The Egyptian Museum of Barcelona opened its doors in 1994. Its pieces come from the private collection of Jordi Clos Llompart, president of the hotel chain Derby Hotels Collection, who created the Clos Archaeological Foundation to manage his collection and the museum.
This institution of cultural and educational interest was the first pharaonic-themed museum to be inaugurated in Spain and is one of the most important in Europe, thanks to the more than 1100 pieces on display. The permanent collection, its temporary exhibitions and its bibliographic collection specializing in ancient Egypt, make this museum a benchmark of Egyptian archeology.
The permanent collection of the Egyptian Museum of Barcelona
The museum's collection is organized in 10 categories that allow the visitor to approach the life and customs of the fascinating civilization of Ancient Egypt. All categories contain works of great artistic beauty and technical quality.
- Positions and characters: the functioning of ancient Egypt was based on a rigorous division of basic functions (administrative, religious and military), centralized in the figure of the pharaoh. In addition, there were a large number of highly hierarchical positions. Some of these positions and representatives of the different powers can be seen in this collection.
- The pharaoh: the pharaoh represented the highest level of the social pyramid: as the bearer of the divine blood, he was the guarantor of the cosmic order and ensured the proper functioning of the universe. Among the representations of pharaohs that you can see in the Egyptian Museum of Barcelona, highlights a head statue of the pharaoh Nectanebo I and a statue of Ramses III.
- Jewelry: many pieces of jewelry created by the craftsmen and artists of ancient Egypt have survived to the present day. Amulets, necklaces or rings of great beauty, made of gold, precious stones and other materials, whose magical power was to protect or benefit their wearers.
- Stone and pottery: Stone in Egypt was more important than pottery. In addition, small-scale stonework, such as those we can see in this section of the collection, allowed the Egyptians to learn and practice the techniques they later used in the great works.
- Cosmetics and eroticism: the care that the Egyptians dedicated to their bodies is evident in this section in which we can also see pieces dedicated to eroticism, although it was not very present in the art and literature of ancient Egypt.
- Beliefs and funerary practices: this section highlights the belief of the Egyptians in eternal life, a belief that even extended to certain sacred animals such as cats. That is why you can see a mummy of this species.
- The burial chambers: the pieces that remained in contact with the mummies inside the burial chambers: sarcophagi, canopic vases or amulets. Around them, figures of divinities, ushebtis or funerary models could also be distributed.
- The chapel for rituals: in this category of the museum you can see the reproduction, in real scale, a part of the chapel of Nakht and the restitution, from original elements, of the chapel of a character called Iny.
- Worship in temples: the temple was the house of the gods. This section of the Egyptian Museum of Barcelona contains reliefs from temples, stelae, votive figures and liturgical instruments.
- Gods of Egypt: an extensive display of divinities, grouped by divine triads, manufacturing techniques or presented individually for their aesthetic and technical quality.
The Egyptian Museum in the Barcelona Card
The Barcelona Card offers free admission to more than 25 museums in Barcelona, including the Egyptian Museum of Barcelona. However, the Barcelona Card is much more as you will get discounts at numerous tourist attractions such as Casa Batlló, La Pedrera, L'Aquàrium or the Montjuïc Cable Car, and it will also allow you to use Barcelona's public transport free of charge and unlimited (including the airport metro).
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