Asian Art Museum in Nice is small, the local collection is rather modest. But it is interesting to visit, if only because the museum building erected in the park Fёni famous Japanese architect Kenzo Tange.

The idea to open a museum of Asian art at the time expressed the Mayor of Jacques Madsen - man, inscribed in the history of Nice, bright and at times controversial page. Whatever it was, the citizens elected him mayor five times. In the nineties, inspired by the creativity of the French sculptor Pierre-Yves Tremua, many exhibiting in Japan, the mayor decided to create a museum in Nice dedicated to the art of China, Japan, India and Cambodia. Man is strong, independent and impulsive, he was invited to design the museum of the great Kenzo Tange.

Tange has created on the shores of an artificial lake in the park Fёni quite unusual, light and bright building, which itself is the product of Oriental Art. The architect has used two basic geometric shapes having a sacred significance in the Japanese tradition: the square (the symbol of the Earth) and a circle (symbol of heaven). Four cube of white marble surrounded by the same white marble rotunda topped with a glass pyramid. Each cube contains rooms dedicated to the art of a country.

It has opened a museum in 1998. Today it features over two hundred exhibits, with an undeniable historical value: Pair statue gilded white-tailed deer XVII-XVIII centuries from Central Tibet (they symbolize the first sermon of the Buddha), lacquered figure meditating Amida Nyorai (Japan, Edo era, XVIII century), a marvelous funeral statuette kneeling woman (China, the era of the Han, III century). Good Japanese lacquered wooden vessel for tea (late XV - beginning of XVI century), the Japanese ceramic horse as the VI century, the XVIII century Indian fabric with hand-painted depicting the young god Krishna.

In the museum you can get acquainted not only with static exhibits: a special pavilion regularly organized classical Japanese tea ceremony, presentations of Chinese tea traditions. All explanations are given, however, in the French language.