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The Egyptian antiquities in Croatia

Most of the Egyptian antiquities came to Croatia in the second part of 19th century from various private collections. There are more than 3140 artifacts pertaining to the Egyptian civilization kept in the Archaeological Museum of Zagreb, the most important cultural and museological institution of Zagreb and Croatia. The nucleus of the collection dates from the donation in 1862 of the well known ‘ Zagreb mummy of Nesi-Hensu’ with its linen Etruscan wrappings (Liber linteus Zagrabiensis). The bulk of collection consists of the Egyptian collection of the Austrian baron Franz Koller that was bought for the National Museum in Zagreb in 1868. Today it comprises about 2300 artifacts of Egyptian origin. Next to the Egyptian department as a main part of the Egyptological inventory of the Archaeological Museum of Zagreb, there are many other artifacts related to the history of Egypt kept in the museum. There are about 500 pieces of Ptolemaic coinage, and the coins from the Roman era minted in Alexandria kept in the Numismatic department. The Antique department is comprised of the statues, statuettes and epigraphic monuments related to the Egyptian cults of Greco-Roman era, originating from the Mediterranean or from the Croatian historical area. During the last 150 years, the collections have been supplemented by a variety of smaller or larger purchases and donations by private individuals, so the number of artifacts increases constantly. There are also smaller or larger collections of Egyptian origin in other museums in Croatia. The most important collections according to the number of artifacts are to be found in the Mimara Museum in Zagreb (503), the Archaeological Museum of Dubrovnik – the Dubrovnik museums (197), the Archaeological Museum of Split (84), the Archaeological Museum of Istria in Pula (38), the Collection of the St. Euphemia monastery in Kampor on the island of Rab (14), the Archaeological collection of The Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb (11), the Archaeological Museum of Zadar (13), The Museum of Slavonia in Osijek (10), Museum of the City of Varaždin (6), the Franciscan monastery in Sinj (6), and in about dozen more town and regional museums with only one or two artifacts. According to our knowledge, there are 4034 artifacts in museum institutions and unknown number (around 1000) of artifacts in private collections in Croatia. Since 2004 on-line database Croato-Aegyptica Electronica (available at www.croato-aegyptica.hr) offers details of some of the Egyptian collections in Croatia.

Ancient Egypt; Croatia; museum collections; artefacts

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