Durham University Oriental Museum

About

Explore Ancient Egypt and Western Asia, the Himalayas, China, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia all in one museum. 

The Oriental Museum is devoted to the art and archaeology of the great cultures of North Africa and Asia. Objects on display range in date from prehistoric to contemporary art works. Visitors can see ancient Egyptian mummies, Chinese porcelain created for the imperial court, Japanese woodblock prints and head-hunting swords from Borneo.

The museum is laid out geographically so you can focus on one area or range across whole continents.  Activities for families spread throughout the museum including dressing up, colouring, games and puzzles.  We also have regularly changing themed trails around the museum aimed at different age groups from Under 5s to adults.  The galleries have plenty of seating areas and the museum is fully accessible. 

In addition to our permanent galleries the museum hosts a regularly changing programme of special exhibitions related to the collections together with talks, art workshops and special evening events. 

Silk Roads Gallery

Our Marvels of China and West Asia galleries are now closed to the public. These spaces are being transformed into a new Silk Roads Gallery, due to open on 29th May 2020. The rest of the museum remains open as usual and no other galleries are affected. Find out more.