Mongol studies and collections in France

The following essays present Mongol studies and collections in France. The French “discovery” of Mongolia began with explorers, travellers and missionaries as early as the 13th century and continued through the fascination of Orientalists and Jesuit missionaries, as well as prominent figures such as Voltaire, for the “Tartars.” In the late 19th and early 21st century, Mongol studies saw significant growth in France thanks to the creation of a chair in “Religions of North Asia” at the École pratique des Hautes Études and of the Centre d’Études mongoles et sibériennes.

Books and manuscript collections are dispersed across various institutions, including the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, the Collège de France, and the Humathèque Library, while art and artefacts are housed at the Musée du Louvre, the Musée national des arts asiatiques Guimet, and Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac in Paris. The Musée départemental Albert-Kahn in Boulognethe -Billancourt holds a collection of 141 autochrome plates taken in Ulaanbaatar in 1912-1913 by Stéphane Passet.

Mongol studies in France

Explorers, travellers and missionaries (13th-early 20th centuries) (à venir)

 

Historical review of Mongol studies in France, 16th-19th centuries (à venir)

 

Mongol Studies in France, 20th-21st Centuries

This article explores the evolution of Mongol studies in France (including Mongolia, Inner Mongolia [P. R. China], Buryatia and Transbaikalia [Russian Federation]) in France from the early 20th century to the present day.

Isabelle Charleux, with the collaboration of Roberte Hamayon, Raphaël Blanchier and Matthieu Chochoy.

The Medieval period

Books and manuscripts (BN, Louvre) (à venir)

 

Artefacts of the Medieval period (Guimet Museum, Louvre Museum and other museums) (à venir)

 

The Modern period

Books, manuscripts and maps of the modern period (à venir)

    • CEMS
    • Bibliothèque d’Études Chinoises du Collège de France (author: Delphine Spicq and Isabelle Charleux)
    • BN : books and manuscripts
    • BN : maps (author: Matthieu Chochoy)
    • Library of the Musée national des arts asiatiques Guimet
    • BULAC (author: Anna Dupuy and Isabelle Charleux)
    • Other

Artistic artefacts of the modern period (à venir)

    • Guimet
    • Other

Ethnographic collections (à venir)

    • Quai Branly

Photograph collections (à venir)

    • Musée Albert-Kahn (author: Serge Fouchard)
    • Other