Galeria Sztuki Starożytnej

After a hiatus of nearly ten years, ancient art returns permanently to the Museum's exhibition halls. The new gallery features some 1,800 relics from the ancient civilizations of Egypt, the Middle East, Greece and Rome. Among the most interesting are: the sarcophagus and cartonage of the priest Hora Dzhuti with a mummy of an unknown woman, a hieroglyphic papyrus with the Book of the Dead (nearly 10 meters long), a ritual blind gate from the mastaba of an Egyptian official named Izi or a portrait of a young boy probably from the Phaium oasis (Egypt). One of the most valuable objects is a gold mask (protoma) in the shape of a bull's head from Iran. It also presents monumental antique marble sculptures . One of the halls is filled with relics of sophisticated Greek vase painting. Here you will be able to admire, among others, a vessel with the image of the poetess Safona. The exhibition demonstrates the links between ancient cultures and tells the story of the reception of antiquity in modern times. The character of the new Ancient Art Gallery is created by the play of light and shadow. The bright colors of the walls evoke images of desert sand and the Egyptian sun. Illuminated spaces are juxtaposed with dark halls reminiscent of the interiors of ancient tombs and Roman catacombs. The greatest achievements of Polish archaeology are connected with Professor Kazimierz Michałowski (1901-1981), who was associated with the Museum of the History of Polish Jews and Warsaw University. The scientist led many archaeological missions in Europe and Africa. The Gallery of Ancient Art will display artefacts discovered during excavations carried out by Polish archaeologists in Edfu (1937-1938), Myrmekion (1950s), Tell al-Atrib (work begun in the 1950s) and Faras (1961-1964), directed by Prof. Michałowski. Medieval monuments of Nubian Christian art from these excavations are presented in the Faras Gallery, adjacent to the Gallery of Ancient Art.