Considered one of the best museums in Egypt, the national museum is located in a restored palace and contains some 1,800 artifacts that tell the history of Alexandria through the ages, including the Pharaonic, Roman, Coptic and Islamic eras. There are also some more modern pieces, including 19th century glass cups, silverware, porcelain and precious jewels, which prove the luxury of the court of Mohammed Ali and his descendants.
The mummies are displayed in a special underground chamber in the basement. In addition, some of the items found during underwater archaeological excavations in Alexandria are now on the same floor as the Greco-Roman artifacts.
After realizing that the museums of Egypt were originally created not to assume an educational and cultural role, but to function as buildings to store antiques, the Ministry of Culture started to transform them into places that transmit a cultural message to the visitor about the varied creative products of Egyptian civilization. The National Museum of Alexandria is the first of its kind in Egypt. He is the only one who tells the story of the people of Alexandria through antiquity.
Al-Saad Bassili Pasha Palace
The first constriction of the palace happened in 1926, covering an area of ​​3,480 square meters. It is a white Italian-style mansion located in a large garden of rare trees and plants. The palace has four floors and an underground shelter, which was used during the air strikes of World War II. The construction project was done by a French engineer who used Italian styles in his construction. Its three-storey palace was a meeting place for upper-class people from Egyptian society in Alexandria, including notables such as former Egyptian ministers, Ismail Sedqi Pasha and Ali Maher Pasha, along with many others. This villa was sold to the Americans as a consulate in 1960 and, later, in 1997, it was purchased by the Ministry of Culture. Its transformation into a museum had high standards adopted, especially in exhibition techniques and in the design of educational and cultural galleries.
Installations:
After the main gate, there is a semi-rounded staircase in view of a marble statue of the Graeco-Roman period of real size. Crossing a small but luxuriously decorated hall with two rows of gray marble columns sprinkled, is the entrance to the museum.
Inside, Inside, the symbolic colors used, as they were during Pharaonic times, were found in a specific arrangement. It can be noted that the Pharaonic section itself has dark blue walls. This color is intended to portray the journey of the ancient Egyptians to their eternal afterlife. In the Graeco-Roman Period section, objects are set against a marble-colored backdrop, reflecting romance and a lust for life. Since Copts and Muslims share beliefs about heaven, the sections reserved for artifacts from these religious traditions are colored green.
In addition, the museum has a basement room that has been transformed into an audiovisual workshop in which visitors can visit the museum using computer programs that display all items in the museum from a variety of angles.
Exhibitions
Over 1800 pieces on the history of Alexandria and Egypt are on display. Most of the pieces come from other Egyptian museums.
First floor: Egyptian art. The mummies are displayed in a special underground chamber (basement).
Second floor: Greco-Roman art. Includes artefacts from underwater archaeological excavations in Alexandria.
Third floor: Coptic, Arabic and modern art.
Collection:
The artifacts within the museum's collection have not been displayed in the past. They were already stored in several other Egyptian museums and therefore came from the Museum of Egyptian Antiquity and the Coptic and Islamic Museums in Cairo.
Items from the Pharaonic period cover each period, including the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms. Among the works of art on display are a statue of King Miquerinos, the builder of the third pyramid of Giza, a head of a statue of Aquenáton (Amenófis IV) and a head of Hatchepsut, the great female pharaoh of Egypt. There is also a beautiful statue of a scribe and several figurines of servants represented in the middle of daily activities, as well as several gift tables, construction tools and statues of deities.
There is also a replica of a tomb, similar to that of the Valley of the Kings in the West Bank in Luxor (formerly Thebes), which has a mummy and funerary equipment. These items include canopic flasks, an anthropoid sarcophagus with the mummy, ushabti figures and the private goods of the deceased. The tomb aims to provide an overview of the ancient Egyptian concept of burial and the afterlife.
Among the most notable objects are the beautifully painted terracotta tanagra figures of elegantly dressed Greek women. The figurines remain immobile in style, wearing hats or veils, and holding children, fans or pets.
From the Roman period, the exhibits include busts of Emperor Hadrian and a red granite statue of Caracalla. The collection also features reports of pioneering scientific studies on the human body carried out in Alexandria, with marble hands, legs and torsos.
The museum's highlight is an exhibition of artifacts created during underwater excavations around Alexandria in recent years. To provide a comprehensive look at this new branch of archeology. In this, we find some of the most important pieces raised from the seabed, including a black basalt statue of a high priest in a temple of the goddess Isis, erected in 1998, a 2.2 meter granite statue of Isis found in May of 2001. It is also the granite stele of King Nakhtnebef, which is an identical copy of the Naucratis stele, discovered in the sunken city of Heraklion, in the sea, of Abusir.
The floor dedicated to Coptic and Islamic items has a variety of objects from the two most important religious traditions in Egypt. Coptic Christian items include icons of Jesus and the Virgin Mary and the Last Supper, such as tombstones and clothing decorated with gold and silver crosses. Referring to Islamic objects are a collection of 162 gold and silver coins minted in Alexandria, a series of metal incense burners, chandeliers, decorated ceramics, doors and windows with geometric ivory ornamentation.
Finally, the life of the ancient Egyptian royal family is shown by a collection of magnificent jewelry, gold and silver awards with jewelry, watches, crystal glasses and vases, not to mention gold-plated bags, rings, necklaces and bracelets.
Among the most notable objects are the beautifully painted terracotta tanagra figures of elegantly dressed Greek women. The figurines remain immobile in style, wearing hats or veils, and holding children, fans or pets.
From the Roman period, the exhibits include busts of Emperor Hadrian and a red granite statue of Caracalla. The collection also features reports of pioneering scientific studies on the human body carried out in Alexandria, with marble hands, legs and torsos.
The museum's highlight is an exhibition of artifacts created during underwater excavations around Alexandria in recent years. To provide a comprehensive look at this new branch of archeology. In this, we find some of the most important pieces raised from the seabed, including a black basalt statue of a high priest in a temple of the goddess Isis, erected in 1998, a 2.2 meter granite statue of Isis found in May of 2001. It is also the granite stele of King Nakhtnebef, which is an identical copy of the Naucratis stele, discovered in the sunken city of Heraklion, in the sea, of Abusir.
The floor dedicated to Coptic and Islamic items has a variety of objects from the two most important religious traditions in Egypt. Coptic Christian items include icons of Jesus and the Virgin Mary and the Last Supper, such as tombstones and clothing decorated with gold and silver crosses. Referring to Islamic objects are a collection of 162 gold and silver coins minted in Alexandria, a series of metal incense burners, chandeliers, decorated ceramics, doors and windows with geometric ivory ornamentation.
Finally, the life of the ancient Egyptian royal family is shown by a collection of magnificent jewelry, gold and silver awards with jewelry, watches, crystal glasses and vases, not to mention gold-plated bags, rings, necklaces and bracelets.
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