A “Mummy of a Woman” – the 19th-Century Beginnings of the National Museum in Warsaw’s Egyptological Collection

Abstract

The Egyptological collection of the National Museum in Warsaw has its roots in the antiquities collection of the University of Warsaw. The collection acquired its first mummy in 1821 – unfortunately, it was likely a counterfeit. Subsequent mummies and sarcophagi enriched the collection in 1826, 1864 and 1895. Initially, the ancient Egyptian artefacts and other ancient curiosities were allotted to the Museum of Archaeology, which was in the process of being established within the structure of the Museum of Fine Arts but ultimately never came to be. Some of the artefacts were exhibited in 1869 at the Museum of Antiquities founded by Hipolit Skimborowicz, which was later transformed into the University’s Cabinet of Archaeology.  In 1918–19, the mummies and sarcophagi, along with a collection of amulets and other Egyptian antiquities, were transferred to the National Museum of the Capital City of Warsaw as deposits of the University of Warsaw. At the time, the Museum also acquired a decorative cartonnage which came with the collection of Count Michał Tyszkiewicz of Lahoysk.