Allard Pierson Museum facts for kids
Museum in 2015
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| Established | 12 November 1934 |
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| Location | Oude Turfmarkt 127 Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Type | Archaeological museum |
| Accreditation | ICOM, Official Museums of Amsterdam |
| Visitors | 60,430 (2012) |
| Owner | University of Amsterdam |
The Allard Pierson Museum is a cool place in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It's the archaeological museum for the University of Amsterdam. Here, you can explore amazing objects from ancient times. Imagine seeing treasures from ancient Egypt, the Near East, Greece, Etruria, and the Roman Empire!
Contents
Who Was Allard Pierson?
The museum is named after a special person, Allard Pierson (1831–1896). He was the very first professor of classical archaeology at the University of Amsterdam. In 1877, he became a professor of art history and languages.
Allard Pierson loved ancient times. He traveled around the Mediterranean Sea. This inspired him to start collecting plaster copies of ancient statues. He gathered these copies between 1877 and 1895.
How the Museum Began
The second archaeology professor, Jan Six, had a huge collection. It included many old books and antique items. When he passed away in 1926, the university wanted his collection.
In 1932, Pierson's son, Jan Lodewijk, created the Allard Pierson Foundation. This foundation made the ancient collections available for learning and research. The collection moved to a building in Amsterdam. The top floor became a museum.
The museum's collection grew with new purchases, gifts, and loaned items. On November 12, 1934, the Allard Pierson Museum officially opened. It was in a building on Sarphatistraat. Soon, the museum needed even more space!
A New Home for Ancient Treasures
The museum found a new home in 1976. The Dutch Bank moved out of its office on Oude Turfmarkt. This building became the perfect new spot.
Princess Beatrix helped reopen the museum on October 6, 1976. It was an exciting day for everyone!
What You Can Discover
The museum holds collections from many ancient civilizations. These include Egypt, the Near East, Greece, Etruria, and the Roman Empire. You can see art and everyday tools from 4000 BC to 500 AD.
There are also small models of ancient temples and buildings. In the Ancient Egypt area, one room is all about death. It has real mummies and sarcophagi (ancient coffins). You can even watch a film about how mummification was done!
The "Gipsengalerij" is an attic full of plaster copies. These are copies of famous Roman and Greek statues. You can visit this gallery with a special guided tour.
The museum also has a great collection of Greek pottery. You can see examples of black-figure and red-figure pottery. These were made around 500-600 BC. There are also Roman sarcophagi on display. One rare wooden coffin from about 150 AD is carved to look like the person inside!
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Etrurian statuette of a tightly wrapped baby, possibly consecrated to the gods to avert children's diseases. 3rd–2nd century BC
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Bronze head of a Roman boy
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Osiris on a sarcophagus lid, Egypt, 2nd century AD
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Girls playing. Pottery, Corinth, circa 300 BC
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The Journey of the Crimean Treasures
In February 2014, the museum hosted a special exhibit. It was called "Crimea – Gold and Secrets of the Black Sea." This exhibit showed amazing Scythian art objects. They came from five museums in Ukraine, including four from Crimea. It was the biggest international show of Ukrainian treasures ever!
A month later, there was a big change in Crimea. This led to a disagreement about who owned the artifacts. The Allard Pierson Museum had agreements with both Ukraine and the individual museums.
In September 2014, some items were returned to mainland Ukraine. But the art from the Crimean museums stayed in storage in the Netherlands. This was until the ownership could be decided.
After several court decisions, it was decided the artifacts should go back to Ukraine. On November 22, 2023, an agreement was signed. The museum announced the transfer was complete on November 27. The treasures are now kept at the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in Kyiv. The Allard Pierson Museum will keep them safe until Crimea is fully returned to Ukraine.
Friends of the Museum
The museum gets help from a group called the Society of Friends of the Allard Pierson Museum. This group started in 1969. They support the museum's exhibits and activities. Today, there are about 1500 members!
See also
In Spanish: Museo Allard Pierson para niños
