Showcases

Discover the museum's exhibitions

The Spazio Tesoro

The Spazio Tesoro displays highlights from the MUSEC collections: works that make up an unexpected and surprising itinerary, counterpointed by a play of visual assonances and dissonances.
This same path is conceived as an introduction to the anthropological reading of the work of art and the reasons behind creativity, regardless of the genre and era of the artistic manifestations.
Accompanying the visitor, in a periodically renewed itinerary, are works from the Brignoni Collection and other Museum collections, including some recognised masterpieces of traditional art from Asia and Oceania.
The Spazio Tesoro is a surprising place, full of meanings that also allow for a dynamic interaction with the themes and works presented in the other exhibition spaces.

Admission to the Spazio Tesoro is free of charge.

Foto gallery

How to see

From April 2019, Spazio Tesoro will host a fine selection of masterpieces of ethnic and oriental art from three different collections: the "historic" Brignoni Collection, which constitutes the MUSEC's founding legacy; the Reichelt Collection of textiles from the Lesser Sunda Islands; and the magnificent Morigi Collection of samurai.
The works on display can be admired in all their splendour thanks to a layout that reveals them with a fascinating play of light and shadow, further enhancing their shapes, colours and decorations.
Accompanying the works is a film made in collaboration with the Conservatorio Internazionale di Scienze Audiovisive (CISA) in Locarno. The film reveals more art masterpieces to the visitor, from India to Japan via Indonesia and Polynesia, thus giving the opportunity to discover other treasures waiting to be exhibited.

Geographical Areas and Themes

The works in each exhibition section share both a geographical and cultural area of origin and an underlying narrative theme.

The art of the Nagas of North India expresses the power of the vital and spiritual forces that enable men to secure power over the world.
The works of the peoples of the Lesser Sunda Islands, which dot the rushing waters bordering the Indian Ocean, describe the profound relationship between men and the ancestors entrusted with the protection of tradition.
 And finally, the journey ends in Japan with nine splendid samurai suits of armour. Over the years, the figure of the samurai enclosed in his impenetrable armour has gone from being a menacing figure, to a main character in kabuki theatre, to an icon in the collective imagination.