Chi Mei Museum
| 臺南都會博物館園區奇美館 | |
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| Established | 1992 |
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| Location | No. 66, Sec. 2, Wenhua Rd., Rende District, Tainan 71755, Taiwan |
| Type | Arts Museum |
| Visitors | 1.5 million (2015) |
| Website | www.chimeimuseum.org |
The Chimei Museum (Chinese: 奇美博物館; pinyin: Qíměi Bówùguǎn) is a private museum established in 1992 by the Chi Mei Corporation in Rende District, Tainan, Taiwan. The museum's collection is divided into five categories: Western Art (including painting, sculpture, decorative arts and period furniture); Musical instruments; Natural history; Arms and armor; Antiquities and artifacts. The museum is known for having one of the largest collections of violins in the world, and also for its significant collections of ancient weapons and Western paintings and sculptures.Forbes magazine, in its February 1996 article on private collectors in Asia, called Chimei Museum "one of the world's most surprising art collections." The museum moved to its current venue on Wenhua Road in 2014.
The museum was established in 1992 by Shi Wen-long. He is known for his collection of antique violins — Stradivarius, Guarneri del Gesù and Nicolo Amati. Besides being an entrepreneur, Shi is also an amateur violinist who has performed in public many times. To improve the level of classical music in Taiwan, he founded the Chi Mei Cultural Foundation and also provided a scholarship for developing artists.
The museum has several exhibition areas, including art, natural history, historic weapons, musical instruments, ancient objects, sculptures and industrial techniques. The museum has a collection of European paintings in the 18th and 19th century, presenting the development of western art. The historic weapon exhibition presents weapons from prehistoric time, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age to modern times. The two canons in front of the museum were designed and built in 1689. They were taken away by foreigners in the 19th century until Chi Mei Culture Foundation purchased them in 1994.
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