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Guanyin
anonymous, c. 1100 - c. 1200, sculpture, AK-MAK-84
The Buddhist deity Guanyin, who rescues people in need, is shown here meditating, seated on a rock. According to legend, he was once discovered in this position, meditating on the moon’s reflection in the water - in Buddhism a symbol of illusion and transience. His pose and facial expression embody…
On display in Asian pavilion, room 2
Children of the Sea
Jozef Israëls, 1872, painting, SK-A-2382
This delightful scene contains a moral. These children from a poor fishing village with their shabby clothes and broken toys, are playing out their own future. The oldest boy carries the burden of his family on his shoulders, while the boat represents the harsh life at sea. Jozef Israëls first…
On display in room 1.18
Self-portrait
Johan Gregor van der Schardt, c. 1573 - c. 1580, bust, BK-2000-17
On display in room 2.3
Cabinet of a Militia Company
anonymous, c. 1520 - c. 1530, furniture, BK-KOG-656
On display in room 0.4
A Windmill on a Polder Waterway,…
Paul Joseph Constantin Gabriël, c. 1889, painting, SK-A-1505
‘Our country is colourful, juicy, fat. (...) I repeat, our country is not dull, not even in dull weather, the dunes are not dull either’, Constant Gabriël wrote in a letter. Unlike many artists of the Hague School, he preferred painting fine summer days. Here there are two: the grass, sky and…
On display in room 1.18
Flower pyramid
De Metaale Pot (attributed to), after Lambertus van Eenhoorn, c. 1692 - c. 1700, BK-2004-4-A
In the 17th century, it was all the rage for the wealthy to decorate their homes with fragrant bouquets of flowers in ornamental vases. Special vases were designed for cut flowers. Potters in Delft developed an obelisk model using a pile of successive water basins. These two flower vases are…
On display in room 2.22
Two temple guardians
anonymous, c. 1300 - c. 1400, sculpture, AK-RAK-2007-1-A
On display in Asian pavilion, room 2
Mantelpiece with relief of Paris…
Jan Baptist Xavery, 1739, BK-1995-3
This chimneypiece was made for the main hall of the house at Rapenburg 48 in Leiden, where Baron Diederik van Leyden lived. Xavery also designed a marble relief for over the doors, and a decorative sculpture for the ceiling. This included a large painting by Jacob de Wit. Tapestries from Brussels…
On display in room 1.2
Two temple guardians
anonymous, c. 1300 - c. 1400, sculpture, AK-RAK-2007-1-B
These guards stand at the entrance to a temple to ward off evil. They are holding a vajra, with which to crush ignorance. Their open and shut mouths represent the first and last letters of the Japanese script: A and N: this symbolises the totality of sounds and letters, of knowledge. Worshippers who…
On display in Asian pavilion, room 2
Diorama of a Du, Dance Celebration…
Gerrit Schouten, 1830, NG-2005-24
The scene in the dance tent is a ‘du’, a role-play event with music and dancing, held once every year on the plantations. Both players and audience were slaves. The main character was the ‘Afrankeri’, the narrator, left. The man in the red suit on the right is playing the king. Europeans in Suriname…
On display in room 1.17