Allard Pierson Museum facts for kids
Museum in 2006
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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 of the University of Amsterdam. Here, you can explore amazing objects from ancient times.
The museum shows artifacts from old civilizations. These include ancient Egypt, the Near East, the Greek World, Etruria, and the Roman Empire.
Contents
Who Was Allard Pierson?
The museum is named after Allard Pierson (1831–1896). He was the 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 area.
His travels inspired him to start collecting plaster casts. These were copies of ancient statues. He collected them from 1877 to 1895.
How the Museum Started
The second archaeology professor, Jan Six, had many old books and objects. 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 helped make the ancient collections available for study.
The collection was moved to a building in Amsterdam. The top floor became the museum.
The museum's collection grew with new items. These items were bought, given as gifts, or loaned.
On November 12, 1934, the Allard Pierson Museum officially opened. It was located at Sarphatistraat 129-131. Soon, the museum needed more space.
The Museum's Current Home
The museum found a new home in 1976. The Dutch Bank moved out of their building at Oude Turfmarkt.
This building became the new museum. Princess Beatrix attended the re-opening. This special event happened on October 6, 1976.
What You Can See at the Museum
The museum has collections from many ancient cultures. These include Egypt, the Near East, the Greek World, Etruria, and the Roman Empire.
You can see art and tools from 4000 BC to 500 AD. There are also small models of ancient temples and buildings.
In the Ancient Egypt section, there's a special room about death. It has mummies and sarcophagi (ancient coffins). You can even watch a film about how mummification was done.
The museum also has a plaster-cast attic. This area shows copies of Roman and Greek statues. You can visit it with a guided tour.
The museum's Greek pottery collection is very cool. It has examples of black-figure and red-figure pottery. These were made in the 5th and 6th centuries BC.
You can also see Roman sarcophagi. One rare wooden coffin from around 150 AD is carved like the person inside it.
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Etrurian statuette of a tightly wrapped baby. It might have been given to gods to prevent children's diseases. Made between 3rd and 2nd century BC.
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Bronze head of a Roman boy.
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Osiris on a sarcophagus lid from Egypt. Made in the 2nd century AD.
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Girls playing. This pottery is from Corinth, around 300 BC.
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The Crimea Exhibit Story
In 2014, the museum hosted a special exhibit called "Crimea – Gold and Secrets of the Black Sea." It showed Scythian art objects. These came from museums in Crimea and mainland Ukraine.
This was a huge international exhibit of Ukrainian treasures. But soon after, there was a disagreement about who owned the artifacts. This happened because the area where some museums were located changed.
The Allard Pierson Museum had agreements with both Ukraine and the museums. So, the artworks stayed in the Netherlands while the issue was 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 finished on November 27. The artifacts are now kept in a museum in Kyiv, Ukraine. The Allard Pierson Museum said it would keep them safe until the situation in Crimea is resolved.
Friends of the Museum
The museum's exhibits and activities get help from the Society of Friends of the Allard Pierson Museum. This group started in 1969.
Today, the Society has about 1500 members. They support the museum's important work.
See also
In Spanish: Museo Allard Pierson para niños
