2011 - October - Singapore National Museum

It was a good day on 31^st October 2011, when after my routine morning walk, I took a trip down to the National Museum of Singapore to view the exhibits of paintings, drawings and photographs from the Musee D’Orsay in Paris.  Enroute, I helped a blind man catch his bus; this small action gave me a sense of gratitude for my sense of vision. 

After collecting some medicine from my family GP, I strolled across to the Museum just in time for the one hour introductory tour of the exhibits by a volunteer docent.

There were 140 pieces on loan from the Musee D’Orsay, which was undergoing renovation and repair.  The pieces exhibited covered a period between 1850 and 1914 (First World War), and covered the transition from neo-classicism to post-impressionist (with hints of the abstract). There were pieces by Manet (black), Bernard, Rousseau, Renoir, Cezanne, Monet, Degas, Gauguin, van Gogh and others. 

After the visit, and visually surfeited, I ate at Bugis during a heavy downpour, before heading home when the rain eased.

I was also at the Asian Civilisation Museum when it had an exhibition of the Terracotta Warriors (the first Emperor of China and his legacy) from June to October 2011.  That exhibition had 100 artefacts from Shaanxi province, besides the original Terracotta Warriors from Xian.

 The year before, I saw the Ancient Treasure Ships and the Great Oman Voyage, which showcased many Chinese porcelain, gold, jade pieces and Omani dagger found in shipwrecks along the route, dating back to the 8^th to 16^th century.  I recall this exhibit because a recreation of a 9^th century merchant ship sailed from Oman to Singapore, a 8000 km journey, in 2010; and this vessel is now on display at the Sentosa Resort World Maritime Musuem.