Long time, no museum posts! We visited Florence and Rome as part of a Summer 2025 trip to Italy, so here's the first post on Florence's archaeological museum, which will focus on the Ancient Egyptian collection in the Egyptian Museum:
The Archaeological Museum of Florence is located in the Piazza Santissima Annunziata, in the Palazzo della Crocetta, built in 1620 for princess Maria Maddalena de' Medici. It was imaugurated in 1870 by the King of Italy Victor Emanuel II, with the name of 'Etruscan Museum', as at that time the museum only comprised Etruscan and Roman artifacts. With time, the museum merged several collections of Egyptian, Etruscan, Greek and Roman antiquities, built upon the personal collections of the Medici and Lorraine families.
The Egyptian section of the museum (called the 'Egyptian Museum'), officially established in 1855, features a very large and important collection of antiquities from Ancient Egypt, and can be considered to be the second largest collection of Egyptian artifacts in Italy, second only to that of the Turin museum. In the 19th century, the Grand Duke of Tuscany Leopold II significantly increased the existing Egyptian artifacts from the Medici collection via the resulting plunder (let's be real, that's what commonly happens when archaeological diggings are involved) of a 1828-29 expedition to Egypt, financed by the Grand Duke and king Charles X, and led by Ippolito Rosellini (the 'father of Italian Egyptology') and Jean-François Champollion (the famous scholar who first deciphered the hieroglyphic script). After the return of the expedition, the resulting large number of artifacts (2200 objects!), both collected (plundered) from archaeological diggings and purchased from local merchants, were equally distributed between the Paris Louvre museum and the new Egyptian Museum in Florence. The collection of the florentine Egyptian museum continued to grow as a result of further excavations and purchases from Egypt, as well as of donations from scientific institutions and private collections.
Currently, the Egyptian museum includes more than 14000 pieces, displayed in nine
galleries according to chronological and topographic order (and also stored in two warehouses), ranging from the Predynastic period (6000 to 3150 BC) to the Coptic Age (1st-7th century AD). The collections feature stele, amulets, statues and statuettes, vases, mummies (which I especially don't agree with, as I find it quite disrespectful considering the weight Ancient Egyptians gave to the burials), a chariot from the 18th dynasty, the female portrait from Al-Fayyum (painted during the Roman occupation), statues dating to the reign of Amenhotep III (the father of Akhenaten), a pillar from the tomb of Seti I, belongings of Tjesraperet, the wet nurse of the daughter of Nubian Pharaoh Taharqa, a collection of fabrics from the Coptic age, and many remarkable artifacts from many periods.
My personal review of this museum is that I did enjoy it immensely, first of all, and I found the organization of the Egyptian museum to be superior to that of the Etruscan (and Greek and Roman) collections, which were displayed in a much more chaotic way, in my opinion. The Egyptian artifacts were well displayed and properly protected, as fas as I can remember, and the display rooms included some lovely decor, especially featuring a room with pillars and a painted starry ceiling (which was not 100% well maintained and a bit patchy, but still lovely).
As usual, this
will be quite a lengthy post, with lots of pictures, accompanied by the descriptions of each object and exhibit (often quoting the actual museum descriptions). So here goes!
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| Wall fragment with funerary inscription for Nesuredi, Old Kingdom, Dynasties V-VII (2465-2152 BC) |
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| Woman preparing beer, Old Kingdom, Dynasty V (2465-2323 BC). Limestone, plastered and painted. |
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| Model of a woman grinding grain, Old Kingdom, Dynasty V (2465-2323 BC). Limestone, plastered and painted. |
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| Pottery with geometric decoration, Naqada II (3650-3300 BC) |
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| Funerary stela of the priestess Kausut, End of the Old Kingdom (2650-2152 BC) |
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| Funerary stela of the prophet of Min Mery, End of the Old Kingdom (2650-2152 BC) (detail) |
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| Stela for a woman from her son Shepsipumin, End of the Old Kingdom (2650-2152 BC) |
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| Stela for a woman from her son Shepsipumin, End of the Old Kingdom (2650-2152 BC) (detail) |
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| Funerary stela of the instructor of the prophets Hotepi, First Intermediate Period (2152-2065 BC) |
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| Funerary stela of Intef, Middle Kingdom, Dynasty XI (2135-1994 BC) |
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| Autobiographic stela of the dignitary Samontuoser, Middle Kingdom, Dynasty XI (2135-1994 BC) |
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Funerary stela of the butler Khentekhtayaun, Middle Kingdom, Dynasty XII (1994-1781 BC) |
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| Funerary stela of the scribe of the great prison Siptah, Middle Kingdom, XII Dynasty (1994-1781 BC) |
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| Funerary stela of the prison scribe Senbi, Middle Kingdom, XII Dynasty (1994-1781 BC) |
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| Funerary stela of the scribe Hormeni, New Kingdom, Dynasty XVIII (1550-1291 BC) |
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| Objects from a foundation deposit from Pharaoh/Queen Hatshepsut's tomb. New Kingdom, Dynasty XVIII, reign of Hatshepsut (1479-1458 BC). |
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| Head of a statue of a queen portrayed as a goddess. New Kingdom, XVIII dynasty (1550-1291 BC) |
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| Bust of a female statue. New Kingdom, XVIII dynasty (1550-1291 BC) |
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| Black granite statue of Ptahmose, superintendent and treasurer of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. New Kingdom, XVIII dynasty (1550-1291 BC) |
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| Fragment of a door lintel from the tomb of Ensemhetuef. New Kingdom, XVIII dynasty (1550-1291 BC) |
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| Door jambs from the tomb of Djehutynefer at Thebes & funerary fragmentary relief of the royal scribe Djehutynefer . New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX (1291-1185 BC). |
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| Funerary fragmentary relief of the royal scribe Djehutynefer . New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX (1291-1185 BC) (detail). |
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| Door jambs from the tomb of Djehutynefer at Thebes. New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX (1291-1185 BC). |
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| Statue base of prince Merenptah. New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX (1291-1185 BC). |
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| Artistic reproduction of a scene in the tomb of Ramesses III (XX dynasty, 1189–1077 BC) in the Valley of the Kings, showing the pharaoh censing and libating before Ptah-Sokar-Osiris, protected by winged Isis. |
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| Bas relief with a scene of poultry farming next to some storehouses (New Kingdom, XVIII dynasty, reign of Akhenaton (1350–1333 BC) |
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| Linen textile stamped in red ink with the cartouches of Pharaoh Ramesses II (New Kingdom, XIX dynasty, c. 1279–1212 BC). The cartouches feature the king's prenomen (throne name), Usermaatre Setepenre ("Powerful is the justice of Ra, chosen of Ra"), and his nomen (birth name), Ramesses Meryamun ("Ra has fashioned him, beloved of Amun"). |
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| Sister goddesses Isis and Nephthys painted on the exterior of a canopic/ushabti chest (New Kingdom, XIX dynasty (1291-1185 BC). |
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| Bas relief fragment showing the head of a queen (New Kingdom, 1550-1069 BC). |
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| Bas relief from a pillar of the tomb of the pharaoh Seti I, depicting the pharaoh and the goddess Hathor (New Kingdom, XIX dynasty, reign of Seti I, 1289-1279 BC). |
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| Part of a stela dedicated to Osiris by the scribe Amenhotep (New Kingdom, end of the XVIII dynasty, 1550-1291 BC). |
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| Fragment of a stela dedicated to goddess Taweret (New Kingdom, XIX-XX dynasty, 1291-1069 BC). |
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| Top of the pyramid (pyramidion) from the tomb of the priest Amenhotep (New Kingdom, XVIII dynasty, 1550-1291 BC). |
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| Part of the funerary papyrus of Menna, the chief physician of the House of Life (New Kingdom, XVIII dynasty, 1550-1291 BC). |
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| Part of the funerary papyrus for Amenemope (New Kingdom, XIX dynasty, 1291-1185 BC). |
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| Detail from wall fragment from the tomb of the royal scribe and chief physician Iuty (New Kingdom, XIX dynasty, 1291-1185 BC). |
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Detail from wall fragment from the tomb of the royal scribe and chief physician Iuty (New Kingdom, XIX dynasty, 1291-1185 BC).
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| Heart scarabs (New Kingdom to Late Period, 1550-332 BC). |
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| Heart scarab (New Kingdom to Late Period, 1550-332 BC). |
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Limestone relief from the Saqqara necropolis depicting the lion-headed goddess Sekhmet on a pilaster from the tomb chapel of the High Priest of Ptah, Pahemnetjer (New Kingdom, XVIII dynasty, 1550-1291 BC). Details of a bas relief from the tomb of Saqqara of the dignitary and priest of Ptah, Ptahmose (New Kingdom, XIX dynasty, 1291-1185 BC): |
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| Cast bronze figure of the falcon god Horus wearing the Double Crown, symbolizing the royal union of Upper and Lower Egypt (Late Period, c. 664-332 BC). |
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| Cast bronze cat statuette, typically dedicated to the goddess Bastet (Late Period, c. 664-332 BC). Votive cat statuettes were also popular during the Ptolemaic period (304-30 BC). |
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| Statue of the priestess Tahibet, sistrum-player of the god Amun-Ra (Late Period, Dynasty XXVI, 664-525 BC). |
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| Funerary stela of Akhetcy (Ptolemaic period, 304-30 BC). |
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| Female Coptic mummy portrait on wood of the Fayum type (Roman Period, 4th century AD). |
Some sources:
http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/Museum_of_archaeology.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Archaeological_Museum,_Florence
https://www.guidemeflorence.com/archaeological-museum-florence/
