Monday, November 3rd was a gray, cold and rainy day--clearly a museum day!  I decided to go to the Museée Guimet, the National Museum of Asiatic Arts, located near the Place d'Iéna.  When I got to this square, I knew it was right around the corner.

I bought a ticket for the special exhibition:  The Splendors of the Han Dynasty and the Development of the Celestial Empire.  The Han Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China and existed from 206 BC – 220 AD.  It is generally considered a golden age in China.  To this day China's major ethnic group refers to itself as the Han people and Chinese script is referred to as Han characters.  The vast trading network known as the Silk Road which reached all the way to the Mediterranean world.

The exhibited is beautifully curated and contains items from several imperial burial sites.

Like the ancient Egyptians, the tombs of royalty in China contain images of animals, dishes, jewelry and servants and soldiers--the things someone might need in the afterlife.  But models--often miniatures--were used; much more civilized than human and animal sacrifices.

Art objects in gold and inlaid with jewels were also buried to show the importance of the tomb's inhabitant.

This lamp is intended to be a mountain (there are animals and people depicted in the design--all climbing the mountain); when it's lit, smoke from the lamp looks like mist in the mountain.  

 This vase is decorated with jade and semi-precious gems.

 This vase is styled with dragons and clouds--hard to tell which is which.

 Tiny leopards made of gold.

Jade was a precious and mystical element.  Members of the royal family were buried in jade shrouds.  The King's shroud was bits of jade sewn together with gold thread; lesser family members rated silver (princes), or regular thread.

The exhibit also had a number of artifacts from a variety of sites.

This is money and the die that was used to make it.

 A bow and arrows.

 Part of a funeral procession in miniature.

I'm always amazed when fabric survives.  Here is robe worn by a mandarin and a tapestry woven of silk.

 And a drum.

A model of a building.

 Ink and brushes used for writing.

 Some surviving examples of early writing on silk and paper.

 A clay oven.

The rest of the museum is amazing.  There are more than 45, 000 artworks from all over Asia.  There is a collection of Cambodian Ankor Wat sculptures and 1600 pieces of art from the Himallayas alone.  I didn't have the stamina to see it all but I will share a photo or two from each of the collections I did visit.

India

Mathura Buddha

 Tree Maiden

 Dancing Siva

Cambodia

Elephant

 Model of Ankor Wat

Ancient China

 Women polo players

Afghanistan and Pakistan

Standing Bodhisativa

 Spirit with Blossoms

And finally, the Himalayan Kingdoms

Mahakala

 A Jeweled Headpiece

 There were several more floors covering Thailand, Classical China, Korea and Japan, but they would have ot wait for another day and another trip to Paris.

Tuesday promises to be a non-rainy day so my adventures will be out-of-doors I hope!

Adieu.