Chester Beatty Library

While pondering the fact that I had never visited the Chester Beatty Library prior to last Friday, despite intending to on several occasions, Charlene's 1982 narrative classic ‘I've Never Been to Me' popped into my head. I don't believe there is anything more to this mental association between the two, aside from me finding the time and the money to visit exhibitions about Ancient Egypt in Vienna and van Gogh in Paris, for example, while much of Charlene's lyrics are poetically worded geographical listings.

I suppose the other reason why I thought of it is because the Chester Beatty Library could not be easier for me to get to, and I don't care to remember how many times I have walked past it, yet it took me this long to get around to actually going into it. Housed in a purpose built, modern construction attached to an older part of Dublin Castle, the Library consists of two galleries which contain the permanent exhibition, a third room for temporary exhibitions, a reading room and café.

The selection of items on display is truly amazing, and I mean this in the sincerest possible form of the word; from the Dragon Robes dating from the 18th century Ching Dynasty that took 36 months to embroider, to the 600 immaculately preserved snuff bottles, to the silk wall hangings and artwork, all are exquisite and fascinating relics of a bygone era.

But, as with any library, it is truly all about the books. And what books they are. Upon his death, Chester Beatty had amassed approximately 66,000 items in his private collection. Understandably, only a fraction of these are on display, but even within this mere fraction, some of the most beautiful manuscripts I have ever seen are included. There are Persian and Middle Eastern books that are so finely and minutely detailed, that experts still cannot figure out how it was done because there is no proof of spectacles or magnifying glasses existing at the time; there is a large, red leather-bound tome that belonged to Marie Antoinette; among the 140 Qur'ans in the collection - all of which are individually spectacular - there is the oldest surviving Qur'an that was written on paper; there is a volume of Blaeu maps; there is a scroll from Dunhuang... and that is before moving on to the Christian artefacts.

The Chester Beatty Library contains a truly awe-inspiring collection, and one that should be visited and appreciated by every Dubliner, as it was so kindly donated by Chester Beatty himself to the people of Ireland.

Words: Lucy Watts