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. With this you have 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 chronologically.
The oldest relief fragments date back to the Old Kingdom (from around 2,700 BC) when Egypt had established itself as a unitary state under 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 a digging campaign in the necropolis of Giza (1909/1910) under the direction of Georg Steindorff no fully preserved image of the king could be discovered. Instead, countless fragments of different statues were found. Only a few of these fragments can be fitted together, so that the impression of the original design is rarely as good as with this object.
Apart from royal sculptures there are also several privately owned statuettes and statues from the Old Kingdom on display. Especially the exhibit “Schöne Müllerin von Leipzig” (beautiful miller of Leipzig) stands out above all.
The chronological tour continues with steles and memorial stones from the Middle Kingdom (from around 2,140 BC), including relief fragments and steles from the New Kingdom (from around 1,550 BC). 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 king statuettes of the Middle and New Kingdom show some representatives of the rulers of these epochs. In one of the cabinets there is a replica of the head of a statue of Queen Nofretete from the Armana period.
One of the younger exhibits is a Hathor cow with a sphinx that can be dated to the late period (from around 660 BC). 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.
Via two staircases from the main hall you get to a mezzanine floor, the vestibule, which is regularly used for alternating special exhibitions. It also occupies the initial object of the Egyptian collection of Leipzig: the wooden coffin of Hedbastiru which stands out in particular due to its filigree decoration.
THE BIG DISPLAY CASE IN THE SCRIPT ROOM
On this mezzanine floor there is the script room. There you can see a large wall display case in which the development of Egyptian writing, starting around 3,000 BC, is juxtaposed with the Mesopotamian writing system, the cuneiform script, using various examples. Displayed in another case you can see sherds with illustrations, so-called Ostraca. There are also numerous hieratic and hieroglyphic Ostraca of the New Kingdom as well as sherds with Demotic and Coptic inscripts from the Greek and Arabic periods.
Opposite from the script room there is room 111 in which objects from the Egyptian pre- and early period are on display. Exhibited, among other things, 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. Between cosmetic palettes used for grinding up 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 there are early stone tools as well as other grave finds.
On the right side of the Neptune Fountain there is a door leading into a room that is characterised 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 smoking stands are particularly impressive in terms of craftsmanship. For the neighbouring Egyptians, Nubia, today belonging in part to the Republic of Sudan, was colonisation territory, supplier of raw materials and a station along various trade routes. Apart from objects from Kerma, most pieces of the Leipzig collection come from the Lower Nubian village Aniba. The barrel-shaped clay coffin on display in the centre of the room also stems from the village 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 during the end of the first Intermediate Period around 2,100 BC. 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 also painted with motifs that express the afterlife wishes of the deceased while also guaranteeing the receiving of offerings. The mummy mask, four vessels and a sandal model are part of the equipment as well. The tomb owner was also provided with two wooden statuettes, models of an abattoir, a kitchen yard and a granary as well as four boat models, staffs and bows.
A staircase leads to the second floor. Beneath this staircase there 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 side of the display contain coins, remnants of fabric or rather clothing and papyrus fragments that can all be looked at. If you take a look upwards 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 reasons of conservation. At the top of the staircase there is another display case which shows objects on the subject of „Ägypten-Rezeption” (reception of Egypt). Ancient Egyptian motifs are taken up in the early period and passed on worldwide in the form of utility and ornamental items, souvenirs, replicas or 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. In its centre there is the big 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 built-in mechanism 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 the official Tep-em-anch from the Old Kingdom. Several fold-out elements allow you to take a look at the interiors.
The door of the right side of the pyramid room leads into the room dedicated to mortuary 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 mortuary cult as well as mummy masks from different epochs. Mummies of sacred animals illustrate the significance of god worship.
For ethical reasons the museum only showcases intact mummies, meaning those with fully preserved wrapping.
On the left side of the pyramid room there is another, broader door that leads into the walk-in depot. Since the Egyptian Museum of Leipzig is also an educational collection for students, the objects in this room are displayed as a sort of viewing depot. 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 magazine corresponds to specific subject areas or object groups like the categorisation into scarabs, amulets, seals and models, ushabti and jewellery. Two display cases show a collection of cosmetic utensils among other things. A big display case in the front area of the depot shows the development of Egyptian pottery from the Predynastic period to the end of the New Kingdom.