AFTER FOUR YEARS of reconstruction and painstaking restoration of its often fragile paintings and sculptures, the Cernuschi Museum in Paris has rescued one of Europe's finest and most eclectic collections of Asian art from decay.
Before the restoration, the museum founded more than 100 years ago by financier and art collector Henri Cernuschi was 'breathing its last breath', says curator Gilles Beguin. 'It wasn't practical in the way it functioned. There were serious security problems and problems of visitor flow.'
As well, many of the works, particularly ancient Chinese scroll paintings, were deteriorating due to lack of proper climate control and had to be taken down in the 1990s to prevent further damage.
Finally, there simply wasn't enough space for the collection, which has grown to 12,400 pieces, thanks to funding from private donors and the city of Paris.
The Cernuschi is considered France's second most important museum of Asian art after the Guimet, and the fifth most important in Europe. (The British Museum and the Victoria and Albert in London, and the Rietberg in Zurich rank as the other top collections, according to Beguin.)
Wheras the Guimet is a national museum with a mission to represent a comprehensive collection of art from all over Asia and from all periods of history, the Cernuschi has continued to acquire works with the bias of its founder, who was particularly interested in Chinese art. As a museum of Asian art, 'we aren't an encyclo- paedia or dictionary', Beguin says. 'We're a promenade in a China style through objects of the highest quality possible.'