Skip to main content

Esposizioni EN

Exhibitions

The world with no barriers and no borders

Asmat: Sculpture guardian of the soul

Exhibit - May 22nd 2026 - June 6th 2027

Our Museum presents the exhibition "Asmat: Sculpture Guardian of the Soul" featuring approximately forty wooden sculptures, spears, shields, and the majestic poles of the Asmat ancestors and their Papuan tradition. The concrete spiritual reality of the Asmat people at the Museum of Chinese Art and Ethnography.
Exhibit 2026-27 - Exhibit - Asmat: Sculpture guardian of the soul

Exhibit

Kayapò: The People who came from the Water

Learn More

Past Exhibitions of the Museum

Temporary Exhibits

Read More

Esposizioni Passate EN

Past Exhibits

Teachings open to the World

Past Exhibitions of the Museum

Laudato Si' - The Care of our Common Home Video Tale - Ben Said and the Owl Multi-vision - The Legend of the Rainbow

Feed the Planet: Nature that nurtures and teaches, that needs to be preserved Not by Bread alone: the bread of culture Superfluous and Waste: Video “L’Uomo che cerca Parole” Video: Kita, the Good Hunter

The Art of Learning in three continents Congo: the “Cord of Wisdom” Kayapò: body painting, ornaments, and artifacts China: exemplary stories of historical Chinese figures

Conforti: the Daring Project continues New Museum: we tell the stories of faraway places, and we commit to know various cultures The Earth is for everyone: the rights of each human being Videos: The Daring Project and the Multi-vision on China

Current Exhibit on the Lega african art of Congo

The Last Heritage of the Lega

See More

Visiting Hours

Temporary Exhibits

“Incontri - Encounters” - Calendar 2017

Dec. 9, 2016 - Jan. 7, 2017 Exhibitions of local artists “Incontri” with artworks of Barbone, Bigliardi, Bottioni, Caccioli, Canforini, Cesari, Ferrari, Mecconi, Scapinelli, Tessoni, Vernizzi, Violi

More

“Sciamanica Mente - Shaman Mind”

Nov. 12, 2016 - Feb. 2, 2017 Exhibit of Gigi Borri: images, forms and colors magini, forme e colori to evoke some aspects of traditional shamanic cultures, the most ancient ways of experience of the Sacred.

More

“Ligustro”, the Painter of the Floating World (Ukiyo-e)

May 16 - June 15, 2015 Personal exhibition of Giovanni Berio, art pseudonym Ligustro, with his coloured woodblock printing and the Nishiki-e techniques.

More

Read More

Museo EN

Museum

Celebrate cultures... The world with no barriers and no borders

Passion for Cultures

It is important to look at the past to shape our future. Even the museums are institutions that make memories of the past, enlighten the present, and open up to the future.

For us who live in the present is important to look at the past to shape our future.  This museum was founded in 1901 through the vision of Bishop Guido M. Conforti, Bishop of Parma, who was amazed by the beauty of the objects of Chinese art he had received. Conforti, who was inspired by a "universal passion", the Museum was to be a tool to raise awareness of China.

From 1901 to 1954, the Xaverian missionaries were present only in China. During that short period of time, they have collected materials of Chinese art: pottery and ceramics, bronzes, paintings, objects in ivory, wood, stone, jade, coins and a whole range of diverse ethnographic material, such as prints, shoes, stamps, jewelry, ornaments, folding screens, everyday objects, etc…

At that time, China was “distant and foreign”. In today’s world, there is nothing “distant”, but nothing should be “foreign.”

See More

Next to the Chinese Art, the museum displays objects of Ethnography representing various countries around the world, with particular reference to the places where the Xaverians work. This surprising material shows the different ways of living and of thinking the world over, and teaches the ingenious and artistic qualities of human beings.

Particularly significant are the collections from China, Democratic Republic of Congo, the Amazon region, and Mexico, which qualify the Ethnographic Museum itself.

The Museum displays rare examples of art and life of many countries, cultures, and peoples. Its mission remains the same: to make humanity with no borders, value our rich diversity: not so much past memories, but hope for the future, so as to live "with the whole world."

See More

Chinese Art

The Original Collection

The most significant and prestious collection is without a doubt the "original" collection of Chinese Art. We can admire the collection of pottery and porcelain from China, bronze objects, paintings, silk, coins and good-luck charms, the scholar study and the "Historical Cabinets” which preserve the memory of the museum past, and the exhibit of Chinese religious statuary, together with the many items of the ethnographic collection.

Kayapò Collection

The People Strong and Beautiful

The Kayapo give great importance to the various festivals during which they relive in ritual dance and joy, the wisdom of the ancestors and their birth as a people. The museum wants to convey the values that sustain their universe, transmitted by symbols that affirm their identity: body painting, feather art, crafts, the myths of origins, the consciousness of community and dignity, their idea of being people strong and beautiful, their living in a natural habitat.

Traditional African Art

Mysterious and Fascinating

Represented by masks, fetishes, amulets, symbols of power, etc... the collection of traditional African art is not just a display of objects for the aesthetic admiration of the visitors, but "it is an integral part of religion, for it supports the beliefs and rituals related to the life of its producers. These objects constitute the means or passages for people towards Transcendence, and viceversa"

Read More

Amici del Museo EN

Friends of the Museum

Passion for cultural, artistic and intercultural values

Club “Friends of the Museum and the Xaverian Library”

Passion for cultural, artistic and intercultural values

The Club "Friends of the Chinese Museum and the Xaverian Library" aims to foster the cultural, artistic and intercultural values promoted jointly by the Museum and the Library.

The Club "Friends of the Museum and the Xaverian Library" gathers a group of people, fond of the Museum and the Library, who contribute to making them places of encounter, debate, creative inspiration and cultural stimulation.

For this reason, the Museum and the Xaverian Library offer, once a month, a meeting of cultural, artistic and literary reflection reserved for the members of the Club.

Support the Museum

Benefits

Many Benefits for Club Members

  • Guided tours to the permanent collection and thematic guided tours organized by the museum at € 3 each member (instead of € 5)
  • Free admission to the Museum of Chinese Art and Ethnography and the exhibits
  • Discounts at the Bookshop of the Museum (books and objects)
  • Reservation of new books of the Xaverian Library

and many other perks (still being planned) ...

The Membership Card

Yearly Fee

Membership

Yearly membership fee:

Basic: € 70
Under 18 - Over 65: € 50

Card

Friends of the Museum

For information and request of the card “Friends of the Museum and the Xaverian Library” write to:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Write

Conforti Xaverian Library

Info

For informations on the Conforti Xaverian Library:

www.bibliotecasaveriana.it

Read More

Collections

Chinese Art Collections

Ceramics Collection

One of the greatest gifts of China to the world

Bronzes Collection

The art of working the bronze in China

Paintings Collection

The gift of simplicity, with deep philosophical, moral, social principles

Religious Images Collection

These images express the wisdom of the people who produced them

Coin Collection

Over 5,000 coins of the Chinese dynasties

Good-Luck Charms Collection

Coin-like charms to wish well, success, happiness

Ethnographic Collections

Kayapò Collection

Over 500 artifacts of the Kayapò people

African Art Collection

Mystery and awe through masks, fetishes and symbols of power

Ethnographic China Collection

A document on the life and customs of the Chinese people

Read More