China

The Museum’s collection includes works from over 4,000 years of China’s past and from the present day. The calligraphy collection ranks among the finest outside Asia, ranging from early Buddhist and Daoist scriptures to poems, records, and letters from the Song dynasty (960–1279) and subsequent periods. Among the paintings are rare masterpieces from the Song and Yuan (1260–1368) dynasties as well as numerous examples by later masters. The collection also includes ancient oracle bones and ritual bronze vessels, as well as ceramic vessels and figurines, sculpture, and modern and contemporary works of art.