Wikipedia

Chester Beatty Library

The Chester Beatty Library, now known as the Chester Beatty, is a museum and library in Dublin. It was established in Ireland in 1953,[1] to house the collections of mining magnate, Sir Alfred Chester Beatty.[2] The present museum, on the grounds of Dublin Castle, opened on 7 February 2000, the 125th anniversary of Beatty's birth and was named European Museum of the Year in 2002.[3]

Chester Beatty Library
Entrance
Map
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Established1953
LocationDublin Castle, Dublin
Coordinates53°20′31″N 6°16′1″W / 53.34194°N 6.26694°W / 53.34194; -6.26694
TypeArt Museum, Library, Visitor Attraction
Key holdingsChester Beatty Papyri
CollectionsEast Asian, Islamic, Western
Collection sizeapprox 25,000
Visitors350,000 (2018)
FounderSir Alfred Chester Beatty
Public transit accessLuas, Dublin Bus, DART
Websitechesterbeatty.ie

The museum's collections are displayed in two galleries: "Sacred Traditions" and "Arts of the Book". Both displays exhibit manuscripts, miniature paintings, prints, drawings, rare books and some decorative arts from the Persian, Islamic, East Asian and Western Collections.[4] The Chester Beatty is one of the premier sources for scholarship in both the Old and New Testaments and is home to one of the most significant collections of Western, Islamic and East & South East Asian artefacts.[5] The museum also offers numerous temporary exhibitions, many of which include works of art on loan from foreign institutions and collections. The museum contains a number of priceless objects, including one of the surviving volumes of the first illustrated Life of the Prophet and the Gospel of Mani, one of the last surviving Manichaean scriptures.[6][7] Many manuscripts from the Medinet Madi library are currently held at the Chester Beatty Library.[8][9]

Collections

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Western Collections

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The Western Collection houses many illuminated manuscripts, rare books and Old Master prints and drawings. With biblical texts written in Armenian, Church Slavonic, Coptic, Ge’ez, Greek, Latin and Syriac, the collection's Christian material comes from diverse cultural and geographical backgrounds. The papyrus codices in the Chester Beatty include Papyrus 45 and Papyrus 46 among others which are some of the earliest surviving Christian artefacts in the world. In addition, a significant proportion of the rare printed books and prints are also Christian in focus.[10] The collection of papyri is one of the most extensive in the world and includes almost the entire corpus of Ancient Egyptian Love Songs.

Islamic Collections

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The Islamic Collection is divided between the Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Qur'an and Mughal-Era Indian Collections. The Arabic texts include treatises on religion, history, jurisprudence, medicine, geography, mathematics, astronomy and linguistics. Some of the finest miniatures from imperial Mughal albums, called Muraqqa', are housed in the Chester Beatty Library, with important paintings from the Late Shah Jahan Album and the Minto Album. The albums were the subject of an exhibition and publication by the Islamic curator, Dr Elaine Wright, Muraqqa': Imperial Albums of the Chester Beatty Library. Often on display is the Ibn al-Bawwab Qur'an, copied by one of the greatest medieval Islamic calligraphers.

Persian Collection

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The Persian collection contains various miniatures and manuscripts of classical Persian poets such as Ferdowsi and Nizami.[11]

East Asian Collections

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The East Asian Collection has one of the most extensive collections of carved snuff bottles, many of which were included in the catalogue, The Chester Beatty Library, Dublin: Chinese Snuff Bottles. It also has Japanese art, including a pair of long picture-scrolls painted in the 17th century by Kanō Sansetsu.[12]

Collection highlights

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Source:[13]

Arabic collection

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    'Manual on the Arts of Horsemanship' by al-Aqsara'i. Cairo, 1366.

Armenian collection

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Biblical papyri collection

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Burmese collection

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    Court amusements and ceremonies. Myanmar, 19th century
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    Court amusements and ceremonies. Myanmar, after 1885

Chinese collection

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    Chapters 10,110 to 10,112 of the 'Great encyclopaedia of the Yongle Reign'
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    Imperially commissioned illustrations of agriculture and sericulture. Woodblock print by Zhu Gui after designs by Jiao Bingzhen. 1696
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    Paintings of birds and flowers by Hu Mei. 18th century
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    'Diamond Sutra' written in Chinese, engraved and gilded on fifty-three folios of nephrite jade. 1732
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    'Song of the jade bowl written by the imperial brush (Yubi yu weng ge)'. 1745
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    'South façade of the Palace of Harmonious Delights (Xieqiqu nanmian)'. After drawing by Yi Lantai. Between 1781 and 1787
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    Handscroll of birds and flowers. Circa 1800
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    Paintings of insects and fish. Early 19th century

Coptic collection

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Egyptian Papyrus collection

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Ethiopian collection

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    The Resurrection. From an Ethiopian prayer book. 17th or early 18th century
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    Gospels of Matthew and Mark in Geʽez. 18th century
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    Scroll containing magical prayers to protect against evil in Geʽez. 19th century.

Hebrew collection

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Indian collection

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Indian (non-Mughal) collection

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Islamic collection

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Japanese collection

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Papyrus collection

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Persian collection

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Syriac collection

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Thai collection

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    Extracts from the Pali canon (Tipitaka) and Qualities of the Buddha (Mahabuddhaguna). Thailand, late 18th century
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    Fortune-Telling Manual (Phrommachat) with the twelve animals of the Thai zodiac and their associated attributes, avatars and plants. Thailand, c. 1845
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    Extracts from the Pali canon (Tipitaka) and Story of Phra Malai. Thailand, late 19th century
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    Extracts from the Pali canon (Tipitaka) and Story of Phra Malai. Thailand, 1897

Tibetan collection

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Turkish collection

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Western collection

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Western Miscellaneous collection

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Western Prints and Drawings collection

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Others

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References

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  1. ^ "Chester Beatty Story". Chester Beatty. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  2. ^ Clare Pollard (1 September 2000). "The Chester Beatty Library and its East Asian Collections". Antiquity. Archived from the original on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2008.
  3. ^ Brian Lavery (17 July 2002). "Arts Abroad; An Irish Castle for Religious Manuscripts". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 March 2008.
  4. ^ "Castle is Fitting Home for Beatty Treasures". The Irish Times. 3 February 2000. Retrieved 21 March 2008.
  5. ^ Elizabeth Hutcheson (3 December 2006). "Chester Beatty Library: Magnificent Collection of Islamic and Far Eastern Artefacts". Mathaba News Network. Archived from the original on 13 May 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2008.
  6. ^ "Priceless Ancient Text Reassembled". BBC News. 12 July 2001. Retrieved 21 March 2008.
  7. ^ "Thrilling Messages from a Shared Past". The Irish Times. 6 January 2007. Retrieved 21 March 2008.
  8. ^ Robinson, James M. (2015). The Manichaean Codices of Medinet Madi. Cambridge: James Clarke & Company. ISBN 978-0-227-90389-6.
  9. ^ Beduhn, Jason D.; Dilley, Paul; Gardner, Iain (2023). The Medinet Madi Library of Manichaean Codices at 90: Papers from the Symposium at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin, 18-19 October 2019. Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies. Vol. 104. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-53982-2.
  10. ^ "Christianity | Explore the Collections". Chester Beatty. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  11. ^ A Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts and Miniatures Archived 3 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine Chester Beatty
  12. ^ Ireland and Japan cooperate in Preservation of Ancient ArtworksBy Shane McCausland, Curator of the East Asian Collections Archived 29 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Ireland Embassy in Japan
  13. ^ These are collection highlights according to museum site "Chester Beatty Explore". Chester Beatty. (at least those, which have image in Wikimedia commons)
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