The Shoso-in (The Imperial Treasure House at Nara) : the present wooden building dates from about 752, and contains treasures dedicated to the Great Buddha of Todaiji from the Im perial Household and kept under its supervision. To-day, as has been the practice for nearly i2 centuries, it is only in the presence of a special messenger from the Emperor that the doors are locked and sealed with a piece of paper bearing the Emperor's own signature, or the seals undone to open the doors. Of recent years it has been opened once a year, for about a fortnight, for airing, when accredited persons are allowed to see the treasures in the building. The most important treasures therein preserved are those which once belonged to the Emperor ShOmu, upon whose death, in 756, his devout consort, the Dowager Empress Kornyo, collected the things left by the Emperor and dedicated them to the Great Buddha, whose gigantic image the Emperor had caused to be created four years previously. The "Memorandum of Things Dedicated" by the Empress Komyo, dated June 21, 756, which marks the inception of the present Shoso-in collection, is still pre served.
The Kyoto Museum: built in 1895 as one of the Imperial Household Museums, it remained as such for about thirty years, when it was given to the City of Kyoto. While it contains a good section of sculpture, it specializes more or less in paintings, mostly borrowed from different temples and shrines, and those exhibited are changed from time to time. (J. HAR.) Metropolitan Museum of Art, The, of New York City, was incorporated on April 13, 187o, "for the purpose of establishing and maintaining . . . a Museum and library of art, of encourag ing and developing the study of the fine arts, and the application of arts to manufacture and practical life, of advancing the general knowledge of kindred subjects, and, to that end, of furnishing popular instruction." Its collections include Egyptian and classical antiquities, painting, sculpture and architecture, the decorative arts (furniture, metal-work, ceramics, glass, textiles, costumes, etc.), musical instruments, and arms and armour. Among the valuable gifts are the Altman collection and the Pierpont Morgan collection of European decorative arts, chronologically arranged from the Merovingian period to the 19th century. The latter col lection occupies an entire wing, and another wing, the gift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. de Forest, is devoted to early American art. The Museum is owned and administered by a board of 21 elective trustees, and 4 ex-officio, representing the City of New York and the National Academy of Design. Its building, containing exhibi
tion floor space of over 280,000 sq.f t., was erected by and leased from the City of New York. The yearly cost of administration is met by interest on endowment funds, an appropriation from the city for upkeep and salaries, membership dues, sale of publica tions and fees for admission, instruction, lecture courses, etc. The membership of the museum in 1928 was about 14,00o.
Museum of Fine Arts, The, Boston, Mass., was incorporated on February 4, 187o, for the purpose of collecting and exhibiting works of art and of affording instruction in the fine arts. It was created by a group of private citizens and has always been sup ported by private gifts, bequests and annual subscriptions, without aid from the city or the State. In this respect it occupies a unique position among the greater museums of the world. It is adminis tered by a board of trustees including representatives from Har vard university, the Boston Athenaeum, the Massachusetts Insti tute of Technology, the city, and the State. The museum maintains permanent free public exhibitions of original works of the art of Egypt, Greece, Rome, the Orient, modern Europe and America, supplemented to a limited extent by reproductions. Its outstand ing collections are those of Chinese and Japanese, East Indian, Egyptian and Classical art ; its print collection ranks first in America.
For Art Institute of Chicago, The, see vol. 2.
Brooklyn Museum, The, see BROOKLYN INSTITUTE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES.
Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, a museum founded by George Peabody at Harvard university in 1866, was the first anthropological museum in the United States. Its building, begun in 1877, enlarged in 1889 and again greatly enlarged in 1914, forms part of the university museum. Originally founded to comprise collections relating only to the past and present aboriginal peoples of the New World, its scope has been gradually widened, until it now includes archaeological and eth nological collections from all over the world. Aided by generous gifts of funds, it has since 1891 specialized in the archaeological exploration of the Mayan region of Central America, although in addition numerous investigations in various parts of the United States have been carried on, and expeditions to South America, Asia and Africa have also been sent out. The museum library contains complete sets of practically all anthropological and archaeological journals, and comprised in 1928 a total of about 20,000 volumes.