Chester Beatty Library

Galleries

The museum's collections are displayed in two galleries: "Sacred Traditions" and "Arts of the Book". Both displays exhibit manuscripts, miniature paintings, prints, drawings, rare books and some decorative arts from the Persian, Islamic, East Asian and Western Collections.

Collections

Western Collections

The Western Collection houses many illuminated manuscripts, rare books and Old Master prints and drawings. With biblical texts written in Armenian, Church Slavonic, Coptic, Ge’ez, Greek, Latin and Syriac, the collection's Christian material comes from diverse cultural and geographical backgrounds. The papyrus codices in the Chester Beatty include Papyrus 45 and Papyrus 46 among others which are some of the earliest surviving Christian artefacts in the world. In addition, a significant proportion of the rare printed books and prints are also Christian in focus. The collection of papyri is one of the most extensive in the world and includes almost the entire corpus of Ancient Egyptian Love Songs.

Islamic Collections

The Islamic Collection is divided between the Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Qur'an and Mughal-Era Indian Collections. The Arabic texts include treatises on religion, history, jurisprudence, medicine, geography, mathematics, astronomy and linguistics. Some of the finest miniatures from imperial Mughal albums, called Muraqqa', are housed in the Chester Beatty Library, with important paintings from the Late Shah Jahan Album and the Minto Album. The albums were the subject of an exhibition and publication by the Islamic curator, Dr Elaine Wright, Muraqqa': Imperial Albums of the Chester Beatty Library. Often on display is the Ibn al-Bawwab Qur'an, copied by one of the greatest medieval Islamic calligraphers.

Persian Collection

The Persian collection contains various miniatures and manuscripts of classical Persian poets such as Ferdowsi and Nizami.

East Asian Collections

The East Asian Collection has one of the most extensive collections of carved snuff bottles, many of which were included in the catalogue, The Chester Beatty Library, Dublin: Chinese Snuff Bottles. It also has Japanese art, including a pair of long picture-scrolls painted in the 17th century by Kanō Sansetsu.

Collection highlights

Source:

Arabic collection

Armenian collection

|File:Armenian Gospel Book made in Isfahan in 1655 (CBL Arm 578).jpg|Armenian Gospel Book made in Isfahan in 1655

Biblical papyri collection

|Dublin, Chester Beatty Ms BP II fol. 15&90 Bifolio from Paul's Letter to the Romans, the end of Paul's Letter to the Philippians and the beginning of Paul's Letter to the Colossians.jpg|Fragments of Papyrus 46

Burmese collection

|File:Court amusements and ceremonies (CBL Bu 1290).jpg|Court amusements and ceremonies. Myanmar, after 1885

Chinese collection

|File:Illustrations of agriculture (CBL C 1717.1).jpg|Imperially commissioned illustrations of agriculture and sericulture. Woodblock print by Zhu Gui after designs by Jiao Bingzhen. 1696 |File:Paintings of birds and flowers by Hu Feitao (CBL C 1335).jpg|Paintings of birds and flowers by Hu Mei. 18th century |File:Diamond of perfect wisdom sutra.jpg|'Diamond Sutra' written in Chinese, engraved and gilded on fifty-three folios of nephrite jade. 1732 |File:Title page of the 'Song of the jade bowl written by the imperial brush (Yubi yu weng ge)' (CBL C 1001, f.1r).jpg|'Song of the jade bowl written by the imperial brush (Yubi yu weng ge)'. 1745 |File:South façade of the Palace of Harmonious Delights (Xieqiqu nanmian) (CBL C 1608).jpg|'South façade of the Palace of Harmonious Delights (Xieqiqu nanmian)'. After drawing by Yi Lantai. Between 1781 and 1787 |File:Birds and flowers. Handscroll (CBL C 1185).jpg|Handscroll of birds and flowers. Circa 1800 |File:Painting of Fish (CBL C 1382).jpg|Paintings of insects and fish. Early 19th century

Coptic collection

|File:Papyrus with the fragments of the Book of Joshua (CBL Cpt 2019.8a).jpg|Papyrus with the fragments of the Book of Joshua. Egypt, 4th century |File:Page from Coptic manuscript of the 'Pauline Epistles & Gospel of John' (CBL Cpt 813, f.3r).jpg|Coptic manuscript of the 'Pauline Epistles & Gospel of John'. Egypt, circa 600

Egyptian Papyrus collection

|File:Judgement of the deceased, Book of the Dead of Lady Neskhons (CBL Pap XXI.4).jpg|Book of the Dead of Lady Neskhons. Egypt, c. 300 BC

Ethiopian collection

|File:Gospels of Matthew and Mark (CBL W 912, f.1r).jpg|Gospels of Matthew and Mark in Geʽez. 18th century |File:Scroll containing magical prayers to protect against evil (CBL W 941).jpg|Scroll containing magical prayers to protect against evil in Geʽez. 19th century.

Hebrew collection

|File:Sefer Torah (CBL Heb 777).jpg|Sefer Torah on parchment written in Hebrew in a Sefardic square script in the 18th century.

Indian collection

|File:Jujhar Singh Bundela Kneels in Submission to Shah Jahan (CBL In 07A.16).jpg|Jujhar Singh Bundela kneels in submission to Shah Jahan by Bichitr, circa 1630 |File:Awrangzib Hunts Nilgais (CBL In 11A.27).jpg|Awrangzib Hunts Nilgais. Circa 1660 |File:Women on a palace terrace with a panoramic view (CBL In 69.6).jpg|Women on a palace terrace with a panoramic view. Faizabad, 1770 |File:A woman preparing a meal (CBL In 11B.30).jpg|A woman preparing a meal. Kangra, c. 1810 |File:Begum Samru's Household.jpg|Begum Samru and her household by Muhammad A'zam. Delhi, c. 1820 |File:Iris, painted lacquer album cover.jpg|Iris, painted lacquer album cover. Delhi, c. 1850

Indian (non-Mughal) collection

|File:Book of ritual (Kalpa-sūtra) and Story of the monk Kālaka (Kālakācārya-kathā).jpg|Manuscript of the Book of ritual (Kalpa-sūtra) and Story of the monk Kālaka (Kālakācārya-kathā). Gujarat, 1522 |File:Two and a Half Continents. Jain cosmographical painting (CBL InE 1669).jpg|Two and a Half Continents. Jain cosmographical painting. Western India, late 18th - 19th century |File:Amulet with Bhagavatapurana (CBL InE 1478, detail).jpg|Bhagavata Purana. Northern India, late 18th or early 19th century

Islamic collection

|File:Syrischer Maler um 900 001.jpg|Folio from the parchment Qur'an manuscript. Syria, c. 900 |File:Folio from the Blue Qur'an (CBL Is 1405A, f. 1b).jpg|Two folios from the Blue Quran |File:Illuminated Opening. The Ibn al-Bawwab Qur'an (CBL Is 1431, ff.284b-285a).jpg|The Ibn al-Bawwab Qur'an. Baghdad, 1000/1001 |File:Double-page from the Mamluk Qur'an (CBL Is 1440).jpg|Qur'an copied by Muhammad ibn al-Wahid. Cairo, c. 1306-1310 |File:Illuminated double-page of the Juz' 27 of the Mamluk Qur'an (CBL Is 1476, 1v-2r).jpg|Juz' 27 of the Qur'an copied and illuminated by Ahmad ibn Kamal al-Mutatabbib. Cairo, 1332-1336 |File:Double frontispiece of the Ruzbihan Qur'an (CBL Is 1558).jpg|Ruzbihan Qur'an. Shiraz, c. 1550

Japanese collection

|File:The Tales of Ise (Ise monogatari) (CBL J 1050.2, ff.11b-12a).jpg|The Tales of Ise (Ise monogatari). Manuscript from the late 16th century |File:Minghuang's Dalliance (CBL J 1158.1, ill.5.18).jpg|Pair of handscroll paintings with scenes from Nagauta Song by Kanō Sansetsu, c. 1640s |File:Scroll 3 from Tale of Ōeyama (Ōeyama emaki) (CBL J 1145.3).jpg|17th century manuscript of the Ōeyama Emaki. |File:Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari) (CBL J 1038.1).jpg|17th century manuscript of The Tale of Genji |File:Dutch mansions in Dejima, Nagasaki (Nagasaki Dejima Rankan no zu) (CBL J 1131).jpg|Dutch mansions in Dejima, Nagasaki (Nagasaki Dejima Rankan no zu). Handscroll from the 18th century |File:Eleventh month (Jūichi gatsu) (CBL J 2421).jpg|Eleventh month (Jūichi gatsu). Woodblock print from the series Twelve months of the southern quarter (Minami jūni ko) by Torii Kiyonaga, c. 1783 |File:Five cranes on a spit of sand. Surimono by Kubo Shunman (CBL J 2284).jpg| Five cranes on a spit of sand. Surimono by Kubo Shunman, probably 1816 |File:Benkei crab and plum blossom (CBL J 2080).jpg| Benkei crab and plum blossom. Surimono by Yashima Gakutei with poems signed Bunbunsha, c.1823 |File:Seven-mile beach in Sagami province (Sōshū Shichiri-ga-hama) (CBL J 2745).jpg|Seven-mile beach in Sagami province (Sōshū Shichiri-ga-hama). Woodblock print from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) by Katsushika Hokusai, c. 1831 |File:Plum garden at Kameido (Kameido umeyashiki) (CBL J 2693).jpg|Plum Park in Kameido, woodblock print from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei) by Utagawa Hiroshige, 1857

Papyrus collection

Persian collection

|File:Zal meets king Manuchihr, asking for his mercy (CBL Per 111.4v detail).jpg|Zal meets king Manuchihr, asking for his mercy. From the "Great Mongol Shahnameh". Tabriz, c. 1330 |File:The rescue at sea. From Prince Baysunghur's Rose Garden (Gulistan) (CBL Per 119, f.15v).jpg|The rescue at sea by Amir Khalil. From Prince Baysunghur's Rose Garden (Gulistan). Herat, 1427 |File:Filigree leather book cover, for the Five Poems (Khamsa) of Amir Khusrau.jpg|Filigree leather book cover, for the Five Poems (Khamsa) of Amir Khusrau. Herat, 1485 |File:A party at night, from the Bustan (Orchard) of Sadi (CBL Per 236).jpg|A party at night. Safavid miniature (possibly by Mirza Ali) attached to the Timurid copy of *Bustan*. Tabriz, c. 1540. |File:Hunting birds. From an album (muraqqa’) for Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (CBL Per 225, f.4r).jpg|Tinted drawing of a hawk attacking a heron in landscape. From an muraqqa for Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah. Possibly Iran, c. 1550-1600 |File:The Kaba sanctuary in Mecca. From Triumph of the Holy Places (Futuh al-Haramayn) (CBL Per 249).jpg|Manuscript of the Futuh al-Haramayn. Mecca, late 16th-century |File:Zal Rescued by the Simurgh.jpg|Zal Rescued by the Simurgh by Sadiqi Beg. Miniature from the Shahnameh commissioned by Shah Abbas I. Probably Qazvin, between 1590 and 1600 |File:Young man in a fur hat, by Reza Abbasi (CBL Per 260.2).jpg|Young man in a fur hat by Reza Abbasi. Isfahan, between 1600 and 1625

Syriac collection

Thai collection

|Fortune-Telling Manual (Phrommachat) (CBL Thi 1302).jpg|Fortune-Telling Manual (Phrommachat) with the twelve animals of the Thai zodiac and their associated attributes, avatars and plants. Thailand, c. 1845 |Fragment of "Extracts from the Pali canon (Tipitaka) and Story of Phra Malai" (CBL Thi 1312).jpg|Extracts from the Pali canon (Tipitaka) and Story of Phra Malai. Thailand, late 19th century |Fragment of "Extracts from the Pali canon (Tipitaka) and Story of Phra Malai" (CBL Thi 1319).jpg|Extracts from the Pali canon (Tipitaka) and Story of Phra Malai. Thailand, 1897

Tibetan collection

Turkish collection

|File:Description of the Prophet (Hilya al-nabi), by Hafiz Osman (CBL T 559.4).jpg|Description of the Prophet (Hilya al-nabi), by Hâfiz Osman. Istanbul, 1691/1692

Western collection

|File:Page from the 'Garden of knowledge (Viridarium)', a medieval encyclopaedia (CBL W 080, f.13r).jpg|'Garden of knowledge (Viridarium)', a medieval encyclopaedia by Jean Reynaud. Probably Avignon, between 1386 and 1425 |File:Virgin and Child from the Coëtivy Hours (CBL W 082, f.222v).jpg|The Coëtivy Hours by the Dunois Master. Paris, 1443-1445 |File:The Visitation introducing Lauds of the Virgin, from the Hamilton Field Hours (CBL W 094 f.50).jpg|The Hamilton Field Book of Hours by the Master of Walters 219. Paris, 1412–1420

Western Miscellaneous collection

|File:St John the Forerunner (CBL WX 40).jpg|St John the Forerunner. Russia, 19th century

Western Prints and Drawings collection

|File:Dressing gown (Saut de lit) (CBL WEp 0958).jpg|Dressing gown (Saut de lit). Fashion plate after Gerda Wegener. Paris, Journal des Dames et des Modes, 20 July 1914 (no. 78)

Others

|File:Embroidered Binding (CBL BB665, Binding, Front).jpg|Embroidered Binding. Possibly an Italian 18th-century binding of white silk Damask. The Book of Common Prayer and administration of the sacraments |File:Bokbinding by Charles Meunier - CBL inv AB 454.jpg|Art Nouveau binding by Charles Meunier. Paris, 1897

References

References

1. "Chester Beatty Story".
2. Clare Pollard. (1 September 2000). "The Chester Beatty Library and its East Asian Collections". Antiquity.
3. Brian Lavery. (17 July 2002). "Arts Abroad; An Irish Castle for Religious Manuscripts". The New York Times.
4. https://www.catholicireland.net/in-the-beginning-was-the-word-chester-beatty-library/
5. Elizabeth Hutcheson. (3 December 2006). "Chester Beatty Library: Magnificent Collection of Islamic and Far Eastern Artefacts". Mathaba News Network.
6. (12 July 2001). "Priceless Ancient Text Reassembled". BBC News.
7. (6 January 2007). "Thrilling Messages from a Shared Past". The Irish Times.
8. Robinson, James M.. (2015). "The Manichaean Codices of Medinet Madi". James Clarke & Company.
9. (2023). "The Medinet Madi Library of Manichaean Codices at 90: Papers from the Symposium at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin, 18-19 October 2019". Brill.
10. (3 February 2000). "Castle is Fitting Home for Beatty Treasures". The Irish Times.
11. "Christianity {{!}} Explore the Collections".
12. [https://chesterbeatty.ie/assets/uploads/2018/11/A-Catalogue-of-the-Persian-Manuscripts-and-Miniatures-Vol-1_Part1.pdf　A Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts and Miniatures] {{Webarchive. link. (3 August 2019 Chester Beatty)
13. link. (29 October 2013 Ireland Embassy in Japan)
14. "Chester Beatty Explore".