Musée Guimet - Guimet research plan 2026-2030

Guimet research plan 2026 2030 17

Part 1 → The structuring axes of research at the Villa Guimet

center in Xinjiang ( North - West China ) , Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are compared with

the studies of fortif ied sites located between the Chinese province of Gansu and

Central Asia , as well as the study of of f icial Chinese histories are confronted with

those that have been preserved in Central Asia and with the administrative

documents of the Han dynasty , discovered between the Gobi and Taklamakan

deserts . Therefore , these crossed views will make it possible to reassess the notion

of cultural border by mapping archaeological sites via Geographic information

system ( GIS ) , and also to document the trade and circulation routes of this region

of Central Asia . It should be noted that the documentary corpus is composed of

more than 300 archaeological sites ( including bibliography and prospecting ) , about

600 Chinese texts and nearly 6 , 000 petroglyphs , for which a selection will be made .

This corpus studied should make it possible to propose a material and spatial

analysis of the phenomena of border interactions at the regional and global levels ,

but also to improve our knowledge of these ancient periods and , consequently ,

to refine the understanding of the works of the Musée Guimet . This study will

be enhanced through publications and conferences , and may enrich the mediation

tools of fered to visitors in the permanent exhibition of the collections .

" Resonating with the gods "

in China . Communication

objects and divinatory

interfaces

Following an archaeo - museum approach , the research conducted at the museum is

also interested in the link between objects of worship and religious practices , since

it concerns a large part of the collections of ancient China . In this regard , she will

study the relationship between the ritual and the funerary furniture deposited in the

tombs , in order to show the public how essential it is to link the collections , from High

Antiquity to the Qing , to its original religious context ( whether shamanic or Buddhist

or Taoist ) and social .

It will therefore be relevant to bring to it what is often set aside , such as the analysis

of texts , the archaeological site or the functioning of the ritual . It will also be necessary

to analyze the choice of materials used to communicate with the gods ( bronzes ,

jades , ceramics , lacquerware , textiles , etc . ) , to study the relationship between ritual

object and worship in order to understand the function of the object in the context

of ceremonies and its place in a temple , a tomb or on an altar , to study the relationships

between texts ( oracular bones , manuscripts ) and images depicted on objects .

This research project is also planned in cooperation with the ArScAn - CNRS research

center but also with the University of Lyon - 2 and the LESC - CNRS research center .

Study of a corpus

of Chinese ceramics

Dehua white porcelain

Another research project in this fundamental axis of the study of the history of Asian

art aims to document and publish the exceptional collection of monochrome

Chinese ceramics of Dehua or Blancs de Chine i e nearly 150 objects kept at the

Musée Guimet It is one of the most important collections in the world alongside

those of the Dehua museums in the Chinese province of Fujian and the English and

German museums This corpus produced from the Ming dynasty 1368 1644 to the

present day , has certainly been studied in depth by the researcher

Yongsong Zheng , as part of his doctoral thesis on Dehua porcelain

and its reception in Europe .

Therefore , the study , by this researcher , of the collection of the

Musée Guimet as part of a partnership with the CREOPS - Université

Paris - Sorbonne research center , should allow a valorization of the

collection and a notable enrichment of the documentation relating

to the Whites of Dehua .

In addition , this in - depth research may also link the collections of

the Musée Guimet to those kept in other foreign museums – or

French if an extension of the study is carried out . This project will

make it possible to produce high - definition photographs of the

collection as well as an online publication and in the form of a

printed catalogue .

Presence and representation

of foreign plants in Chinese

culture : introduction , reception ,

acclimatization and integration

in the Ming and Qing dynasties

Finally , still with regard to the Chinese collections of

the Musée Guimet , and the period of the Ming and

Qing dynasties , this plan provides for the study of the

presence and representation of foreign plants in

Chinese culture , their introduction in China , their

acclimatization and their integration . This research

work will be carried out by the doctoral student Weici

Yan ( CREOPS ) and will consist of studying the

representation of foreign plants on all artistic media .

Indeed , the Musée Guimet has a very rich collection of

three - dimensional works but also books and paintings ,

which is why the student will be led during her thesis

to question this collection in order to identify

representations of foreign plants in the graphic arts

Chinese objects and books It will also examine the

major European collections of Chinese art as well as

the works kept in the main museums in Asia mainly in

China and Taiwan These very diverse plants which

may have originated in South America Europe or the

Orient were the object of admiration on the part of the emperors of China and

sometimes of acclimatization in imperial gardens or even in the countryside for

certain species of agronomic interest

This research will lead to the identif ication of foreign plants within the museum s

Chinese collections from the Ming and Qing periods resulting in a publication

Statuette of He Xiangu , Dehua Kilns , Fujian , China , 17th century ,

Ollivier . Photograph taken in 2019 with the support of the

Michelin Corporate Foundation .

Imperial Bowl with Passionf lower Decoration Jingdezhen Kilns and Imperial

Workshops Beijing China Reign of the Kangxi Emperor 1661 1722 18th century