kids encyclopedia robot

Egyptian Museum of Berlin facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Nofretete Neues Museum
Nefertiti Bust

The Egyptian Museum of Berlin (German: Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung) is home to one of the world's most important collections of ancient Egyptian artefacts, including the iconic Nefertiti Bust. Since 1855, the collection is a part of the Neues Museum on Berlin's Museum Island, which reopened after renovations in 2009.

History

Neues Museum Aegyptischer Hof
Egyptian courtyard at the Neues Museum, lithograph by Eduard Gaertner (1862)

The museum originated in the 18th century from the royal art collection of the Hohenzollern kings of Prussia. Alexander von Humboldt had recommended that an Egyptian section be created, and the first objects were brought to Berlin in 1828 under King Friedrich Wilhelm III. Initially housed in Monbijou Palace, the department was headed by the Trieste merchant Giuseppe Passalacqua (1797–1865), whose extensive collections formed the basis. A Prussian expedition to Egypt and Nubia led by Karl Richard Lepsius in 1842–45 brought additional pieces to Berlin.

In 1850, the collections moved to its present-day home in the Neues Museum, built according to plans designed by Friedrich August Stüler. The Nefertiti Bust, discovered during the excavations by Ludwig Borchardt in Amarna, was donated to the museum by the entrepreneur Henri James Simon in 1920; it quickly became its best-known exhibit. After World War II, during which the Neues Museum was heavily damaged by strategic bombing, the collections were divided between East and West Berlin. The main part remained in East Berlin and was displayed at the Bode Museum, while those artifacts evacuated to West Germany, including the Nefertiti Bust, returned to West Berlin. From 1967 to 2005, these items were housed vis-à-vis Charlottenburg Palace. The whole collection was reunited again after the Reunification of Germany, when it returned to Museum Island.

Collection

The collection contains artefacts dating from between 4000 BC (the Predynastic era) to the period of Roman rule, though most date from the rule of Akhenaten (around 1340BC).

The most famous piece on display is the exceptionally well preserved and vividly coloured bust of Queen Nefertiti. The collection was moved from Charlottenburg to the Altes Museum in 2005 and was rehoused within the newly reconstructed Neues Museum on Berlin's Museum Island in October 2009.

Gallery

  • Kalabsha Gate, ca. 30 BCE, Scharf-Gerstenberg Museum, Berlin (2) (40205520311)

    Kalabsha Gate, from the Temple of Kalabsha, donated as part of the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia

  • Girl with a cat

    Figure of a girl with a cat and standing figure of a young woman, 18th Dynasty, c. 1380 and 19. Dynasty, Abusir el Meleq and Thebes

  • Head of Ptolemy X, from Egypt, Ptolemaic period, 2nd century BCE. Neues Museum, Germany

    Head of a statue of king Ptolemaios X (reign 110–88 BC)

  • Portrait head of one of the daughters of Akhenaton and Nefertiti from a composite statue 09

    Head of Amarna Princess [de]

  • ReliefPortraitOfAkhenaten02

    Relief Portrait of Akhenaten [de]

  • Tai-tai, the priest

    Tai-tai, the Priest. New Kingdom, Eighteenth Dynasty, 1380 BC

  • Akhenaten, Nefertiti and their children

    Akhenaten and Nefertiti with their children. Amarna Period, 1350 BC

  • QueenTiy01-AltesMuseum-Berlin

    Queen Tiye, Amarna Period, 1355 BC

  • Berlin Green Head - Neues Museum - Berlin - Germany 2017 (2)

    "Berlin Green Head", 100-50 BC

  • Amenemhat III Berlin 01

    Statue of Amenemhat III (Berlin)

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Museo Egipcio de Berlín para niños

  • List of museums of Egyptian antiquities
kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Egyptian Museum of Berlin Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.