61 Guimet research plan 2026 2030
Annexes
of Inscriptions and Belles - Lettres ) , " The Bhagavadgîtâ
illustrated by Indian painting " ( Éditions Diane de Selliers ,
2016 ) and " Leyli et Majnûn de Jâmi illustré par les
miniatures d ' Orient " ( Éditions Diane de Selliers , 2021 ) .
Huei - chung Tsao
China Collection
A graduate of the National Taiwan University and the
École du Louvre , Huei - chung Tsao has been a
researcher in the China section at the Musée Guimet
since 1990 . She is also the scientif ic director of the
Masterpieces of the Grandidier collection of Chinese
ceramics ( 2000 pieces ) website put online in 2004 by
RMN - GP in collaboration with the Musée Guimet . She
has curated numerous exhibitions on China at the
Musée Guimet : Treasures of Ancient China , ritual
bronzes from the Meiyintang collection ( 2012 ) ;
Splendours of the Han ( 2014 ) ; Jade , from emperors to
Art Deco ( 2016 ) ; A Firmament of Porcelain ( 2019 ) ; Tang
China ( 2024 ) and Abroad : Emperor Kangxi and the Sun
King Louis XIV , National Palace Museum , Taipei , 2011 ;
West encounters East , Shanghai Museum , 2021 ; and
contributed to the corresponding catalogues . In
addition , she has contributed to a dozen books in
French and Chinese , including L ' art de la Chine , revised
and expanded edition , Mazenod , Paris , 1997 ; From the
forgotten deserts , centuries of dazzling Dunhuang Art ,
Taipei , 2005 ; Carnets de route , 1906 - 1908 : Paul Pelliot ,
Paris , 2008 ; The Forbidden City at the Louvre , Paris ,
2011 ; Sublimes matières , Paris , 2014 ; Chinese Porcelain
from the Santos Palace ( Art Book Prize , 2022 ) , Paris ,
2021 , co - directed with Claire Déléry ; Glaze and Glory ,
Shanghai , 2022 .
Valérie Zaleski
Collections of Buddhist art
from China and Central Asia
and Chinese painting
A graduate of the École du Louvre and a doctor in art
history Paris Sorbonne Valérie Zaleski is a specialist
in Chinese and Central Asian Buddhist art She is
curator of the collections of Chinese painting and
Buddhist art at the Musée Guimet and has curated
several exhibitions including Tajikistan in the Land of
Golden Rivers 2021 Musée Guimet T ang Haywen a
Chinese Painter in Paris 1927 1991 2024 Musée
Guimet Kazakhstan Treasures of the Great Steppe
The Silk Roads 2024 Draguignan She is also an
associate researcher at the CRCAO and a member of
CREOPS Sorbonne University and author of articles
on Buddhist art in China Tajikistan and Thailand
Thierry Zéphir
Himalayan World
Collection
Thierry Zéphir is a research engineer at the Musée
National des Arts Asiatiques - Guimet in Paris , where he
has worked since 1986 . He is also a lecturer at the
École du Louvre where he teaches the arts of India and
the countries of the Indianized world . He has
participated in the training of students at the Faculty
of Archaeology in Phnom Penh and regularly
contributes to the courses given by the SOAS ( School
of Oriental and African Studies ) in London . He is the
author of various books and scientif ic articles , including
L ' Art de l ' Asie du Sud - Est ( Citadelles et Mazenod )
( 1994 ) , L ' Empire des rois khmers ( 1997 ) , L ' art khmer
dans les collections du musée Guimet ( 2008 ) . He has
also curated several exhibitions devoted to the arts of
India and Southeast Asia , both in France and abroad ,
such as Royal Bronzes of Angkor , an Art of the Divine
( 2025 ) ; Asian Medicine ( 2023 ) ; Buddha – The Golden
Legend ( 2019 ) ; Angkor , birth of a myth - Louis Delaporte
and Cambodia ( 2013 ) ; Dvaravati - The Sources of
Buddhism in Thailand ( 2009 ) ; The Golden Age of
Classical India – The Gupta Empire ( 2007 ) ; Champa Art
Treasures – The Sculpture of Vietnam ( 2005 ) ; Angkor
and Ten Centuries of Khmer Art ( 1997 ) .
Synoptic table
of research projects
GUIMET RESEARCH PLAN 2026 - 2030
AXIS 1 MATERIALITY
Projects Collections studied Partners Research objectives Contributors
Study of the stucco
and unfired clay of
Afghanistan , the
3rd – 8th centuries
of our era discovered
in an archaeological
context
The Afghan collection of
stuccoes and various unfired
clays , dating from the 3rd to
the 8th century CE
• Universita degli studi
di Napoli e l ’ Orientale
• Universita degli studi
di Roma La Sapienza
• Universita degli studi
di Bologna
• Determine the precise composition of
stuccoes and unfired clays in order to clarify
the chronological occupation of the various
Buddhist monasteries at Hadda .
• Compare the modeled works from the
Hadda site with those from other sites
such as Tepe Sardar in Ghazni , Tepe Narenj
in Kabul , or with pieces lacking verified
archaeological provenance .
• Identify production and distribution
networks , as artisans traveled to embellish
the chapels and stupas of Buddhist
monasteries in eastern Afghanistan .
Nicolas Engel
Fakes and forgers in
Chinese antiquities
Bronzes , jades , terracottas
( mingqi - type figurines )
• CRCAO
• C2RMF
• ACN - Europe
• Establish a typology of forgeries , identify
them , and conduct a study of falsification
techniques and methods .
• Study the impact of counterfeits as well as
their prevention and protection measures .
Arnaud Bertrand
Chinese Neolithic
ceramics : a technical
study
Around fifty Chinese
ceramics dating from the
Neolithic period — from the
5th millennium BCE to the
Bronze Age .
• Dr . Anke Hein ( Peter
Moores Associate
Professor in Chinese
Archaeology – Hugh
College , University of
Oxford )
• Cernuschi Museum ( Mael
Bellec )
• Sèvres – Museum of
Ceramics
• National Archaeology
Museum
• Understand the development of kilns
and ceramic firing techniques , and better
determine the regional origins of the
pieces .
• Refine the dating of these works in order
to trace the development of this craft .
Arnaud Bertrand
Huei - chung Tsao
Joint project for the
analysis of bronze
objects from Liyu ,
between the Guimet
Museum and the
Shanghai Museum
The pieces discovered in
1923 at the Liyu site
• Shanghai Museum
• C2RMF
• Study the manufacturing processes
• Identify the different workshops
• Determine the origin of the alloys
Arnaud Bertrand
Huei - chung Tsao
Study of Bronze Art in
Southeast Asia
• Bronze art in Cambodia
in the context of pre -
Angkorian ( 7th – 8th
centuries ) and Angkorian
( 9th – 15th centuries ) Khmer
art
• Bronzes from the Dong
Son culture ( Late Bronze
Age to Iron Age , 5th – 1st
centuries BCE ) in the
Red River Delta northern
Vietnam
• National Museum of
Cambodia
• EFEO
• C2RMF
• Arc ' Antique Laboratory
• Cernuschi Museum
• IRCAM
• Vietnam National
Museum of History , Hanoi
• Study of copper alloys , their sources of
supply , and their technical implementation
within the foundry
• Publication of an in - depth study focused
on the image of the reclining Vishnu from
the Western Mebon
• Deepen the understanding of how
bronze drums were made and the
technical choices involved in their casting :
characterization of mold casting , analysis
of material resonance and interpretation of
the decorative motifs
Pierre Baptiste
Program for the
conservation and
restoration of works
paintings of Tibetan
Buddhism Chinese
and Japanese
paintings Indian
textiles
Works kept in storage
due to their poor state of
preservation including 450
pieces from the Tibetan
painting collection ranging
from the 12th to the 20th
century along with Chinese
and Japanese paintings and
Indian textiles
Madame Marion BOYER
Madame Patricia DAL
PRÀ
Madame Delphine
YALA PIERRE
Cadres Exquis Madame
Pauline DI MASCIO
Restore the pictorial layer and its support
and repair or reconstruct existing textile
mountings
Provide each thangka with a frame
adapted to its specific material
characteristics
Display works that have not been seen for
a very long time or never exhibited at all
and enhance their value for the public
Combine this project with a scientific
study of pigments and preparatory layers
to clarify the palette used and provide
valuable insights into the provenance of the
works and the trade routes of pigments in
High Asia
Thierry Zéphir