The 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 Panorama du Tour du Monde at the Paris Exposition of 1900.[4] The French architect Alexandre Marcel was commissioned in 1900 to build a Japanese pagoda (known as a Tō). It was inaugurated in 1905.[4] The Japanese Tower (French: Tour japonaise, Dutch: Japanse Toren) stands nearly 50 metres (160 ft) tall, across the road from the rest of the museum buildings.[5]
Work on a larger Chinese Pavilion (French: Pavillon chinois, Dutch: Chinees Paviljoen) 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.[4] From 1947 until 1989, the whole area was closed to visitors.[4] 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.
The Chinese Pavilion and Japanese Tower were recognised as protected monuments in 2019.[3] After closing to the public in 2013 for structural reasons,[1][2] the complex was restored but not reopened to the public. The Flemish public broadcaster VRT reported in 2022 that the Federal Government had decided the previous year not to re-open the complex although no formal announcement had been made to this effect.[6]
The Museums of the Far East collectively refers to three separate museums situated close to each other, which can be accessed on the same ticket. They are: the Chinese Pavilion, the Japanese Tower and the Museum of Japanese Art.
One of the principal focuses of the museums' collection, Chinese porcelain and other chinoiserie, is housed in the Chinese Pavilion. The Pavilion's displays focus on Chinese art originally designed for export to the West.[7][8] It is situated in a Chinese garden.
The Japanese Tower, situated within a replica Japanese garden, displays Japanese art, mostly porcelain created for export to the West. The Museum of Japanese Art contains the bulk of the museums' collection of Japanese art and displays several suits of samurai armour, netsuke and decorative sword hilts, as well as woodblock prints and other artifacts. It is situated in the complex's carriage house and has only recently opened to the public.[9]
Temporary exhibitions are also regularly held at the museum.[10] Further examples of Asian art are also held by the RMAH at the Art & History Museum at the Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark in Brussels.
View of one of the principal rooms of the Chinese Pavilion
Chinese Kiosk
View of the
Japanese Tower from the Japanese garden
Japanese-inspired
stained glass window depicting a
Samurai, in the Japanese Tower
Part of the Japanese garden near the Japanese Tower
Out-building housing the collection of Japanese art, inaugurated in 2006
"History". Royal Museums of Art and History. Archived from the original on 23 April 2013. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
