June 2020What’s on

Working from home?Visit us online

While we eagerly await welcoming you back to the Chester Beatty, step inside our galleries for a 3D virtual exhibition experience.

Featuring dramatic images developed from negatives preserved in London’s Wellcome Library, this temporary exhibition introduces the sights and people of nineteenth-century Thailand.

Tour the Galleries

View sacred texts and religious art from the East Asian, Islamic, and Western regions.

Explore the richness of East Asian, Islamic, and Western manuscript and printing traditions.

Cover imageScroll from Tale of Muramatsu (Muramatsu monogatari emaki)Iwasa Matabei (style of) 1600-1650, Japan CBL J 1127.3

AboveSiamese youthWellcome Collection CC BY

TopCream of Histories (Zubdat al-tawarikh) by Sayyid Luqman-i ‘AshuriSun’i, 1585-1590, Istanbul CBL T 414

AboveSt Nicholas the WonderworkerArtist unknown 18th century, RussiaCBL Wx 18

Siam through the lens of John Thomson, 1865–66

Arts of the Book

Sacred Traditions

3D Virtual Tours

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Rediscover the Manichaean religion through the words of its followers.

From objects of the greatest beauty crafted for powerful rulers to treasures tracing the history of world religions, this exhibition featured artworks capturing the breadth and wonder of Sir Alfred Chester Beatty’s exceptional legacy.

Past ExhibitionsMissed out on a previous exhibition or want to revisit one? We have three on view:

The Chester Beatty preserves an internationally important yet little known collection of Buddhist manuscripts from Thailand. Unfolding a selection of these books, this exhibition provides a rare opportunity to explore the Buddhist tales depicted within.

AboveExtracts from the Pali canon (Tipitaka) and Story of Phra MalaiLate 18th century, ThailandCBL Thi 1328

RightChester Beatty walking down a Mont Dore streetc.1934, FranceCB Archive, CBG/1

Gift of a Lifetime: Treasures from Chester Beatty’s Collection

Thai Buddhist Tales: Stories along the Path to Enlightenment

The Mystery of Mani

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Visit our website for a wealth of art, activities, learning resources, and other fun things to do for all ages.

With less than 2% of our Collections on display in the galleries, we are adding to our archive of digitised images so you can view more online.

Explore the Chester Beatty Online

Or you can access our continually expanding Digital Collections, a searchable database of digitised artworks and manuscripts.

Check out the May/June issue of the Hong Kong art magazine Orientations featuring three articles on Chester Beatty and his Japanese and Persian collections, written by our own museum experts.

Learn more about the fascinating behind-the-scenes work, projects, and activities from our Conservation, Digital, and Education teams.

TopYachting costume (Costume de Yacht: veste de drap, jupe de toile, chapeau de cuir). Barbier, George (1882–1932)Journal des Dames et des Modes. 1914, ParisCBL Wep 0940

Middle right Double frontispiece from a copy of the Qur’anArtist unknown c.1430, HeratCBL Is 1500, fols. 1v-2r

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Online Talks and WebinarsJoin us for a selection of talks and webinars, highlighting aspects of the Chester Beatty collections as well as activities and research taking place around the museum.

Looking at Siam: Situating John Thomson’s Work Then and NowJon Riordan, Digital Photographer, Chester Beatty

Missed this talk last month on the development of photography in the age of John Thomson? It’s now available online.

Insights Hidden in Plain SightDr Garrick Allen, Dublin City University

In this short video, Dr Garrick Allen explores fascinating elements within a twelfth-century Greek Gospel manuscript (CBL W 139).

In-Focus Audio ToursExplore some of your favourite objects in the Chester Beatty Collections with our new In-Focus Audio Tours. Recorded by our museum curators, conservators, and tour guides, these online tours provide in-depth insight into some of the remarkable treasures found in the museum’s collections. Features to be added this month include:

Mamluk BindingsKristine Rose-Beers, Head of Conservation

Albrecht Dürer: Stories Carved in WoodOrla Ryan, Guide

Wrestling in Herat: The Prince and the PainterDr Moya Carey, Curator of Islamic Collections

Egyptian Love PoemsDiana Delia, Guide

Love (for Books) and Marriage: Prigent de Coëtivy’s Wedding Gift to HimselfDr Jill Unkel, Curator of Western Collections

Explore the Chester Beatty Online

The Ones that Got Away! Chester and Edith Beatty’s Collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist PaintingsThu 18 June, 1.10pmFionnuala Croke, Director, Chester Beatty

Seventy years ago, the National Gallery of Ireland received a collection of French nineteenth-century paintings presented to Ireland by Chester Beatty. After his wife Edith died in 1952, Beatty tantalisingly intended to make an even more significant gift to the Gallery: Edith’s splendid collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings. Tune in for this live, lunchtime talk exploring this episode in Beatty’s life and the sorry saga that ensued.

Portrait of Edith BeattyPhilip de LászlóOil on canvas1916, London CBL Wx 85

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Get CreativeCruinniú na nÓg OnlineSat 13 JuneCruinniú na nÓg is Ireland’s national day of creativity encouraging children to get creative, develop an appetite for discovery, and acquire new skills. Take part in a variety of events designed by the Chester Beatty to express your individuality and creativity. From activities inspired by a Giant Centipede depicted in the Japanese tale Tawara Toda, to making a kaleidoscope, to simple and fun marbling experiments, there will be something for all abilities and ages. What will you create this year?

Drawing with the Chester BeattySun 28 JuneWatch Roxana Manouchehri demonstrate the use of a homemade blending stump to achieve different textures when drawing with pencils, charcoal, and soft pastels. See what it can produce.

Check out other drawing activities we have for you, along with our online workshops & how-to videos.

And keep the whole family busy with activity packs for all ages:

Activities at Home

Get ActiveQigong with the Chester Beatty Sat 6 JuneFrom your garden, local park, or living room, join Mary Dowling for our popular online video session of qigong, a traditional Chinese form of meditation coordinating slow flowing movement, deep rhythmic breathing and a calm state of mind. Suitable for all ages.

International Yoga Day with the Chester BeattySun 21 JuneCelebrate International Yoga Day with us online for two virtual sessions with classical Hatha yoga instructor Mary Dowling who has prepared a range of light movements suitable for all levels of strength and flexibility. She will focus on gentle asanas (body postures), stretching and breathing techniques. We will have both seated and standing yoga sessions so everyone can get involved.

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Stay ConnectedChester Beatty and Google Arts & CultureFancy some world travel? The Google Arts & Culture portal includes exciting virtual tours of museums, libraries, and other cultural institutions around the world, including our very own world-class Collection.

Download the Chester Beatty Museum Guide AppDid you know we now have a new mobile app? The Chester Beatty Museum Guide is available for Apple and Android phones. Listen to our gallery audio tours in several languages (English, Irish, French, German, Italian, and Spanish), tour the virtual museum in 3D, and explore our Digital Collections Online with this exciting new resource portal.

Virtual Meeting BackgroundsLooking for a background for your video meetings? Download our free packs of virtual meeting backgrounds with images from the Chester Beatty Collections.

Social MediaDon’t forget to follow us on social media for all the latest news and Collection highlights from our curators. Connect with fellow museum-lovers around the world, and be the first to learn about upcoming online talks, how-to videos, and other engaging content we will be posting in the days and weeks to come. Please stay connected with us on:

Activities at Home

Bloomsday Festival Workshops

Bloomsday Hats, Live!Tue 16 June, 1-3pmJoin us live and construct your very own ‘boater hat’, using cardboard, tape, and scissors. An activity for the whole family, you can help each other with head measurements and then pose for a family photo when your Bloomsday hats are complete! You can even customise it with a bit of inspiration from numerous hats depicted in the Chester Beatty Collections.

Botanical PostcardsTue 16 JuneThe world-famous Bloomsday Festival is a literary celebration in honour of James Joyce and his famous novel Ulysses. Jen O’Brien will explore the meaning of flowers described in Ulysses, and teach you how to create some botanical postcards inspired by the book.

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Discover manuscripts, miniature paintings, prints, drawings, rare books, and decorative arts in this amazing Collection. The Chester Beatty captures much of the richness of human creative expression from about 2700 BC to the present day. Those who share a love of this splendid Collection and an appreciation of world cultures can follow in Chester Beatty’s footsteps by joining our Friends Membership Programme.

• Exclusive Friends Events: enjoy special evenings, lectures and trips abroad • Special Friends discount in the Silk Road Café and Shop • Friends Newsletter • Invitation to the Annual Lecture

Become a Friend of the Chester Beatty

Exclusive Range of Benefits

Membership starts from €65. Learn more about our Friends programme; please visit our website at: https://chesterbeatty.ie/support/friends-membership/ Email us at friends@cbl.ie or call 01 407 0759

Snuff bottle with integrated timepiece, enamel and pearls on goldSwitzerland, 1810-1830, CBL C 472