Berlin - Dignitaries gathered Thursday evening in Berlin for the formal handover of a valuable collection of traditional Japanese art to the German capital's Museum of Asian Art.

Berlin-born collector Klaus F Naumann, who lives in Tokyo, has agreed to donate 100 paintings and ceramic art items dating from the 6th to the 19th centuries to the museum, which has been exhibiting them as loans since 2000.

In addition, he is selling the museum 55 East Asian lacquerware items from his collection.

The museum, currently located in a Berlin suburb, will one day be a tenant of a planned replica of the German emperors' city palace. A design has been chosen for the downtown Berlin building, which is expected to be a magnet for tourists, but construction has not begun. (dpa)