Museum of the Orient

The Museum of the Orient occupies a former bacalhau warehouse on the banks of the Tagus in the Belém district of Lisbon, a location that speaks directly to Portugal's centuries-long engagement with Asia. The building was converted and opened in 2008 under the auspices of the Oriente Foundation, and its collections trace the Portuguese presence in Asia from the sixteenth century onwards, spanning territories that once stretched from Goa to Macau and Nagasaki.

The permanent galleries hold an exceptional range of objects: lacquerware, porcelain, textiles, devotional sculpture, and shadow puppets drawn from South and Southeast Asia, China, and Japan. A dedicated section explores the Namban art tradition, in which Japanese artists depicted Portuguese merchants and missionaries arriving on Japanese shores. The museum also maintains a significant collection of Asian performing arts objects, including an extensive assembly of shadow theatre figures from across the continent. An entry ticket gives access to the full permanent collection across the museum's several floors.