Oriental motifs at the Khanenko Museum
The “Oriental Collection” is the latest exhibit to open at the Khanenko Art Museum, which is known for its famous collections of art works from Italy, France, Spain, and the Netherlands. Visitors to this fascinating museum can explore original paintings by Velasquez, Rubens, Bellini, and Surbaran.
Not so long ago Ukraine’s largest Oriental art collection was displayed at the Khanenko Museum alongside collections from Western Europe, the Byzantine Empire, and the ancient world. Thematic exhibits of Oriental art were featured in temporary exhibits.
However, the value and size of the Oriental collection, which is constantly increasing (approximately 3,000 items), needed a much larger space. Not surprisingly, the museum’s administration and Kyiv’s city state administration has opened an entire exhibit dedicated to the Orient.
Renovations of the museum began in 1998, but the main work was carried out in the past two years. During this time a tremendous amount of work was done to renovate the facade, strengthen the floors, and upgrade the interior. So far, the city administration has spent over four million hryvnias. The government of the Netherlands provided a 200,000-euro grant to cover the museum walls with a special fabric, manufacture and assemble exhibition equipment, and install lighting systems. Vira Vynohradova, director of the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko Art Museum, says that every year the state gives the museum 1.5 million hryvnias. “In our view, this is a considerable sum of money. But salaries for our staff are low, and we are always short of funds for maintaining our collection.”
The bulk of the Oriental collection comes from the private collection of the distinguished Ukrainian art collectors and patrons, Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko. There are rare examples of ancient Chinese bronzes, a rich collection of Chinese porcelain pieces, exquisite Japanese Ukiyoye prints, a large collection of Japanese Tsuba sword guards, medieval Iranian and Turkish masterpieces, unique Moslem metal and textile works, and rare Mesopotamian and Iranian book miniatures. In terms of its value and artistic importance the Khanenko collection is one of the best in Europe.
Among the museum’s most important acquisitions in post-independent Ukraine are numerous ceramic pieces from Samarkand, a large collection of Chinese classical paintings, and some Buddhist art from the funds of the former Museum City and private collections.
“We are thrilled to receive such important gifts. There are similar museums in Lviv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Sumy, and Poltava, but you’ll never find such a range, such a quantity of artistic monuments as at this Kyiv museum,” says Olena Bilenko, the curator of the Khanenko Museum.
Vynohradova says that the most precious items on display are those dating to early periods. “It is impossible to determine their actual worth. All this is relative. A collection is valuated only when it goes abroad, but a valuation is never completely accurate. We orient ourselves on auction prices, multiply them by three or five, depending on the item,” says the director of the Khanenko Museum.
“We are planning two more exhibitions next year: the art of the ancient world (Greece, Rome, Egypt) and Western European applied art. We want to build a large exhibition hall so it can also accommodate exhibits from other countries,” says Vynohradova, adding, “For example, the Kingdom of the Netherlands has kindly offered its services. Unfortunately, we cannot accept them right now.”
The Khanenko Museum’s Oriental collection is displayed in four halls on the second floor of a building located at vul. Tereshchenkivska 17. In view of its historical composition, four large exhibition collections have been created: Buddhist Art, Chinese Art, Islamic Art, and Japanese Art.
Unfortunately, the Oriental section of the museum is still closed to visitors, but soon they will be able to marvel at these Oriental masterpieces.
