The Staatliche Antikensammlungen (, ''State Collections of Antiquities'') is a museum in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

's Kunstareal holding

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

's collections of antiquities from

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

Etruria Etruria () was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and northern and western Umbria. Etruscan Etruria The ancient people of Etruria are identified as Etruscans. Thei ...

and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, though the sculpture collection is located in the opposite

Glyptothek The Glyptothek () is a museum in Munich, Germany, which was commissioned by the Bavarian King Ludwig I to house his collection of Greek and Roman sculptures (hence γλυπτο- ''glypto-'' "sculpture", from the Greek verb γλύφειν ''glyphe ...

and works created ''in'' Bavaria are on display in a separate museum. Ancient Egypt also has its own museum.

History of the building

The neo-classical building at Königsplatz with

Corinthian columns The Corinthian order ( Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric ord ...

was established in 1848 as counterpart to the opposite ''

'' and commissioned by the Bavarian King Ludwig I. The architect was Georg Friedrich Ziebland. Already from 1869 to 1872 the building housed the royal

antiquarium The Antiquarium was built from 1568 to house the ducal Collection of Classical Antiquities and Library as an extension of the Munich Residenz and was converted into a ballroom soon after. It is one of the most important surviving Renaissance col ...

before the Munich Secession resided here from 1898 to 1912. From 1919 the building contained the New State Gallery. The museum building was severely damaged by bombing in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

but was reconstructed and reopened to the public in the late 1960s to display the State Collection of Antiques.

Collections

The State Collection of Antiquities is based on the

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...

antique collections, especially the collection of attic vases of King Ludwig I. In 1831 his agent Martin von Wagner acquired pottery from the archeological excavation in Vulci, his agent Friedrich Thiersch purchased by auction the antiques from the estate of Lucien Bonaparte. The king acquired also antique gold jewellery from the collection of Caroline Murat, Etruscan bronzes excavated in

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part ...

and Greek terra-cottas from South Italy. After the king's death in 1868 his collection was united with the Wittelsbach antique collection which was founded already by Albert V, Duke of Bavaria. Later the museum got extended by purchase and donations. Among these private collections are the donations of

Paul Arndt Paul Julius Arndt (14 October 1865 – 17 July 1937) was a German classical archaeologist born in Dresden. He studied classical art under Johannes Overbeck (1826-1895) at the University of Leipzig, and classical archeology with Heinrich Brunn ...

(1908), of James Loeb (1933), and of Hans von Schoen (1964). These comprehensive collections specialised in smaller antique objects, glassware, bronzes, terra-cottas, jewelry, gold and silver. During World War II the museum lost especially Etruscan pottery, which was stored in the bombed '' Neue Pinakothek''.

Permanent exhibition

Antique pottery and Terracotta

The internationally renowned collection of antique pottery is outstanding, comparable only with the collections of the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the '' Venus de Milo''. A central ...

and the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. On display is already

Cycladic art The ancient Cycladic culture flourished in the islands of the Aegean Sea from c. 3300 to 1100 BCE. Along with the Minoan civilization and Mycenaean Greece, the Cycladic people are counted among the three major Aegean cultures. Cycladic art ther ...

. The Mycenaean pottery is represented as well as the pottery from the

geometric Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is ca ...

, the archaic, the classical and the

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

period in Greece. The museum exhibits artworks of the most famous Greek potters and painters like the

Amasis Painter The Amasis Painter (active around 550–510 BC in Athens) was an ancient Greek vase painter who worked in the black-figure technique. He owes his name to the signature of the potter Amasis ("Amasis made me"), who signed twelve works painted by ...

Exekias Exekias ( grc, Ἐξηκίας, ''Exēkías'') was an ancient Greek vase painter and potter who was active in Athens between roughly 545 BC and 530 BC. Exekias worked mainly in the black-figure technique, which involved the painting of sce ...

, Archikles, Glaukytes, the Penthesilea Painter, the

Andokides Painter Andokides was an ancient Athenian vase painter, active from approximately 530 to 515 B.C. His work is unsigned and his true name unknown. He was identified as a unique artistic personality through stylistic traits found in common among several pai ...

Oltos Oltos was a Late Archaic Greek vase painter, active in Athens from 525 BC to 500 BC. About 150 works by him are known. Two pieces, a cup in Berlin (Antikensammlung F 2264) and a cup in Tarquinia (Museo Nazionale Tarquiniese RC 6848), are sign ...

, Kleophon, Phintias, Euphronios, Euthymides,

Epiktetos Epiktetos was an Attic vase painter in the early red-figure style. Besides Oltos, he was the most important painter of the Pioneer Group. He was active between 520 BC and 490 BC. His name translates as "newly acquired", which is most probably a ...

, the

Pan Painter The Pan Painter was an ancient Greek vase-painter of the Attic red-figure style, probably active c. 480 to 450 BC. John Beazley attributed over 150 vases to his hand in 1912: Archaic Mannerism Beazley identified the Pan Painter as a pupi ...

, the

Berlin Painter The Berlin Painter (active c. 490–460s BCE) is the conventional name given to an Attic Greek vase-painter who is widely regarded as a rival to the Kleophrades Painter, among the most talented vase painters of the early 5th century BCE (see P ...

Hieron Hiero or hieron (; grc, ἱερόν, "holy place") is a holy shrine, temple, or temple precinct in ancient Greece. Hiero may also refer to: Places and jurisdictions * Hieron, Caria, an Ancient city and former bishopric in Asia Minor, now ...

, Makron, Douris, the Brygos Painter, the

Acheloos Painter The Acheloos Painter, active around 525–500 BCE in Athens, was a vase painter of the black-figure style. His scenes were like those of the Leagros Group; however, unlike their work, his themes are comic episodes, like modern cartoons. Herakles w ...

and

Lydos Lydos ( Greek: Λυδός, ''the Lydian'') was an Attic vase painter in the black-figure style. Active between about 560 and 540 BC, he was the main representative of the '’’Lydos Group’’’. His signature, ό Λυδός, ho Lydos ("the ...

. The collection contains numerous masterpieces such as the '' Belly Amphora by the Andokides Painter'' ( between 520 and 510 BC) and the ''

Dionysus cup The Dionysus Cup is the modern name for one of the best known works of ancient Greek vase painting, a ''kylix'' (drinking cup) dating to 540–530 BC. It is one of the masterpieces of the Attic black-figure potter Exekias and one of the most signi ...

'' by

(circa 530 BC). One of the masterpieces of Etruscan art is a head vessel depicting the Etruscan demon

Charun In Etruscan mythology, Charun (also spelled Charu, or Karun) acted as one of the psychopompoi of the underworld (not to be confused with the god of the underworld, known to the Etruscans as Aita). He is often portrayed with Vanth, a winged f ...

(400-350 BC). The ''Standing Woman'' is a notable statuette of

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terra ...

(

Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its ...

from the crossing of 5. by the 4th century B.C.). ''The Beauty'' is one of the best preserved ancient terracotta figures in the world. It was made in the early 3rd century BC and was found in the vicinity of Athens.

Jewellery, precious metal, bronzes and glass

An outstanding example for antique jewelry is the gold Funerary ''Garland from Armento'' (4th century BC). A ''Golden Diadem from the Black Sea'', an elaborately decorated headdress from the Crimean Peninsula was produced in around 150 BC. A famous Roman ''Goblet from

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

'' made of reticella (or network) glass (4th century AD) still shows its Latin inscription ''BIBE MULTIS ANNIS'' (Drink many years yet!). It was a present of the City of Cologne in return for King Ludwig's support for the completion of Cologne Cathedral. The silver drinking bowl from the 5th century BC. and a bowl of rare transparent soda-lime glass (500-450 BC) represent

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...

Persia. The Corinthian helmet from the tomb of Dendas comes from a Greek workshop in southern Italy, 500-490 BC. Chr. ''The Goddess of Beauty and Love'' is a masterpiece of Hellenistic bronze art and dates back to around 100 BC.

Portraits and gems

An antique mummy portrait which originates from around 140 AD depicts a young upper-class man of imperial Egypt belongs to the most beautiful and best-quality antique mummy portraits that exist. Part of the Staatliche Antikensammlungen is also a comprehensive collection of ca 800 engraved gems donated by Helmut Hansmann (1924-1996).

References

External links

Staatliche Antikensammlungen (English)Staatliche Antikensammlungen (German)
{{Authority control Museums in Munich Art museums and galleries in Germany Neoclassical architecture in Munich Archaeological museums in Germany Greek Revival architecture in Germany Maxvorstadt 1848 establishments in Germany Museums of ancient Greece in Germany Museums of ancient Rome in Germany