National Museum of Decorative Arts

Located in Madrid’s Golden Triangle of Art, the National Museum of Decorative Arts (MNAD) is one of the city's oldest and richest museums. Housed in a palace at 12 Montalbán Street—near Retiro Park and the Prado Museum—it offers a journey through the evolution of decorative arts, including furniture, ceramics, glass, and textiles, from the 15th to the 20th centuries.

This state-owned institution was established in 1912 as the National Museum of Industrial Arts and adopted its current name in 1927. Originally designed with an educational focus inspired by the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, it moved in 1932 to the former summer palace of the Duchess of Santoña (built in 1878). The building was later expanded and declared a National Historic-Artistic Monument in 1962.

The museum features 60 exhibition rooms spread across five floors. Some rooms include recreations of historical settings, such as an 18th-century Valencian kitchen decorated with 1,536 tiles. While it houses nearly 70,000 objects, approximately 1,600 are currently on display. It is renowned for its collections of Spanish decorative arts and an extensive international inventory, particularly Oriental art from China (Ming and Qing dynasties), the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Japan, Nepal, and Thailand.

The collection spans from an 11th-century storage jar to European porcelain from Meissen, Delft, Limoges, Capodimonte, and Sèvres. A major highlight is the Italian tin-glazed pottery, bolstered in 2004 by the Enrique Scharlau Bellsch collection. Other notable pieces include 15th- to 17th-century carpets from Cuenca and Alcaraz, Spanish furniture dating back to the 14th century, works from the Buen Retiro Royal Hardstone Workshop, over 550 pieces of silverware, and historic clocks. It also preserves tapestries like The Vision of Ezekiel, textiles dating back to the 2nd century, and a vast glass collection featuring works by Émile Gallé and René Lalique.

Given the breadth and richness of its collections, the National Museum of Decorative Arts is one of Madrid’s most comprehensive cultural spaces. A visit allows you to discover vanished artisanal and industrial techniques while understanding the evolution of taste, design, and daily life over the centuries. It is an essential stop for anyone wishing to explore art and history from a unique perspective in the Spanish capital.