Our museum is divided into numerous rooms on two floors, with each room being dedicated to a specific topic. Here you can find out more about the individual rooms and the objects exhibited in them.
We have collaborated with students from the University of Leipzig and created an interactive 3D model of our exhibition. It gives you the chance to explore our museum in 3D from home. Have fun!
A Tour through our exhibition rooms
Take a look into the main hall
Our tour starts in the main hall of our museum (Room 101) where reliefs and statues from the pharaonic and post-pharaonic eras of Egypt are displayed. The objects on display are arranged in chronological order.
The oldest relief fragments date back to the Old Kingdom (starting at around 2700 BCE) when Egypt had established itself as a unified state under a stable kingship for the very first time. Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, whose impressive tombs can still be marvelled at in Giza today, are the most well-known pyramid builders from this era. Particular attention should be paid to the facial fragment of a statue of Pharao Khafre. During excavations in the necropolis of Giza (1909/1910) under the direction of Georg Steindorff no fully preserved image of the king was discovered. Instead, countless fragments of different statues were found. Only a few of these fragments can be fitted together, so that the original design is rarely as clearly seen as it is with this object.
Apart from royal sculptures, there are also several privately owned statuettes and statues from the Old Kingdom on display. The “Schöne Müllerin von Leipzig” (the beautiful miller of Leipzig) stands out especially.
The chronological tour continues with steles and memorial stones from the Middle Kingdom (ca. 2140 BCE), including relief fragments and steles from the New Kingdom (ca. 1550 BCE). Also from this time there are the sitting figure and cube stool of Ruju, who held the office of deputy to the viceroy of Kusch. Additionally, various statuettes from the Middle and New Kingdom show some of the rulers of these epochs. In one of the display cases there is a replica of the head of a statue of Queen Nefertiti from the Armana period.
One of the newer exhibits on show is a Hathor cow with a sphinx that can be dated to the late period (ca. 660 BCE). The tour of the main hall ends with reliefs and steles from the Greco-Roman epoch of Egypt as well as the Roman and Arabic periods.
Two staircases from the main hall lead to a mezzanine floor, called the Vestibule, which is regularly used for temporary and special exhibitions. It also houses the object which started the Leipzig Egyptian collection: the wooden coffin of Hedbastiru. It stands out due to its filigree decoration.
THE BIG DISPLAY CASE IN THE SCRIPT ROOM
The Script Room is also on this mezzanine floor. There you can see a large wall display case in which the development of Egyptian writing, starting around 3000 BCE, is juxtaposed with the Mesopotamian writing system, the cuneiform script, using various examples. In another case you can see fragments of pottery with illustrations, called Ostraca. There are also numerous hieratic and hieroglyphic Ostraca from the New Kingdom as well as pottery fragments (also called sherds) with Demotic and Coptic inscripts from the Greek and Arabic periods.
Opposite the Script Room there is Room 111 in which objects from the prehistory and early history of Egypt are on display. Among other things in the exhibition, there is pottery from the Naqada culture, which was based in the Nile Valley, as well as a selection of exquisite vessels made from calcite alabaster, limestone and various hard rocks. Next to cosmetic palettes used for grinding eye-makeup, there are also game tokens made from ivory, as well as cylinder seals and necklaces made from various materials. In another display case are early stone tools as well as other grave finds.
On the right of the Neptune Fountain there is a door leading into a room that is dominated by wooden wall panelling and a stucco ceiling with griffins. In the individual compartments there are finds from Nubia on display such as vessels with incised patterns, jewellery and various figurines. Two metal incense holders are particularly impressive in terms of craftsmanship. For the Egyptians, neighbouring Nubia, which today belongs in part to the Republic of Sudan, was a territory for colonisation, a source of raw materials and a station on various trade routes. Apart from objects from Kerma, most pieces in the Leipzig collection come from the village of Aniba in Lower Nubia. The barrel-shaped clay coffin on display in the centre of the room also comes from Aniba, where it was excavated in 1912 under the direction of Georg Steindorff.
Room 113 is dedicated to the tomb equipment of the death priest Herishefhotep, who lived at the end of the first Intermediate Period around 2100 BCE. The tomb inventory consists of two box-shaped coffins and grave goods. In the centre of the room, there is the slender inner coffin with a copy of the outer coffin lid hovering above it. Other parts of the outer coffin are displayed separately. Both coffins are inscribed and painted with motifs that express the wishes of the deceased for the afterlife while also guaranteeing the preservation of sacrificial offerings. The mummy mask, four vessels and a model of a pair of sandals are also part of the equipment. The tomb owner was also provided with two wooden statuettes, models of an abattoir, a kitchen yard and a granary, as well as four model boats, staffs and bows.
A staircase leads to the second floor. Below the stairs is a built-in display case containing objects from the Greek and Arabic periods as well as pieces from post-pharaonic epochs. Drawers on the right of the display contain coins, remnants of fabric or clothing and papyrus fragments. If you look up, you will discover a copy of the Ebers Papyrus, which is the longest medical manuscript from Ancient Egypt. The original is in the Leipzig University Library but it is not displayed for conservation reasons. At the top of the staircase, there is another display case which shows objects on „Ägypten-Rezeption” (the reception of Egypt). Ancient Egyptian motifs are taken up in the early period and passed around the world in the form of everyday and ornamental items, souvenirs, replicas and forgeries. Here you can see a few such curiosities.
At the top of the staircase on the right, there is a door that leads right into the Pyramid Room. At its centre is a large model of a pyramid with a temple complex. The original edifice is located in Abusir, where it was built for a pharaoh of the Fifth Dynasty, Sahure. A mechanism built into the model makes it possible to look at the interior of the temple. In the back of the Pyramid Room, there is another model which shows the mastaba tomb of Tep-em-anch, a high-ranking official in the Old Kingdom. Several fold-out elements allow you to take a look at the interior.
The door of the right side of the Pyramid Room leads into the room dedicated to funerary practices. It introduces the Egyptian concepts of the afterlife as well as embalming and funeral rituals, which are exemplified by mummy finds. The display case in the centre of the room shows the colourfully decorated coffin and the mummy of Ta-dit-Usir. A display case on the wall shows objects from the funerary cult as well as mummy masks from different epochs. Mummies of sacred animals illustrate the importance of worshipping the gods.
For ethical reasons the museum only showcases mummies that are intact, meaning with fully preserved wrappings
On the lefthand side of the Pyramid Room there is another, broader door that leads into the repository. Since the Egyptian Museum of Leipzig is also a teaching collection for students, the objects in this room are displayed as a sort of open repository. A big wall display case shows more than 30 figures of gods and gives an overview of the centres of worship of Egyptian deities along the Nile. In some cases, the showcase design in the repository corresponds to specific subject areas or groups of objects such as scarabs, amulets, seals and models, ushabti and jewellery. Two display cases include a collection of cosmetic utensils and other articles. A large display case towards the front of the repository shows the development of Egyptian pottery from the Predynastic period to the end of the New Kingdom.