The Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst (, ''State Museum of Egyptian Art'') is an archaeological museum in
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
. It contains the
Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
n state collection of
ancient Egyptian art and displays exhibits from both the predynastic and dynastic periods. The associated small Middle East section displays objects from the areas of
Assyria
Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...
n and
Babylonia
Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...
n culture. For decades, the Egyptian museum was located in the
Munich Residenz, but it was moved to the
Kunstareal in June 2013.
Building
A new, subterranean museum, opposite the
Alte Pinakothek and reaching underneath the new structure for the
University of Television and Film Munich was conceived by the architect Peter Böhm. The project was inspired by an ancient Egyptian burial chamber. Its entrance area is marked with a portal wall reminiscent of the
pylon gateways to
Egyptian temples
Egyptian temples were built for the official worship of the ancient Egyptian deities, gods and in commemoration of the pharaohs in ancient Egypt and regions under Egyptian control. Temples were seen as houses for the gods or kings to whom they w ...
.
It offers some 1800 m² of exhibition space, with an additional 400 m² for special exhibitions. It is open since June 2013.
The light-filled entrance hall leads to three large halls, and subsequently into smaller, darker and lower catacombs with several theme rooms such as "The Pharaoh", "Religion", "Realm of the Dead", "Beyond belief," "Egypt in Rome" or "After the Pharaohs". An atrium brings natural light into some parts of the exhibition.
History
The Bavarian state's collection was already founded in the 16th century by Duke
Albrecht V and extended especially by
Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria and King
Ludwig I of Bavaria. Also private donators and the
Academy of Sciences contributed to the collection. The museum is dedicated to the periods of the
early,
middle and
late kingdoms, but also to the
Hellenistic
In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...
,
Roman and
Coptic era of Egypt.
Collection
The museum displays
ancient Egyptian artefacts, such as statues, sculptures, cult articles,
papyri
Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, ''Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'' or ''papyruses'') can ...
, stone tablets with
hieroglyphics, glasswares, jewellery, amulets but also
mummies, textiles and household goods. About 2000 of more than 8000 objects are displayed permanently. There are also temporary exhibitions.
Among the most distinguished exhibits are the famous duplex statue portraying the pharaoh
Nyuserre Ini as a youth and as an elder man, the
false door of the grave chamber of
Menes, the statues of the pharaohs
Amenemhat III,
Ramses II,
Thutmose III and
Akhenaten
Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Akhenaton or Echnaton ( ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning 'Effective for the Aten'), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eig ...
, the sphinx of
Sesostris III and of
Amenhotep II, the sarcophagus lid of queen
Sitdjehuti and the kneeling figure of
Senenmut. One of the most famous exhibits is the glass cup with the inscription of Thutmose III, the oldest glass vessel in the world (1450 BC).
The upper part of a priest statue dates from the
Persian period (ca. 500 BC). The Hellenistic-Roman period is represented by master pieces such as the bust of a
Seleucid ruler and the grand Egyptian statue of
Antinous
Antinous, also called Antinoös, (; ; – ) was a Greek youth from Bithynia, a favourite and lover of the Roman emperor Hadrian. Following his premature death before his 20th birthday, Antinous was deified on Hadrian's orders, being worshippe ...
. The obelisk of
Titus Sextius Africanus in the atrium is 5.80 meters high, the central part dates from the 50 AD, the rest was added later and restored several times.
Very precious is the treasure of jewellery of the
Nubia
Nubia (, Nobiin language, Nobiin: , ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the confluence of the Blue Nile, Blue and White Nile, White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), and the Cataracts of the Nile, first cataract ...
n Queen
Amanishakheto. The museum owns also the
Assyria
Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...
n
Orthostates relief
Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...
s from the palace of king
Ashur-nasir-pal II and a lion tile from the
Ishtar Gate
The Ishtar Gate was the eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon (in the area of present-day Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq). It was constructed by order of King Nebuchadnezzar II on the north side of the city. It was part of a grand walled proce ...
of
Babylon
Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...
which were once displayed in the
Glyptothek
The Glyptothek () is a museum in Munich, Germany, which was commissioned by the Bavarian King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Ludwig I to house his collection of Ancient Greek art, Greek and Roman art, Roman sculptures (hence γλυπτο- ''glypto-'' "sculp ...
.
Since 1912 the museum has held the mummy of a child aged between 4 and 6 years old found by
Flinders Petrie near the
Hawara Pyramid.
The mummy includes a
Fayum mummy portrait which CT scans suggest are a reasonably accurate representation of the child in question.
Children's Education
Since 1984, the State Museum of Egyptian Art has offered a children's education program during the summer holidays. It combines a short guided tour with handicraft work that the children can take home. Since 2007 similar programs are also offered during the other school holidays.
During the summer holidays and special project days (International Museum Day, Long Night of the Museums), children can complete a Treasure Hunt, answering questions about objects throughout the museum, and receive a prize for correct answers.
Outside of the holidays, the museum offers an "Archaeological Backpack" based on a similar principle and that can be taken out at the front desk.
Both the Treasure Hunt and the Archaeological Backpack are usually also available in English.
The Museum also offers guided tours for schools on the following subjects:
* Ancient Egyptian Culture
* The Gods of Ancient Egypt
* Funerary Beliefs
* The Secret of the Hieroglyphs
* Everyday and Family Life
* The King and the State
* Animals and their importance to the Egyptians.
The guided tours cost €33 and are available in English and French as well.
Since the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year, schools can book a project hour in addition to guided tours.
Exhibitions
The exhibition "ISISBLUT UND STEINBOCKHORN - Amulett und Talisman in Altägypten und im Alpenraum", an exhibition showing amulets and talismans from Ancient Egypt and the Alps, was on view from 22 July 2010 to 9 January 2011.
See also
*
List of museums of Egyptian antiquities
References
External links
Staatliche Sammlung Ägyptischer Kunst (German)Egyptian Museum (English)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Staatliche Sammlung fur Agyptische Kunst
Egyptological collections in Germany
Art museums and galleries in Germany
Archaeological museums in Germany
Museums in Munich