Stefano Cardu Siamese Art Civic Museum, Cagliari

It is located in the historic center of the city, inside the Cittadella dei Musei, which houses numerous other museum facilities. Artistic pieces of different Asian origins and cultures are exhibited. Alongside religious-themed art objects, exquisitely crafted domestic use items, rare coins, and very little-known weapons are on display. The collection is characterized by the great variety of pieces and materials: silver, ivory, bronze, porcelain, wooden sculptures, paper materials, coins. The predominant part of the objects is of Siamese origin, a feature that gives the Collection its uniqueness and peculiarity. The existence of the collection is owed to the figure of the Cagliari collector Stefano Cardu, who donated to the city part of his prestigious collection of art objects and oriental weapons, recovered during his long stay in Asia, particularly in Siam, the present-day Thailand. Among the objects on display, the Chinese porcelain from the “Ming” period and the early “Qing” emperors (from the 14th to the 17th century) stand out, expressing an exquisite manifestation of art and technique of the highest level. Furthermore, the weapons section, though not large, is of uncommon interest: unique in Italy and among the few in the world, it presents a significant panorama especially of Siamese weapons, which form the most numerous and interesting group. In addition to housing the largest collection of Siamese Art in Europe, it is the first Civic Museum in Sardinia and the only example of an Oriental Museum in the Region.