The Museum of East Asian Art is the only museum in the UK solely dedicated to the arts and cultures of East and Southeast Asia. It includes over 2,000 objects from the region, with the permanent collection spanning from 5,000 B.C. to the present. Visitors can admire ceramics, metalware, bamboo, jade and lacquerware, among other objects.
It was founded by Brian McElney OBE (1932–2023), a prominent British lawyer who was born in Hong Kong and was a long-term resident of the city.
The museum is the result of his lifelong passion for collecting Asian art, which began in 1955 when he bought a 17th-century Chinese sculpture. His collection grew to encompass less-commonly collected artifacts such as bamboo and wood carvings, and throughout his life he befriended and learned from art experts based in Hong Kong.
When he retired, his collection became the basis of the museum, which opened in 1993 as an independent educational charity. His lifelong vision was to share his love of East and Southeast Asian art and to further the understanding of these cultures.
Walking through the auspicious red doors of the museum, set in a typical Georgian townhouse in Bath, to wander among beautiful objects on a rainy English day is a true source of pleasure.
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