MAO Museo d'Arte Orientale

The MAO, or Museo d'Arte Orientale, occupies the Baroque Palazzo Mazzonis at Via San Domenico 11 in the Centro Storico of Turin, Piedmont, Italy. Opened in 2008, it is dedicated to the art of Asia and North Africa, and presents its collection in five galleries: South Asia, China, Japan, the Himalayan region and the Islamic world. The building itself is notable, with an eighteenth-century staircase and richly decorated interiors that contrast with the modern display design. In the South Asia gallery, visitors see Gandharan sculpture, Hindu and Buddhist statues and decorative arts from the Indian subcontinent. The Chinese section includes ceramics, bronzes and funerary objects, while the Japanese gallery displays screens, prints, lacquer work and Buddhist art. The Himalayan collection is known for Tibetan and Nepalese thangka paintings, bronzes and ritual objects, and the Islamic section holds ceramics, metalwork, manuscripts and tiles. A section on ancient Egypt and the Mediterranean-Islamic world complements the galleries, and the museum organises temporary exhibitions and cultural events. Visitors typically spend one and a half to two hours, and the layout is a logical route from the lower floors upward. The museum is generally quiet, with weekday mornings the calmest time and weekends slightly busier. Photographers will find attractive subjects in the Himalayan bronzes and in the grand staircase. The MAO is about ten minutes on foot from Piazza Castello and Porta Palazzo, making it easy to combine with the market or the Quadrilatero Romano. A Multimuseo combined ticket with the GAM and Palazzo Madama is available, and visitors should confirm current prices and opening days at maotorino.it before visiting, as the museum is closed on Mondays.