The life-sized standing and striding figure of Horus, acquired by Ludwig I in 1815, laid the foundation for the museum's collection. On July 15, 1970, the Horus statue and many other Egyptian artifacts finally found their first shared home in the Hofgarten wing of the Residenz and were made accessible to the public. For two centuries, they had been dispersed across various locations.
They are gone, their names forgotten, but their writings keep their memory alive.
Aegyptiaca and the Mysterious Kingdom of Naga
Man passes away, and his body turns to dust.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The foundations of the collection go back much further, with the first Aegyptiaca acquired by Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria (1550-1579). Ludwig I then had an "Egyptian Hall" set up in his Glyptothek.
The Royal Bavarian Academy of Sciences also acquired ancient Egyptian pieces, but its focus was not on ancient Egyptian art, but on inscribed objects such as coffins and stelae that were of interest to researchers.
The museum's collection also includes part of the extensive private collection of Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Bissing, and since 1976 the "Freundeskreis" of the Museum have supported new acquisition projects and the museum's activities.
One of the museum's highlights is the gold jewellery of the Meroitic Queen Amanishakheto. Ludwig I acquired parts of it in 1893, thereby establishing a research focus for the museum. Since 2013, the SMÄK has been excavating in the Sudanese steppe north of Karthum as part of the Naga project (external link, opens in a new window), uncovering the temples, palaces and traces of the advanced civilisation of Meroe and the royal city of Naga.
A Museum. For All
Do not separate your tongue from your heart, then everything you do will succeed.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Horus, pilot, hippopotamus & Co
Step inside: you have to experience it! Even the best digital format cannot replace a visit to the exhibition. The "descent" into the underground, spacious museum rooms behind the monumental portal takes you on a journey through 5000 years.
You can discover numerous treasures in the display cases: writings, grave goods and works of art such as the cute sleeping faience hippo from the Middle Kingdom period. The "Nile horses", a symbol of fertility, change colour from light blue to turquoise to green. The flowers, buds and leaves of the lotus plant as well as papyrus umbels, birds and butterflies can be seen in dark colours on their bodies - the papyrus thicket on the banks of the Nile is virtually painted on their bodies.
Roxane Bicker SMÄK Munich, Melina Rauh & Nathalie Schwaiger