Oriental Museum - Durham University
Source: https://www.dur.ac.uk/oriental.museum
Archived: 2026-04-23 15:35
Oriental Museum - Durham University
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Oriental Museum
From Ancient Egypt to modern China, the Oriental Museum is devoted entirely to the art and archaeology of the great cultures of Northern Africa and Asia.
Current and forthcoming exhibitions and events
Highlights for Spring at the Oriental Museum
Journey of a Century: From the Forbidden City to the Palace Museum
Open now, this exhibition traces the transformation of the Palace Museum over the past century - from imperial palace to world-renowned museum.
Everyday Elegance: Daily Lives of Women in Late Qing China
Opening 16 May, an exhibition exploring the daily lives of women living in Late Qing dynasty China.
Korean paper flower making workshop
Join us on 28 May to learn how to make beautiful paper flowers with two celebrated experts from South Korea's hereditary shaman tradition.
Journey of a Century: From the Forbidden City to the Palace Museum
Open now, this exhibition traces the transformation of the Palace Museum over the past century - from imperial palace to world-renowned museum.
Everyday Elegance: Daily Lives of Women in Late Qing China
Opening 16 May, an exhibition exploring the daily lives of women living in Late Qing dynasty China.
Korean paper flower making workshop
Join us on 28 May to learn how to make beautiful paper flowers with two celebrated experts from South Korea's hereditary shaman tradition.
View more events and exhibitions
Plan Your Visit
Find out everything you need to know to get the most from our visit: how to find us, opening times and more. Plus, everything you need to know if you or anyone in your group has any special needs or requirements.
‘The Orient’ is not an area with defined geographical boundaries. The term can mean widely differing things to different people. In the case of the Oriental Museum, the definition is a wide one indeed, with the collections covering a huge area from North Africa to South East Asia. This is the legacy of the origins of the Oriental Museum in the teaching of oriental languages at Durham University.
Contact us
Tickets and times
Getting here
Access
Facilities
Upcoming events
Family Activities: Taotie Mask Making
Saturday 25 April, 2026
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Oriental Museum
Family Activities: Japanese Children's Day
Saturday 2 May, 2026
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Oriental Museum
Stitching the Abstract Workshop
Saturday 2 May, 2026
2:00 PM to 3:45 PM
Oriental Museum
Family Activities: Beat Builders
Saturday 9 May, 2026
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Oriental Museum
Family Activities: Taotie Mask Making
Saturday 25 April, 2026
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Oriental Museum
Family Activities: Japanese Children's Day
Saturday 2 May, 2026
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Oriental Museum
Stitching the Abstract Workshop
Saturday 2 May, 2026
2:00 PM to 3:45 PM
Oriental Museum
Family Activities: Beat Builders
Saturday 9 May, 2026
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Oriental Museum
More upcoming events
Our collections
Find out more about the history of the museum and our collections.
China
This internationally important collection has strengths in ceramics and jade.
Egypt and Sudan
More than 7000 objects ranging in date from prehistory to the Christian Period.
Japan
The fastest growing collection boosted by significant recent donations of ceramics and woodblock prints.
China
This internationally important collection has strengths in ceramics and jade.
Egypt and Sudan
More than 7000 objects ranging in date from prehistory to the Christian Period.
Japan
The fastest growing collection boosted by significant recent donations of ceramics and woodblock prints.
View all our collections
Search our collections
We welcome anyone who wishes to study our collections. Find out more about searching our collections online and how to make a research appointment.
Search our collections
Learning and Engagement
The Oriental Museum has a range of activities, workshops and events for schools, home learners, families, visitors and a range of groups.
Schools and Home Learning
Families and Lifelong Learning
This is a fabulous small specialist museum, containing exhibits from China, Japan, India and Egypt among others. It contains a fascinating range of artifacts, beautifully curated and accompanied by commentaries, videos, etc.. It is on four levels, but accessible to all. The staff are very friendly and knowledgeable…. We spent a couple of hours, but could easily have stayed longer, as each exhibit is worthy of attention. One of our best experiences when visiting Durham.
Katyportwood
United Kingdom
International Partnerships
We support learning, teaching and research across the University and worldwide. Oriental Museum curators are currently working in partnership with museums across Asia on a range of collections research and exhibition projects.
Find our more about our international partnerships
Nearby attractions
Filter:
Botanic Garden
Set amongst beautiful mature woodlands, the Botanic Garden offers a wide variety of landscapes to explore and discover.
Read more
10 Minute Walk
Durham World Heritage Site Visitor Centre
Find out everything you need to know to make the most of your visit to Durham.
Read more
20 Minute Walk
Durham Castle
Sitting at the heart of Durham's World Heritage Site and occupied continuously since the 11th century.
Read more
20 Minute Walk
Botanic Garden
Set amongst beautiful mature woodlands, the Botanic Garden offers a wide variety of landscapes to explore and discover.
Read more
10 Minute Walk
Durham World Heritage Site Visitor Centre
Find out everything you need to know to make the most of your visit to Durham.
Read more
20 Minute Walk
Durham Castle
Sitting at the heart of Durham's World Heritage Site and occupied continuously since the 11th century.
Read more
20 Minute Walk
Follow us
Powered by Curator.io
Skip to main content
Oriental Museum
From Ancient Egypt to modern China, the Oriental Museum is devoted entirely to the art and archaeology of the great cultures of Northern Africa and Asia.
Current and forthcoming exhibitions and events
Highlights for Spring at the Oriental Museum
Journey of a Century: From the Forbidden City to the Palace Museum
Open now, this exhibition traces the transformation of the Palace Museum over the past century - from imperial palace to world-renowned museum.
Everyday Elegance: Daily Lives of Women in Late Qing China
Opening 16 May, an exhibition exploring the daily lives of women living in Late Qing dynasty China.
Korean paper flower making workshop
Join us on 28 May to learn how to make beautiful paper flowers with two celebrated experts from South Korea's hereditary shaman tradition.
Journey of a Century: From the Forbidden City to the Palace Museum
Open now, this exhibition traces the transformation of the Palace Museum over the past century - from imperial palace to world-renowned museum.
Everyday Elegance: Daily Lives of Women in Late Qing China
Opening 16 May, an exhibition exploring the daily lives of women living in Late Qing dynasty China.
Korean paper flower making workshop
Join us on 28 May to learn how to make beautiful paper flowers with two celebrated experts from South Korea's hereditary shaman tradition.
View more events and exhibitions
Plan Your Visit
Find out everything you need to know to get the most from our visit: how to find us, opening times and more. Plus, everything you need to know if you or anyone in your group has any special needs or requirements.
‘The Orient’ is not an area with defined geographical boundaries. The term can mean widely differing things to different people. In the case of the Oriental Museum, the definition is a wide one indeed, with the collections covering a huge area from North Africa to South East Asia. This is the legacy of the origins of the Oriental Museum in the teaching of oriental languages at Durham University.
Contact us
Tickets and times
Getting here
Access
Facilities
Upcoming events
Family Activities: Taotie Mask Making
Saturday 25 April, 2026
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Oriental Museum
Family Activities: Japanese Children's Day
Saturday 2 May, 2026
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Oriental Museum
Stitching the Abstract Workshop
Saturday 2 May, 2026
2:00 PM to 3:45 PM
Oriental Museum
Family Activities: Beat Builders
Saturday 9 May, 2026
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Oriental Museum
Family Activities: Taotie Mask Making
Saturday 25 April, 2026
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Oriental Museum
Family Activities: Japanese Children's Day
Saturday 2 May, 2026
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Oriental Museum
Stitching the Abstract Workshop
Saturday 2 May, 2026
2:00 PM to 3:45 PM
Oriental Museum
Family Activities: Beat Builders
Saturday 9 May, 2026
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Oriental Museum
More upcoming events
Our collections
Find out more about the history of the museum and our collections.
China
This internationally important collection has strengths in ceramics and jade.
Egypt and Sudan
More than 7000 objects ranging in date from prehistory to the Christian Period.
Japan
The fastest growing collection boosted by significant recent donations of ceramics and woodblock prints.
China
This internationally important collection has strengths in ceramics and jade.
Egypt and Sudan
More than 7000 objects ranging in date from prehistory to the Christian Period.
Japan
The fastest growing collection boosted by significant recent donations of ceramics and woodblock prints.
View all our collections
Search our collections
We welcome anyone who wishes to study our collections. Find out more about searching our collections online and how to make a research appointment.
Search our collections
Learning and Engagement
The Oriental Museum has a range of activities, workshops and events for schools, home learners, families, visitors and a range of groups.
Schools and Home Learning
Families and Lifelong Learning
This is a fabulous small specialist museum, containing exhibits from China, Japan, India and Egypt among others. It contains a fascinating range of artifacts, beautifully curated and accompanied by commentaries, videos, etc.. It is on four levels, but accessible to all. The staff are very friendly and knowledgeable…. We spent a couple of hours, but could easily have stayed longer, as each exhibit is worthy of attention. One of our best experiences when visiting Durham.
Katyportwood
United Kingdom
International Partnerships
We support learning, teaching and research across the University and worldwide. Oriental Museum curators are currently working in partnership with museums across Asia on a range of collections research and exhibition projects.
Find our more about our international partnerships
Nearby attractions
Filter:
Botanic Garden
Set amongst beautiful mature woodlands, the Botanic Garden offers a wide variety of landscapes to explore and discover.
Read more
10 Minute Walk
Durham World Heritage Site Visitor Centre
Find out everything you need to know to make the most of your visit to Durham.
Read more
20 Minute Walk
Durham Castle
Sitting at the heart of Durham's World Heritage Site and occupied continuously since the 11th century.
Read more
20 Minute Walk
Botanic Garden
Set amongst beautiful mature woodlands, the Botanic Garden offers a wide variety of landscapes to explore and discover.
Read more
10 Minute Walk
Durham World Heritage Site Visitor Centre
Find out everything you need to know to make the most of your visit to Durham.
Read more
20 Minute Walk
Durham Castle
Sitting at the heart of Durham's World Heritage Site and occupied continuously since the 11th century.
Read more
20 Minute Walk
Follow us
Powered by Curator.io