"One of the world’s most significant and lavish collections of Oriental art, The State Museum of Oriental Art is located in the heart of Moscow in a historical mansion known as the Lunins’ House, a private residence built in the early 19th century by the renowned Italian architect Domenico Gilardi. The collection boasts around 160,000 artefacts from more than 100 countries.
The collection includes jewellery, ceramics, carpets, embroidery, bone-carving, lacquer art, stone carving, religious objects, armoury, inlaid furniture, ethnic clothing and folk toys from China, Japan, Korea, India, Iran, the Middle East, South-East Asia and Vietnam, the Caucasus, and Central Asia as well as Siberia and the Far East of Russia."
The museum also houses artworks by the renowned Russian painter and philosopher Nicholas Roerich and his son Svyatoslav Roerich. At the Special Treasury there is an extensive archeological collection, including applied art from the Northern Caucasus region. The museum runs a series of themed tours by region (India, Japan, Iran) and by topic (carpeting, lacquer art, ceramics) but only in Russian. Sign up for a tour and bring your own interpreter, if you have a special interest.