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"Qins in captivity"?   Silk Strings   Tassels   Tuning Pegs   Studs   Qin body diagrams 首頁
Qins in Public and Private Collections  

The museums with qins in their collections listed below include only ones which I have visited in person. Links add further comments.

There are many others, as well as the qins in private collections. In many cases the museums and collectors are performing a valuable service. In other cases it seems that these qins are simply "in captivity".

In Asia the most notable qin collections are the National Palace Museums in Beijing and Taipei. Some are usually on display. Qins are also in museums elsewhere in the Chinese world, as well as in Japan and Korea, but that is beyond the scope of this page.

Museums in Europe and North America

The following list is mainly limited to those qins in Europe and North America which I actually have seen, so it is by no means an inclusive list. I would welcome further information to help me expand the list.

North America

  1. Ann Arbor, Michigan
    Stearns Music Instrument Collection, University of Michigan

  2. Boston
    Boston Museum of Fine Arts

  3. Denver, Colorado
    Denver Art Museum

  4. Honolulu, Hawaii
    Honolulu Academy of Arts

  5. New York, New York
    Metropolitan Museum of New York

  6. Washington, D.C.
    Freer and Sackler Galleries of the Smithsonian Museum

Europe

  1. London, England: Horniman Museum (100 London Road, Forest Hill)
    a mid 19th century qin, part of a display of Chinese instruments divided according to "ba yin (eight sound [producers]);
    qin is in the silk category (information from Christopher Evans)

  2. Cambridge, England
    Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge University.
    Silk strings; in horizontal storage

  3. Oxford, England
    Pitt River Museum in Oxford. ("Access the objects...", Catalogue #1895.53.8)
    Silk strings; displayed horizontally

  4. Berlin, Germany
    Museum fur Volkerkunde (Ethnography Museum).
    A rather new instrument; stored horizontally.

  5. Moscow, Russia
    Glinka Museum of Music Culture
    One instrument on display, lacquer had some cracking; one listed as in storage.

Again, I would be grateful to hear about others.

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