Museo Oriental de Valladolid

About the museum

The Museo Oriental grew out of the long presence of the Order of Saint Augustine in the Far East. Since 1565, more than 3,000 Augustinian missionaries have worked in the East and in Latin America, and about 2,000 of them set out from the Valladolid convent, known as “Los Filipinos”. The friars carried objects for their work and, on their return, brought back artistic and ethnological pieces from the cultures where they had lived. In 1874 some rooms in the east wing of the convent were set aside to display the collection.

The building is the Real Colegio de los Padres Agustinos, a neoclassical building begun in 1759 to plans by Ventura Rodríguez. After the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 the return journey was shorter, more missionaries came back, and the collections grew in the late 19th century. Further works arrived after the 1925 Vatican Missionary Exhibition. The current facilities were inaugurated by King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía on 12 October 1980.

The museum occupies eighteen rooms of Chinese, Philippine and Japanese art and presents itself as the finest collection of Far Eastern art in Spain. The Chinese section covers bronzes, ceramics and porcelain, enamels, lacquerware, ivories, silks, calligraphy and painting; the Philippine section, colonial art, the cultures of Mindanao and Jolo, and Hispano-Philippine ivories; the Japanese section, sculpture, metalwork, calligraphy, painting and ukiyo-e prints.

Highlights

• Eighteen rooms of Chinese, Philippine and Japanese art
• Bronzes, ceramics, porcelain and embroidered silks from China
• Hispano-Philippine ivories and colonial art from the Philippines
• Ukiyo-e prints and sculpture from Japan
• Neoclassical building by Ventura Rodríguez

Permanent exhibitions

• Arte chino – Bronzes, coins, enamels, silver, ceramics and porcelain, lacquerware, ivories, sculpture, silks, furniture, calligraphy and traditional painting, export and religious works.
• Arte filipino – Colonial art, the cultures of Mindanao and Jolo, the cultures of Luzon and Hispano-Philippine ivories.
• Arte japonés – Sculpture, metalwork, calligraphy and painting, and ukiyo-e prints.

Founded

1874

Operated by

Padres Agustinos

Admission & discounts

Prices published by the Castilla y León tourism portal; the museum's website does not list prices.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

According to the museum's website, wheelchair access is provided.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The museum faces the Campo Grande. From the Renfe station it is a five-minute walk along Calle de la Estación and Plaza de Colón, turning left onto Paseo de Filipinos; from the bus station it is also five minutes on foot, via Paseo del Arco de Ladrillo.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Books, postcards and other materials are sold at the entrance.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit