Guimet Museum

The Guimet Museum (Musée national des arts asiatiques - Guimet) in Paris is France’s national museum dedicated to the arts of Asia; it was founded by collector Émile Guimet in the late 19th century. The institution houses extensive collections that span South, Central and East Asia.

Exhibition rooms are organised by region and medium, with notable holdings of Buddhist sculpture, Chinese and Japanese painting and South Asian ritual objects. Rotating temporary exhibitions complement the permanent collections and the museum offers guided tours and specialist displays. The museum also supports scholarly research and conservation of Asian artworks.

Émile Guimet assembled the original collection in the 19th century and donated it to the French state; the museum has since been expanded and reorganised to improve display and study of its holdings. Its development reflects scholarly ties between France and Asian art history.

The museum is located in Paris’s 16th arrondissement near the Trocadéro and the Seine, within walking distance of the Trocadéro Gardens and the Palais de Chaillot.

• Focus: The museum specialises in Asian art and is one of France's leading collections for South and East Asian holdings, with both archaeological material and modern religious sculptures.

What to See #

• Regional galleries: Galleries organised by geographic and cultural regions showcase art and artifacts from South Asia, Central Asia, China, Southeast Asia and Japan, with a mix of sculpture, ritual objects, and decorative arts.
• Temporary exhibition galleries: Rooms for temporary exhibitions that rotate displays on specific themes, periods or new research in Asian art.
• Library and study collections: A reference library and study collections used by scholars of Asian art for research and publication.