece is from South China, Shang Dynasty, 1200 BC (my goodness, that's old), and is about 50cms tall, 70cms long and 30cms wide. It is made from bronze and is absolutely covered with
intricate engravings - absolutely beautiful.

Also on this level is a small library, displaying several small paintings and a gallery for the collection of Jean and Krishna Riboud: This collection is of fabrics, clothes, carpets, jewelry etc. that complement the rest of the pieces in the Guimet. Everything in here is exquisite, detailed and fine; it really makes you wonder about present day manufactured quality, and whether or not your dining room carpet could possibly stand the pace in five or six hundred years time.

Second floor, and welcome to Classic China, Korea and Japan. This is where you will find an area dedicated to Chinese and Japanese painting, writing and calligraphy: I've long been a fan of these forms of art (I?m planning to learn Japanese at some time in the future), and seeing these pieces (ranging from 10th to 17th century) and the absolute finesse with which they were made, was probably the highlight of my visit.

Also on this level: Decorative art from China (a sublime Imperial lacquered box that would look great in my front room), pieces from the Ming Dynasty, poetry by Su Shi (1036-1101), and, unfortunately, a smaller range of artifacts from Korea (a little disappointing).

The third and fourth floors are also dedicated to China: These are both much smaller areas than on the other levels, so don't give up just yet. The third floor is for acquisitions from the dynasty of the Mandchous (Qing), and the fourth floor houses a magnificent (damn, where's my French/English dictionary?) folding screen (sounds much better as a paravent, doesn't it?), lovingly decorated with graceful birds, misty clouds and rambling pine trees. You can rest your weary feet a while here, and contemplate the view of the Eiffel Tower (it is just across the road).

Having not seen the layout of the museum previous to its reopening, it is a little hard to determine whether or not the presentation is better: All I ca
n say is that it is quite easy to move from region to region without losing the thread of the exhibition, and the items are presented with sufficient space for the public to view without becoming to crowded (unlike The Louvre). The architects seem to have done a great job incorporating modern day needs into such an environment: There is a large lift that will take you from floor to floor (if traveling with wheelchair or pushchair), brilliant white shining walls, and hi-tech toilets (it took me a good few minutes to work out how to use the taps - but I?m not telling). The overall atmosphere is spacious, clean and sanctified.

*The Bookshop.

Now for the more mundane items on the agenda: There is a good, but overpriced and cramped, bookshop, that sells all the normal paraphernalia, along with a good collection of music cds(Japanese, Chinese, Tibetan chants etc.), some rather sweet teapots, incense holders, enameled pieces, replica statues and generally everything you need to make your life aesthetically Asiatic and Zen. The range of books on offer is wide; art, language, food, philosophy, childrens etc., but I'm afraid to say that all of them are in French (the bookshop is on the ground floor, just opposite the entrance).

*The Restaurant.

In the basement you will find a nice little restaurant (and extremely overworked staff), that continues with the theme of the museum by offering a small selection of Asian delicacies for your delight: Curries in France are always extremely tame, so these should be passed over in favour of the nems (little pancake rolls with mint) and dim sum. There's a nice range of drinks on offer - a good choice of teas and same tasty lassis. This is the first museum restaurant I have been to in Paris that hasn't broken the bank, so, it comes highly recommended.

* The Other Stuff.

The museum is open everyday, 10.00am - 6.00pm, except on Tuesdays (it stays open during the summer season
- a lot of other places in Paris do close down for the holidays). Entrance is free for all under eighteen years of age, 35 francs for adults, 23 francs for a student, and free for the disabled, journalists and the unemployed. On the first Sunday of every month, the entrance is waved, and on all other Sundays, the tariff drops to 23 francs.

The entrance fee also includes an audio guide to the collection; available in French, English, German, Spanish, Italian, Chinese and Japanese. As I said previously, entrance is a little perilous for those on wheels, but once inside there is well thought access for the disabled (apart from in the bookshop); the staff will be more than happy to help, so inform them as soon as you arrive.

The Musee Guimet is situated in the 16th arrondissement, just next to the Eiffel Tower, Princess Diana's memorial spot and the Musee d'Art Contemporain de la Ville de Paris (so it's not that far out of the way if you are doing the normal tourist thing). If using the Metro, then disembark at Boissiere or Iena, or if traveling by RER (overland trains), then at Pont de l'Alma.

Musee National des Arts Asiatiques - Guimet.
6 place d'Iena, 75116, Paris.
Tel. 01 56 52 53 00
www. museeguimet.fr

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