Showing posts with label Museums. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Museums. Show all posts

Friday, December 2, 2011

the Coptic Museum





The museum site

 
The Coptic Museum is located in Egypt's ancient city of Fustat, built by Amr bin Aas after the Islamic conquest of Egypt, and specifically at the subway station (Mar Girgis) within the borders of Fortress of Babylon and that there are its remnants behind the museum building, and construction began days of the Persians, but there be many additions in the reign of Alambratoren Romanians (August) and (Trajan).

A brief history of The museum

"Morcos Thmeekah Pasha" laying the basis of the Coptic Museum, in 1910, remained the property of Boutrkkhana until 1933 and then moved the museum to the ownership of the Egyptian state,
and then attached by library

Contains some precious religious manuscripts. The museum was established in order to save a large group  Coptic art and monuments that dating back to the other the period between the years 300 m and 1000 m years.
The exploratory voyages in the logic of Saqqara reveal two old monasteries, one of St. Apollon and the second of St. Jeremiah, where the original source,
but the Coptic Museum is not supplied with it.

Information about the The museum
  
Should not overlook the role of the French scientist Maspero who has worked to gather works of Coptic art and dedicated room in the museum for him, , and later Morcos Thmeekah Pacha in 1893 asked that the group of Coptic monuments annexed to the the concerns of the Commission for the Conservation of Antiquities and Arts, and fought until he was able to establish the current building of the museum on a stop ground  belonging to the Coptic Church , that Was opened in 1910 and he was appointed the first director of the museum . the Coptic Museum remained belonging to the Coptic Patriarchate until 1931 Until it became affiliated to the Ministry of Culture, then Thmeekah Pasha continued collecting rare pieces of old churches and ancient monasteries and palaces rich Christians . In 1947 He established a second suite of the museum consists of two floors

In 1966, the old suite was closed for restoration, and then reopened in 1984, but the museum was closed again after the earthquake of October 1992, ,and it has been restored.

The most important additions which have entered the museum is linking the old Suite with the new wing by corridor to be re-opened in June 2006, has been taken into account dividing it into 26 halls with the renewal of supply scenario.

The museum is characterized by the nature of Coptic art mixed with the ancient Egyptian tradition and Alhlinsah, Byzantine, Islamic, and combines the archaeological material and documents that help to study the history of Egypt since the advent of Christianity and even now ,where the number of museum collections around 16,000 pieces.

Of the most famous collections in the museum is a 3 pieces of wood the utmost importance in the study of sculpture between the fourth to sixth centuries, namely:
1 - the door of the Church of St. Barbara.
2 - the altar of the Church of Saints Sergius and Oakhos
.
3 - high threshold had decorated one of the doors of the Hanging Church .

 The Library

 The hall Library, which includes ten thousand manuscript is one of the most important halls where it was equipped with methods protecting manuscripts from moisture and light recently.

 And in the museum there are the monuments of the Ahnasia - one of the centers of the province of Beni Suef ,These monuments have views of the Greek myths Include Aphrodite, which was carved as if born outside of the shell and it has been replaced with the form of the cross out of its shell as a symbol for the beginning of new life after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the Cross.

The fourth hall of the museum
 
In the fourth hall of the museum there is the Cross in a sign (Ankh) known to us the key to life and there are pieces of bronze and shows an olive branch and crescent and the cross inside a tag (Ankh), which strongly suggests unity in ancient times.

The sixth hall of the museum

The sixth hall of the museum includes many of the paintings (or Orientals), which was attached to the walls and the walls of the museum before renovations, and in the hall Boit (a village near Assiut) there are Orientals in the walls have been restored by scientific means in addition to two panels one of the Virgin Mary and the other for the Lord Jesus Christ, and there is a special section of the famous archaeological Coptic textiles in the world so it named "Qubati" proportion to the Copts of Egypt.

There is also a room full of many of the murals from various places Either from the St. Aramean monastery ,Saqqara,The most notably is a Pictograph in Altmbra method
shows a scene of Jesus raising his right hand giving the blessing and The left hand holding the Bible and the two angels on both sides . the other unique panel of the Virgin Mar, breastfeeding the Christ.
           The Saints Peter and Paul       
                                Date: 19th century                            
             
The Holy Family
Date: 19th century

 Virgin carrying a cross
Date: 18th century

St. Victor
Date: 18th century
 
 Christ on the throne of glory
Date: 18th century
Two eagle facing one another
Date: 6th century

The door of the  St. Barbara Church
 Date: 5th century
  
Cross within the wreath
Date: 6th century
John the Baptist
Date: 19th century

Visit of the Magi
Date: 17th century
Resurrection
Date: 19th century
The tomb of the stair and the Cross
Date: 5th century
The head of John the Baptist
Date: 18th century



Wednesday, November 30, 2011

The Egyptian Museum



Tour inside the The Egyptian Museum




The Egyptian Museum in Cairo Contains the largest collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities even if competing with the British Museum and the Louvre and the Metropolitan Museum (New York) .The Egyptian Museum is located in Tahrir Square - the heart of Cairo- since 1906 , The museum contains 136 thousand pharaonic,In addition to the hundreds of thousands of pharaonic in stores.

- The emergence and establishment of the museum: -

• the story of the establishment of the museum began with Great interest in the world  to Egyptian Antiquities after deciphering the Rosetta Stone at the hands of French scientist Champollion

• The initial nucleus of the museum at the small house in the ancient Uzbek pool where Muhammad Ali ordered to register the Egyptian fixed Antiquities and transfer the value Antiquities to the Museum of Uzbek and that in 1848.

• After the death of Muhammad Ali returned the theft of antiquities again and his successors walked on approach Credits, which led to the museum's holdings diminished.

• In 1858 (Mariette) was appointed as the first officer (the occupancy of Antiquities) which   corresponds now to(the Head of the Antiquities ). He found that there must be management and the Museum for Antiquities and therefore choose the Bulaq to create a museum of Egyptian antiquities and transfer the antiquities found during digging (such as the antiquities of Aah Hotep cemetery).

• In 1863, the Khedive Ismail, approved a project for a museum of Egyptian antiquities, but the project was not implemented,But suffice giving Mariette (Arboukhana) in front of Alontekkhana in Bulaq to expand his museum.
 
 • In 1878 - a very high Nile flood occurred, causing flooding Bulaq Museum and the loss of some of its contents.

• In 1881 museum was reopened, and in the same year, Mariette died - and his successor (Maspero) as Director of Antiquities and Museum.

• In 1891, when the groups of Bulaq Museum increased , it was transferred to Giza Saray. 

• When the scientist (De Morgan) came 'as head of the Department and the museum ,he

  made re-coordination of these groups in the new museum, known as the Museum of Giza.

• In the period from 1897 - 1899 M. Loret  Came as a successor to De Morgan.

• But Maspero returned once again to manage the interest - and the museum from 1899 - 1914 AD . In 1902,he transfered the Antiquities to the current building of the museum (in Tahrir Square), and was one of the most active in his second period of his world, Ahmed Pasha Kamal  who was the first specialist in ancient Egyptian Antiquities  and worked for many years the museum.

The first Egyptian director to the museum  was (Mahmoud Hamza) ,he was appointed in 1950. 

• This was a brief guide to the museum of status Maspero is due to 1883 but he has done a great guide for the new museum remained prints and repeats from 1915 until now (but with a series of amendments).
The most important museum collections : 

• The museum consists of two floors , the ground of them was allocated to the heavy  Antiquities ,The upper has been allocated for light Antiquities and complete sets (such as the Tutankhamun).
• The museum includes a large number of Egyptian antiquities from prehistoric times until the end of the Pharaonic era as well as some Greek and Romanian Antiquities.


examples of the museum collections

1- A set of pottery (from prehistoric times).
2 - Slaah Narmer (the era of unification).
3- Statue of Khasekhem (family 2). 

4 - Statue of Djoser (family 3).


5 - statues of Cheops / Chephren / Menkaure (family 4). 
 




6- Statue of Kaabr / statues of servants (family 5). 
7 - Dwarf Statue of SNP (family 6).
 
8 - Statue of Mentuhotep Nebhepetre (family 11).


9 - statues of Amenemhat I / II / III (family 12).




10 - Ka Statue of King Hor (family 13).


11 - statues of Hatshepsut / Tuthmosis III (family 18).


12 - Group of Tutankhamun (family 18).





13 - set the treasures of Tanis. 

- Sections of the museum: -

Antiquities were divided according to their importance or the amount provided as Section VI and VII,but the arrangements for the second and third and the fourth was based on the chronological order and taken into account the most important Antiquities included in section and other major periods in the another section,as follows:

Section I:  the Antiquities of the King Tutankhamun which is the outcome of the discovery of one Cemetery for one period of time .Antiquities amounted to more than 3500 pieces of antique gold in addition to the mummies.

Section II:  the old state, one of the prosperous periods in the history of ancient Egypt, a period of building the pyramids , the period of King Cheops and  A period in which the rule of the four families, "the third of the sixth."

Section III:  Central State. 

Section IV:  the modern state, the period of the great empire of Ramses II , Tutankhamun , Akhenaten , Merneptah and Tuthmosis 

Section V: From the family "21 to 30" that is, until the entry of Alexander the Great to Egypt. 

Section VI:  Department of papyrus and the currency, which brought together all the papyri .. 

Section VII: the "scarabs."


The most important gods at the Pharaohs which is found within the museum:

God Amun

 
Is one of the most important deities at the Pharaohs
,Karnak Temple is the most important temples .. And Amun means approximately hidden

The god Anubis


Is usually the gods of the dead .. And appears with
dog's head or a black wolf and body a man

God Hathor 

 


God of love, music, dance and fun ... Portrayed in three forms ((  Women with cow's ear or cow's head in the body of a woman and the sun disk between the horns


God Bastit


 
It appears with head cat .. It is like the goddess Hathor, fun, music and dance
..


God Horus

The son of Isis and the Azores ... Was also the god of the sky

God Isis

 
Goddess Isis in the form of humans .. Shaped like a woman
.. Cows with horns set in the middle The sun disk ..
Known as the wife of Osiris .. It holds the key to life in her hand a symbol of life


 Other photos from the museum

pair of gilded statues

The Ancient Egyptian Jewelry


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Triad of Menkaure