Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas (Madrid)

The Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas (MNAD) is a national museum based in  MadridCommunity of MadridSpain.

The building and collections were declared a Bien de Interés Cultural building in 1962. The museum has 62 rooms spread over five floors.

It is one of the oldest and richest museums in the so-called Art Triangle of that city. Following the example of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (United Kingdom), it illustrates the evolution of the so-called “industrial” or “minor” arts (furniture, ceramics and glass, textiles, etc.), mainly between the 15th and 20th centuries. Its 60 exhibition rooms occupy a palace near the Retiro Park (Calle de Montalbán, 12), a few minutes away from the Prado Museum. The museum exhibits some 1,600 objects,​ of the approximately 70,000 it has between museum and documentary collections.​ It has 820 square meters dedicated to the permanent collection and another 561 to temporary exhibitions.

The museum is state-owned and directly managed by the Ministry of Culture (currently the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport). Organically, it depends on the General Directorate of Fine Arts and Cultural Heritage, specifically the General Subdirectorate of State Museums.

Collections

The National Museum of Decorative Arts is one of the largest and most richly appointed in Madrid. It houses collections of great interest, both ethnographic and of artistic craftsmanship of ceramics, furniture, jewelry, textiles, and Oriental arts. Of the 40,000 objects collected, about 15,000 pieces are loaned out to other museums, including the Real Fábrica de Cristales de La Granja. The museum focuses on Spanish decorative arts, but includes examples from other countries, mostly ceramics and luxury items imported from an early date. Several of the rooms recreate scenes from the past, using original furnishings and other pieces; there are examples of 18th-century kitchens.

Address: C. de Montalbán, 12, Retiro, 28014 Madrid, Spain.

Working hours:

Thursday 9:30 AM–3 PM, 5–8 PM
Friday 9:30 AM–3 PM
Saturday 10 AM–3 PM
Sunday 10 AM–3 PM
Monday Closed
Tuesday 9:30 AM–3 PM
Wednesday 9:30 AM–3 PM

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