Museums of the Far East

Geschiedenis

The Museums of the Far East is the name of a complex of three museums in Laken, Belgium dedicated to Oriental art and culture, specifically that of China and Japan. Both museums are run under the direction of the Royal Museums of Art and History .All three museums have been closed since 2013 because of structural weaknesses.HistoryThe idea for an outdoor display of oriental buildings, open to the public on the site, originated with King Leopold II, who had been particularly impressed by the "Tour du Monde" panorama at the Paris World Exhibition of 1900. The French architect Alexandre Marcel was commissioned in 1901 to build a Japanese pagoda (known as a Tō). It was inaugurated in 1905. The Pagoda stands nearly tall, across the road from the rest of the museum buildings.Work on a larger Chinese Pavilion began in 1905. The building was originally intended to be a restaurant, but never served the purpose for which it was intended. In 1909, with the death of Leopold II, the original plan for a museum was abandoned and the building was donated to the Belgian state where it served as part of the Trade Museum of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1947 until 1989, the whole area was closed to visitors. The museums' section on Japanese art is housed in a building near the Chinese pavilion, originally intended to serve as a stable and garage for the complex.