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Athena Review   

Galleries and Museums

 [see also: Exhibition Reports]       New:   Glass of the Sultans ;  Monks & Merchants

Egypt and the Near East:

Egypt:

• Cleopatra, the last Pharaoh   an essay with links.
• Egyptian Museum   in Cairo. The home of ancient Egyptian displays.
• House of Ptolemy  Portal site to Ptolemaic and Byzantine Egypt.
• Louvre Museum   Egyptian and Coptic exhibits, in the Paris museum
• Meidum Pyramid  a "virtual" trip inside this early pyramid
• Metropolitan Museum   Ancient Egyptian collections, in New York.
• Middle Egyptian  On the hieroglyphic texts, with links.
• Paankhenamun: Evaluation of an Ancient Egyptian Mummy   3-D cat-scan display and discussion by medical scientists.
• Pharaonic Village  web displays of a reenactment of ancient Egyptian life.
• Royal Tombs of the New Kingdom  An essay with links to graphic displays and tomb plans, including the Museum of Natural History in New York.
• Sphinx  Views of the immortal statue guarding the Pyramids of Giza, and restoration information.
• Step Pyramid of Djoser  a clickable plan from the University of Pennsylvania.
• Tel-El-Amarna    the M.A. Mansoor collection.
• University of Cambridge, Newton Institute    Egyptology Resources, and links.
• University of Memphis  Institute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology.
• Waseda University Egyptian Center   archaeology projects by a Japanese university.

Israel:  

• Hecht Museum    an archaeological museum in Haifa.
• Israel Bible Museum   Displays on the Old Testament, located in Safad.
• Israel Museum    in Jerusalem. Includes archaeology  from Paleolithic through Roman eras.
• Israel National Museum of Science   in  Haifa, with exhibits from DaVinci to Superhets (ie., early radio).
• Jerusalem Mosaic   a "virtual" tour of the city.
• Kibbutz Ein Dor Archaeological Museum  Artifacts found in the Lower Galilee and the Jezreel Valley tell of the continuity of early settlement from the prehistoric period  up through the Early Arab Period.

United Arab Emirates (UAE):

• Al Ain Museum    Archaeology displays on Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Hellenistic, and Islamic periods.

sub-Saharan Africa:

South Africa:

• Durban Art Gallery

Europe:

Bulgaria:

• Museum Towns in Bulgaria:A travel guide to Bulgaria, with information on Roman remains at Plovdiv and Nessebur, and other towns regarded as national treasures.
• Pernik District Museum:The site describes the local museum of history.
• Sofia Museums:Presents information on the National Archaeological Museum, the History Museum, and the Art Museum.

Croatia:

• Archaeological Museum in Zagreb   Covers seven millennia from Neolithic to Late Iron Age, Hellenistic, and Roman times.

Czech Republic:

• National Museum  Archaeology and prehistory of Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia; anthropology; and natural history collections in mineralogy, paleontology and zoology,  exhibited in several palaces and other historic structures in Prague.

Denmark:

• Antikmuseet, Aarhus Universitet
• National Museum of Denmark   Includes Danish and Greenland archaeology and ethnography; in Copenhagen.

England (UK):

• Ashmolean Museum, Oxford   Brief descriptions of exhibits present and future; maps of museum rooms.
• British Museum   Major collections in Classical, Egyptian, Near Eastern, Bronze Age, Iron Age, & Romano-British archaeology.
• Mary Rose Maritime Museum   The English ship sunk in 1545, now Virtually resurrected at Portsmouth.
• Museum of Antiquities, University of Newcastle  Major collections from Hadrian's Wall sites featuring Romano-British sculpture, plus altars from temples including Benwell, and a virtual Mithraeum.
• Museum of London:    Main page for the largest, most comprehensive city museum in the world. Covers London from prehistoric times to the present day.
• Reading Museum   -  The City's museum has large collections from Roman Silchester and the Reading abbey.
• University of Cambridge - The Museum of Classical Archaeology  
• Virtual Library of Museums  -  Detailed lists of exhibits around the UK and elsewhere (hosted at Oxford).

Estonia:

• Art Museum of Tartu University  Exhibits on worldwide art, both ancient and modern.
• Estonian Literary Museum    Folklore, music, and literary archives in Tartu, with manuscripts dating back to the 16th c.
• Estonian National Museum   Exhibits on Estonian people and culture (ie.18th century folk art; rural owner's marks); in Tartu.
• Museum of Viljandi   Regional museum in Viljandi, Estonia includes archaeology from 7th millenium BC to 13th c. AD; and Medieval collections from the 13th-17th centuries, focusing on the Viljandi castle.

Finland:

• Aboa Vetus-the Discovered Town  Museum of Archaeology and History.
• Finnish National Gallery   Three sections of fine art, in Helsinki.
• Museum of Central Finland  Provincial Museum in Jyväskylä , specializing in cultural history.
• National Museum of Finland   in Helsinki; links to archaeology projects in Finland.

France:

• Aix-en-Provence Museums  -  a selection from art to archaeology, in French Provence.
• Chateau de Versailles  - the palace of palaces, located near Paris, was built by the Sun-king Louis XIV and his heirs.
• Louvre  -  The central museum in Paris, including famous Egyptian exhibits, plus  Near East, Greek, Roman, Renaissance, and 17th-19th century collections. The Louvre was first built as a fort in 1190 by Philippe-Auguste, then expanded into a palace at the end of the 16th century by Henry IV and Marie de Medici.
• Marseilles Museums  - a selection with basic information, opening hours, and locations.
• Musee Carnavalet   The museum of the history  of Paris, housed in the Hotel Carnavalet, built in 1568 in the Marais district and rebuilt in the 17th century by Mansart. Between 1677 and 1696, it was the home of Madame de Sévigné.
• Musees Database - look-up listings on French museums from the DMF.
• Musee de Cluny  France's National Museum of the Middle Ages, housed partly in a 3-4th century AD Roman bathhouse on the Left Bank in Paris. Merovingian sculptures and Medieval tapestries, including the famed Lady with the Unicorn.
• Musee des Augustins - Medieval collections, in Toulouse.
• Musee de l'Homme  Paleoanthropology, prehistory, ethnography. A central collection in Paris.
• Musee Rodin  Collection of drawings and sculptures from the great 19th century sculptor of the human form,  August Rodin (1840-1919) located in his old Paris studio in the Hôtel Biron.
• Normandy  - listing and descriptions include interesting smaller museums in Normandy.

Germany:

• Bayern- Staatliche Museen   -  Listings of numerous town museums in Bavaria.
• Berlin - Staatliche Museen   -  City Museum of Berlin.
• Bingen   -   Museum in this Rhine town, with information on Hildegard of Bingen (AD 1098-1179), author of Liber Divinorum Operum, in the Lucca Codex; plus earlier Roman materials.
• Castles in South Germany    Click on a series of maps to see descriptions of Baden-Württemberg's palaces, castles, monasteries, churches and gardens.
• Deutsches Museum -  in Munich, a major museum of science and natural history.
• Germanisches Nationalmuseum   -  the German national museum, in Nuremburg.
• Gutenberg Museum   -   In Mainz, city of the pioneering printer whose first bibles came out in AD 1450-1460.
• Köln - Museen   -  Listings of Museums in Cologne, including the Römisch-Germanisches Museum, one of the largest and best archaeological collections from Roman settlements on the Rhine.
• Museums in Germany  -  Listings from the Virtual Library site.
• Neanderthal Museum  -  Physical anthropology and technology displays (English and German) on the famous hominids first found in the Neander Valley in 1856.
• Pergamon Museum  Located in Berlin,  a major museum featuring a huge, temple-sized altar from the Hellenistic site of Pergamon in Turkey, plus Middle East, Islamic, Far East, and ethnographic collections.
• Radio Museum  - in Rottenburg an der Laaber.
• Rheinisches Landesmuseum  -  Located in Trier, the museum holds one of the best Roman-era collections from German Gaul, including many inscriptions and sculptures from this ancient capital on the Moselle river.
• Schiffahrtsmuseum - Maritime Museum in Rostock, with emphasis on recovery of 16th century ships.
• Stuttgart Museums -  Galleries and museums in the southern German city of Stuttgart.

Greece:

• Acropolis Museum   Located on the central hill (acropolis) of Athens near the Parthenon. Collections include many fine reliefs including "Mourning Athena," the Caryatids or pillars shaped as goddesses from the porch of the Erectheum (a smaller temple next to the Parthenon), and several Late Archaic Kourai or standing female figures with exquisite renderings of hair and drapery.
• Cultural Map of Hellas  A good jumping off point to explore the ancient treasures of Greece and the Greek Islands. Well put together by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture.
• Epigraphical Museum  Examples on the museum's webpage includes the decree of the Athenian popular assembly (Demos) before the Persian invasion in  480 BC; and a sacred law on temple-worship on the Acropolis from 485 BC.
• National Archaeological Museum of Athens   Since 1889, housing the most important finds from Greece and the Greek Islands. Superb exhibits from Neolithic through Mycenean, Geometric, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman eras.
• Thessaloniki - Archaeological Museum   Opened in 1971, the museum houses important collections from northern Greece including the recently found tombs at Derveni   (late 4th century BC), and other exhibits related to Alexander the Great.

Iceland:

• Árni Magnússon Institute  Árni Magnússon (1663-1730), an Icelander and professor at the University of Copenhagen, had a major collection of Medieval Icelandic manuscripts, now in the Arnamagnæan Institute. Examples include the 12 c. AD  Íslendingabók (Book of the Icelanders), and early versions of the Kings saga.India:

• Indian Museum in Calcutta   Information on a number of exhibits including Buddhist Temple Banners from Tibet. The collection was started in 1784 by the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
• Museums of India    List with addresses and opening hours.
• Prince of Wales Museum  Materials from the early Harappan civilization onward; located in Bombay.

Ireland:

• Hunt Museum   Archaeology and history museum in Limerick, especially notable for its Medieval and tapestry collections.
• National Gallery of Ireland  In Dublin; 14th-20th century paintings and sculpture, with many European and Irish masterpieces.

Italy:

• Italian Museums   - Useful, if not scholarly.
• Vatican Museum  -  Major collections from Classical and Renaissance Rome, located by St. Peter's Cathedral in the Vatican City.

Norway:

• Bergen Museum   at the University of Bergen.
• Norse Museum Net  with search facility.

Scotland (UK):

• Hunterian Museum, Univ. of Glasgow, Scotland   Features Romano-British sites along the Antonine Wall. Permanent exhibits include Roman Scotland, Egypt, and the explorations of Captain Cook.
• National Museum of Scotland   Scottish prehistory and history, with an extensive Roman collection.

Slovakia:

• Slovak Museums   Those in Bratislava include the Archaeological Museum, the Museum of Jewish Culture, and the Slovak National Museum.

Slovenia:

• National Museum of Slovenia    New exhibit on the Early Middle Ages (5th - 10th centuries AD).

Spain:

• Barcelona Museos   Listing of  the many museums in Barcelona, with addresses and schedules.
• Prado (Museo del Prado)

Turkey:

• Istanbul Museum of Painting and Sculpture  Hundreds of paintings online, from many Turkish and European artists.

Wales (UK):

• Wellcome Museum, Swansea (University of Wales)  Holdings from the Near East, Greece, Rome, and Egypt, including the new Egypt Centre Wales.

Far East:

China:

• Beijing Art Museum   Calligraphy, painting, weaving and embroideries, porcelain, furniture, ancient coins and artifacts from the Neolithic to the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
• Henan Museum   Exhibits range from bronze age vessels and ancient sculpture to pottery; also a natural history collection with fossils of dinosaur eggs.

Japan:

• Museum Meiji-Mura  Meiji-mura (Meiji Village): open-air museum of Japanese architecture from the Meiji period (1868-1912).

Singapore:

• Asian Civilizations Museum  Learn about Ikat, Songket, Batik, and other native textile traditions in Southeast Asia.
• Singapore Art Museum   Exhibits on Themes in Asian Art, and A Century of Art in Singapore.

Mexico and Central America:

Costa Rica:

• Museo Nacional  in San Jose. Includes large archaeological and historical collections.

Guatemala:

• Museo Nacional de Arqueologia e Historia  Guatemala City
• Museums in Guatemala  
• Tikal National Park  The major Maya lowland site of Tikal  excavated since the 1950's, with the Morley Museum on site.

Honduras:

• Copán Museum  Displays from the Maya site of Copán, one of the Late Classic regional capitals.

Mexico:

• Museo Nacional de Antropologia   Central collections on the many ancient civilizations of Mexico (Olmec, Zapotec, Maya, Toltec, Huastec, Chichimec, Aztec) and Mexican ethnography. Located in Mexico City (DF).
• Museos de México     Museums grouped by state. From the magazine México Desconocido.
• México- Arte y Cultura, Museos y Galerías    Listing of  links to Galleries and Museums.
• Museo Carlos Pellicer   Villahermosa, Tabasco. Collections on Olmec, Maya, and related Gulf Coast cultures.
• Museo Regional de Yucatán Merida, Yucatán. Extensive displays on Maya sites and civilization.
• Templo Mayor   Site and museum at the ancient Aztec ceremonial center in Tenochtitlán (today, Mexico City).

North America:

Canada:

• Musee Canada des Civilizations
• Royal Ontario Museum  Toronto

United States:

• Bishop Museum   Honolulu. Main ethnographic and archeological collections from Hawaii.
• American Museum of Natural History   in New York City. From dinosaurs to outer space, via archaeology.
• Florence Hawley Ellis Museum of Anthropology   Ethnographic and archaeological collections in Abiquiu, New Mexico.
• Maxwell Museum of Archaeology   - at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
• Metropolitan Museum   In New York City.  Superb collections and displays ranging from the archaeology of ancient Egypt , Classical Greece and Rome, and the Near East, to Renaissance and Impressionist art.
• Smithsonian Institution  Washington, DC: Vast resources and exhibits on natural history, ethnography, archaeology, art history, US and Far Eastern history, airplanes and space exploration, and the history of science and technology.

South America:

Argentina:

• Museo de La Plata    Displays in ethnography and archaeology (NE Argentina, Andes, and Egyptian civilizations), zoology, and paleontology.

Brazil:

• Museu Nacional   Information on the National Museum of Brazil, Universidade Federal do Río de Janiero. Also here. 

Chile:

• Museo Arqueologico San Miguel de Azapa   Includes exhibit on the Arica site in northern Chile.
• Museo Historica Nacional  

Colombia:

• Museo Nacional de Colombia    Includes links to Colcultura (Colombian Culture), the Instituto Colombiano de Antropología, and the Revista Colombiana de Antropología.

[Revisions are underway; viewers' suggestions for links are always welcome.]

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