Page 21 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Portugal

Admiring Chinese pottery at the
Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga
Portuguese Colonial Art
During the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal
acquired bounty from across the globe. Admire
delicate Chinese porcelain, intricate inlaid
Indian cabinets and ivory hunting horns from
Africa at Lisbon’s Museu Nacional de Arte
Antiga (p92). Many of the treasures were
bought over from Brazil and Africa by spice
merchants for their wealthy patrons.

Sacred Art
In the 15th and 16th
centuries, Flemish sacred art
was highly fashionable among
wealthy sugar traders in
Madeira, who bought and
commissioned paintings,
triptychs and sculptures for
their private chapels and
plantation houses. You can
see these works at Funchal’s
Museu de Arte Sacra (p352)
and Lisbon’s Museu Nacional
de Arte Antiga.

A painting on display in
the Museu de Arte Sacra

Art Nouveau and Art Deco
Jewellery, glassware and furnishings, many
intertwined with René Lalique’s (1860–
1945) signature ornate serpents and
peacocks, can be seen at Lisbon’s Museu
Calouste Gulbenkian. Highlights include a
spectacular dragonfly
brooch, an orchid comb
Jewellery by René and the sublime Cats
Lalique at the Museu Choker (1906–8), crafted
Calouste Gulbenkian from rock crystal.

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