Notice on the Opening of the Permanent Exhibition
Small Chamber of Curiosities
To commemorate the establishment of the Guimet Room
In October, the JP Tower Museum INTERMEDIATHEQUE (IMT) is opening the permanent exhibition Small Chamber of Curiosities, to commemorate the establishment of the Guimet Room.
The University Museum, the University of Tokyo (UMUT) has received in donation from the city of Lyon in France six antique showcases related to Émile Guimet (1836-1918), famous as a collector of Asian art. On this occasion, the exhibition room “First Sight” has been refurbished as the Guimet Room to open the permanent exhibition Small Chamber of Curiosities.
The large showcases established in the Guimet Room were specially ordered more than a century ago for the Guimet Museum in Lyon. It is said that the appreciation of objects through a glass window started with World Fairs. The showcases ordered by Guimet are an example of such furniture heralding the age of transparent glass. Furthermore, they were made in a pseudo-Asian style in order to exhibit items from East Asian civilizations. They thus have a particular value as a heritage of Japonism in France. In these showcases made to exhibit East Asian antiques, we now present to the public a carefully selected collection of scientific specimens ranging from Natural History to Cultural History. Rarely do cases become the object of cultural exchanges, beyond geographical and historical borders. Here, the scientific exchange between France and Japan ranging over three centuries has taken shape in a public form.
Key Information
［Title］Guimet Room Inaugural Exhibition Small Chamber of Curiosities
［Date］October 2, 2015 –
［Opening Hours］11:00-18:00 (open until 20:00 on Thursday and Friday; last entry 30 minutes before closing)
*Opening hours may change.
［Closed on］Mondays (or the following Tuesday if Monday is a National Holiday) and Year-end holidays. May close irregularly.
［Venue］FIRST SIGHT, Intermediatheque 2nd floor
［Organizer］The University Museum, The University of Tokyo (UMUT)
［Cooperation］City of Lyon / Musée des Confluences
［Patronage and Support］Nippon Steel Kowa Real Estate Co., Ltd. / Embassy of France in Japan
［Address］JP Tower/KITTE 2-3F, 2-7-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, JAPAN
［Admission］Free of charge
［Access］JR lines and Tokyo Metro Marunouchi line Tokyo Station. Direct access from the Marunouchi Underground Pathway.
For further information about this special exhibition, please contact:
+81 3 5777 8600 (Hello Dial)