Kiev Museum of Western and Oriental Art, Kiev

The Kiev Museum of Western and Oriental Art is a trove of international culture found at 15 Tereshenkovskaya Street. It boasts a wealth of artefacts, including rare 16th century Chinese paintings and bronzes, china and glassware from various countries of the Orient and historic periods, as well as Japanese engravings, Greek and Roman sculptures, Egyptian statues and other works of art from Turkey, Persia, Spain, Italy and Flanders, gathered here under one roof. A good number of items on display once belonged to Bogdan and Varvara Khanenko. The couple garnered these during their lifetime from a number of auctions. After Bogdan Khanenko's death, the collection was donated to the Ukrainian people.

In 1919, it was made into a museum and since then, owing to the continuous private donations, has expanded to the total of 20,000 items (from the original 1,250 left by the Khanenkos). However, because of the lack of space, only 2,000 pieces can be displayed at a time. Others are held in a special storage, away from public eyes. Among the most valued artefacts are the famous “Portrait of Infanta Margaret” by Diego Velasquez and paintings by Peter Paul Rubens, Claude Joseph Vernet and Claudio Coello. Without pretence to be complete, exhaustive or representative, the collection is indeed fascinating for true art lovers.