Book Museum of Art Oriental Turin Tickets

South Asia & Southeast Asia Gallery

The South Asia Gallery on the first floor includes art exhibits representing India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan including a group of friezes discovered during archaeological excavations in the 1950s, schist sculpture and stucco pieces from Gandhara, and Indian stone sculptures dating back to 2nd century BC. 

The Southeast Asia Gallery consists of private donations to the city of Turin before the museum came into existence. A few artworks include the Khmer sculpture, Burmese statues, and stone, bronze and lacquered wood sculptures from Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia.

China Gallery

Located on the first floor, the China Gallery houses one of the largest and most comprehensive art collections in Italy. The collection spans the period between 4000 BC to the 10th century and focuses on funerary art in ceramics, wood, stone, and bronze, which was a significant part of Chinese civilization. Artworks include weapons, ornaments, ritual bronzes, celadon products, stoneware from the 3rd and 4th centuries, and figurative earthenware.

Japan Gallery

Located between the first and second floors, the Museum of Oriental Art’s Japanese art collection includes ukiyo-e prints acquired in the 1980s, rare monastic robes, kesas, examples of Japanese Buddhist statuary spanning from the 11th century to the 17th century, a pair of tenno, a 230-cm high temple statue of Kongo Rikishi, and two pairs of sixfold screens dating back to the 17th century. The gallery houses a traditional tea room and also exhibits prints, illustrated books, paintings, lacquer, and inro on a rotational basis. 

Himalayan Gallery

Located on the third floor, the Himalayan Gallery is dedicated to Buddhist art from Ladakh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, and Tibet. Spanning from the 7th century to the 19th century, the collection depicts the Tantric version of Buddhism and its esoteric art forms. The collection includes a Tibetan collection of thangka of deities dating back to the 15th century, gilded bronzes, metal statues, rare paintings, carved and painted book covers, ritual objects, and more.

Islamic Gallery

Located on the fourth floor of the museum, the Islamic Gallery exhibits artworks representing Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Iran, and the former Soviet Central Asian republics. The collection consists of the artistic production of fabrics, ornamental tiles, bronzes, manuscripts, ceramics from the Abbasid era, and Ottoman velvets owned by the Civic Museum. All these objects are culturally significant because they explore Islamic art, which is characterized by symmetry and geometry in all its forms. 

Restoration Works

The restoration of Palazzo Mazzonis and its transformation from a Baroque palace to the Museum of Oriental Art took five years to complete. The idea was to keep the existing features, which is why facilities were installed in less important sections, an underfloor heating system was used, and piping lines were placed in existing ducts. Two Japanese-inspired dry and wet gardens were created at the entrance courtyard. Fire detection and protection, lighting, video surveillance, audio system for emergency evacuation, climate control, sanitation, and plumbing systems were also put in place.