- Pergamon Museum
-
German Pergamonmuseumart museum in Berlin, Ger., that contains three separate museums: the Collection of Classical Antiquities (Antikensammlung), the Museum of the Ancient Near East (Vorderasiatisches Museum), and the Museum of Islamic Art (Museum für Islamische Kunst).Built between 1910 and 1930, the Pergamon is one of the museums constituting the internationally acclaimed National Museums of Berlin. Together with the Altes, Bode, Neues, and Old National Gallery, it is situated on the city's Museum Island, which in 1999 was named a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Pergamon is Berlin's most visited museum and takes its name from its main attraction, the altar of Zeus from Pergamon ( Pergamum). Considered a masterpiece of the Hellenistic Age, this ancient Greek structure was shipped to Berlin in 1910, and the museum was built, in part, to house it. The Pergamon Museum also contains other large archaeological structures, including the Market Gate of Miletus and the Ishtar Gate.The Collection of Classical Antiquities showcases works of Greco-Roman origin, including architectural remains, sculpture, pottery, bronzes, and jewelry. The Museum of Islamic Art exhibits Islamic art of the 8th to the 19th century representative of the various Islamic cultures ranging from India to Spain, although the collection's emphasis is primarily on Egypt, Iran, and the Middle East. The Museum of the Ancient Near East, one of the foremost collections of its kind, spreads through 14 rooms comprising some 21,530 square feet (2,000 square metres) of exhibit space in which its curators recount 6,000 years of Middle Eastern history. The collection features large architectural pieces, such as reconstructed temple facades, as well as smaller works, such as sculpture and jewelry.
* * *
Universalium. 2010.
