Department of Asia
Which museum has the most comprehensive collection of sculpture from the Indian subcontinent in the world?
British Museum
The scope of the Department of Asia is extremely broad, its collections of over 75,000 objects covers the material culture of the whole Asian continent (from East, South, Central and South-East Asia) and from the Neolithic up to the present day. Key highlights of the collections include: The most comprehensive collection of sculpture from the Indian subcontinent in the world, including the celebrated Buddhist limestone reliefs from Amaravati An outstanding collection of Chinese antiquities, paintings, and porcelain, lacquer, bronze, jade, and other applied arts A fine collection of Buddhist paintings from Dunhuang and the Admonitions Scroll by Chinese artist Gu Kaizhi (344–406 AD) The most comprehensive collection of Japanese pre-20th century art in the Western world The famous Sambas Treasure of buddhist gold and silver figures from west Borneo Statue of Tara from Sri Lanka The Kulu Vase found near the Gandhola Monastery in Himachel Pradesh The Wardak Vase with its important Kharoshthi inscription The colossal Amitābha Buddha from Hancui, China Seated Luohan from Yixian, one from a set of eight surviving statues Huixian Bronze Hu, an identical pair of bronze vessels from the Eastern Zhou Period Bronze bell from Klang, Malaysia Bracket figure from one of the gateways to the Great Stupa, Sanchi