The history of the museum began on July 22, 1914, when, in a letter to Mayor Ottone Bacaredda, Cagliari collector Stefano Cardu offered as a gift to the city of Cagliari a part of his collection of Oriental art objects and weapons, gathered during his long stay in Siam, ancient Thailand.
In 1918 the collection was displayed to the public in a dedicated room on the main floor of the Civic Palace. At the behest of the donor, as well as curator of the exhibition’s layout and catalog, proceeds from admission tickets were donated to World War I orphans.
After several vicissitudes, in 1923 the City of Cagliari became the owner of the entire collection, which is now displayed in the halls of the Citadel of Museums. In its current layout, the museum presents a remarkable variety of valuable art pieces of different Asian origins and cultures, dating from the 14th to the 19th century. However, it is identified as the Siamese Art Museum to highlight that the preponderant portion of the objects are of such origin, and it is this characteristic that gives the c ollection peculiarity and uniqueness.
An important section of the Museum is devoted to weapons, among which luxury pieces, made with abundant use of silver, predominate. These are mainly weapons intended for parade use only.
