About the Lost Museum - The Lost Museum @Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague

The Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague, Netherlands, is a museum that never ceases to fascinate art fans around the world, housing masterpieces such as Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring" and Rembrandt's "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp."

However, this museum has a little-known history.

At one time, the Mauritshuis was home to two museums: an art museum and a cabinet of curiosities.

One was the art museum, which, like the current museum, displayed a "painting collection" featuring works from 17th-century Flanders by artists such as Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Frans Hals.

The other was a museum that displayed the "Royal Cabinet of Rarities," which was open to the public only between 1822 and 1875. This collection gathered precious items that conveyed the worldview of the 19th century.

Currently, the Mauritshuis is reassembling the "Royal Cabinet of Rarities" in an attempt to bring the 19th-century worldview back to life in the modern day.

The "Royal Cabinet of Rarities" included items from Japan, China, Southeast Asia, Africa, and other regions that were considered exotic to the Netherlands at the time.

Within the "Royal Cabinet of Rarities," Japan was given the largest room. It was filled from floor to ceiling with precious exports from Japan, such as textiles, porcelain, and lacquerware.

In particular, the Japanese armor in the photo above was highly valued in this "Royal Cabinet of Rarities," and it is said to have been featured on the cover of the collection's leaflet.

This is a cabinet displaying curiosities from Japan.

In the center is an old Dutch flag. This was displayed on the 6-meter-long diorama of Dejima, which was the most popular item in the "Royal Cabinet of Rarities."

A view of the kitchen. Items like the kettle, tea bowls, and rice tub are very detailed and well-made.

Dolls that convey the lives of people at that time.

The man in the foreground is trimming the tip of a brush, and the women in the back left are pounding mochi.

Lacquerware was a popular craft because it could not be made anywhere other than Japan.

The lacquerware in the photo is a set; the small box on the left is placed inside the flower-shaped box on the right, which then sits on the pedestal in the center of the photo.

The precision with which everything harmonizes and fits together perfectly is wonderful.

Beautiful Japanese flora and fauna are also depicted on the sides of this small box.

As I was looking at these small, adorable items with a heartwarming feeling for the lives of ancient Japanese people, I suddenly looked up and let out a silent scream of 'Eek!'

A mermaid mummy!!

Of course, this mermaid mummy is a fake. It is made by combining a dog's head, monkey skin, and a salmon's tail.

In Japan, it was believed that mermaids possessed mysterious powers that brought prosperity and immortality. Such mermaid mummies were either believed to be real or, even if known to be fakes, were treated with awe for their potential supernatural powers; they were reverently stored in strict wooden boxes in temple treasure houses and displayed to the public only on special occasions.

I have seen mermaid mummies in Japan several times before, but this is the first time I have seen one completely exposed like this.

Even though they are the same fake mermaid mummies, I felt the cultural difference between Japan, where they are objects of awe, and the Netherlands, where they are treated just like any other doll.

(Moreover, the commercially minded Dutch, even though they knew these were fakes, reportedly sold them at high prices to Europeans who believed they were 'real.' Truly a nation of merchants...)

Although I have only mentioned Japanese items here, there were also cabinets filled with arts and crafts from China, Southeast Asia, and other regions that the Dutch found exotic.

The Lost Museum
September 12, 2024 – January 5, 2025

Mauritshuis Museum
Mauritshuis
Plein 29, 2511 CS Den Haag