Frommer's Review
The National Museum of Ancient Art houses the country's greatest collection of paintings. It occupies two connected buildings -- a 17th-century palace and an added edifice that was built on the site of the old Carmelite Convent of Santo Alberto. The convent's chapel was preserved and is a good example of the integration of ornamental arts, with gilded carved wood, glazed tiles, and sculpture of the 17th and 18th centuries.
The museum has many notable paintings, including the polyptych from St. Vincent's monastery attributed to Nuno Gonçalves between 1460 and 1470. There are 60 portraits of leading figures of Portuguese history. Other outstanding works are Hieronymus Bosch's triptych The Temptation of St. Anthony, Hans Memling's Mother and Child, Albrecht Dürer's St. Jerome, and paintings by Velázquez, Poussin, and Courbet. Especially noteworthy is the 12 Apostles, by Zurbarán. Paintings from the 15th through the 19th centuries trace the development of Portuguese art.
The museum also exhibits a remarkable collection of gold- and silversmiths' works, both Portuguese and foreign. Among these is the cross from Alcobaça and the monstrance of Belém, constructed with the first gold brought from India by Vasco da Gama. Another exceptional example is the 18th-century French silver tableware ordered by José I. Diverse objects from Benin, India, Persia, China, and Japan were culled from the proceeds of Portuguese expansion overseas. Two excellent pairs of screens depict the Portuguese relationship with Japan in the 17th century. Flemish tapestries, a rich assemblage of church vestments, Italian polychrome ceramics, and sculptures are also on display.
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