Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 14. (Budapest, 1994)

FERENCZY Mária: Hetvenöt éves a budapesti Hopp Ferenc Kelet-Ázsiai Művészeti Múzeum

with more than three hundred institutions. Its library stock amounts now to more than 22,000 volumes. Together with the documentation department of the museum, it is at the disposal of researchers. In the renovated György Ráth Museum the permanent exhibitions „Chinese Arts"

30 and „Japanese Arts"

31 have been on display since 1987. In the Hopp villa temporary exhibitions can be put on. The majority of these belong to our series entitled „The Art of Buddhism".

32 It is proven by the very history of the museum that together with its treasures, as well as its more modest collections and the activities of its workers, that it is an organic part of Hungarian culture. The scope of its other task, formulated by its founder also, that is, to promote knowledge of Oriental culture and art, is limited by its collections. In this respect, on account of the developing international connections of the museum, owing to the active support from the Japan Foundation and others, new perspectives have opened up in recent years. In 1993 the villa in Andrássy út was able to house guest exhibitions of international standard from abroad, fulfilling in this way the role of mediating cultural values.

33 This way is the one to be followed. Learning from the example of our predecessors, accommodating ourselves to the new conditions - looking for patrons of art in our own age - we are bound to do everything possible to preserve this particular part of the cultural heritage of our nation represented by the Hopp Museum, as well as by the treasures kept in individual private collections. These have to be preserved and to be made public property, enriching the means of national culture, building bridges to far away cultures, in mediating their cultural values.