A saunter down the Rietberg Museum at Zurich in Switzerland: Part 1 of 3

The Museum Rietberg Zurich is the only art museum for non-European cultures in Switzerland, exhibiting an internationally renowned collection of art from Asia, Africa and Ancient America.

Artworks from India jostle for space along with those from Africa, China, Japan, Tibet, Ancient America, Oceania and Southeast Asia. A veritable collection of old Swiss carnival masks brings in the local flavour.

Here are some of the artefacts one discovers while taking a leisurely walk through the corridors of the museum.

Headdress

(Cameroon, 19th century)

Buddha Shakyamuni

(China, 536 AD)

Uma

(Cambodia, late 7th century)

Mara’s daughters tempting Prince Siddhartha

(Pakistan, 2nd-3rd century)

Dragon master

(Mali, 13th/14th century)

Stories of Ise

(Japan, circa 1796)

Vairochana, the Cosmic Buddha

(Tibet, 14th century)

Mushroom Stone

(El Salvador, 300 BC-250 AD)

Meditation

(China, 1649)

The green Tara

(China, circa 1405)

Mayan drinking vessel

(South America, 600-900 AD)

Kokuzo – the Buddha to sharpen the intellect

(Japan, late 12th century)

Emperor Heraclius in triumph

(Egypt, 7th century)

This unique collection is designed to heighten the understanding and appreciation of non-European art and cultures. The crowds which pour over minute details of many of the artworks on display bear a testimony to the fact that the love for art is universal, not confined to barriers of any kind – natural or man-made.

(Related Posts:

https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2016/11/06/a-saunter-down-the-rietberg-museum-at-zurich-in-switzerland-part-2-of-3

https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2016/11/09/a-saunter-down-the-rietberg-museum-at-zurich-in-switzerland-part-3-of-3)