Azerbaijan State Museum of Art, Baku

The Rustam Mustafayev Azerbaijan State Museum of Art is the country’s largest art museum. Founded in 1936, it got its name from a prominent local painter and theater artist. Spread across two buildings, the museum boasts more than 3,000 exhibits in 60 display rooms. European art and Russian art are the focus of the first building, while the second houses the Eastern art, including Persian, Turkish, Chinese and Japanese works. Azerbaijani artists represented include painters Mir Mohsun Navvab, Bahruz Kangarli, Tair Salakhov, Azim Azimzade, Salam Salamzade, and Vidadi Narimanbekov, as well as sculptor Omar Eldarov. The museum also has easel and book miniatures from the 17th – 19th centuries, lacquered miniatures and a unusual collection of sherbet spoons made from mulberry trees.