Vorderasiatisches Museum

Description

On the Museumsinsel in Berlin, the Vorderasiatisches Museum holds an established position among the Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin. It occupies rooms on the main and basement levels of the Südflügel of the Pergamonmuseum and preserves an internationally significant collection of Near Eastern antiquities. Due to extensive refurbishment work the museum remains closed until its scheduled reopening in 2037.

The collection began in the mid-19th century, when Prussia acquired reliefs from the excavations at Ninive in London. Over time the holdings expanded through close connections with archaeological expeditions and patrons; in 1899 a separate department for Near Eastern finds was established at the Königlichen Museen. After interim locations in various buildings, the department was given space in the Südflügel of the subsequently built Pergamonmuseum; the collection moved into the new rooms in 1929. In the 1930s major monuments such as the Ischtar-Tor and the Prozessionsstraße were presented to the public; further rooms followed, including a hall with wall paintings from Boğazkale and plaster casts of reliefs from the nearby rock sanctuary.

The spatial presentation—with monumental reconstructions, bold wall colours, a combined display of originals and casts, and a developed didactic layout—was exceptional at the time of its creation and shaped the museum’s appearance into the postwar period. During the Second World War the collections largely survived; following returns from abroad the collection was already on public display again in the 1950s.

Currently alterations and reconfigurations are planned: a central depot in Berlin-Friedrichshagen will accommodate large-format objects, and the Südflügel of the Pergamonmuseum is to be redesigned as part of the renovation. These interventions in the protected historic presentations are the subject of controversial debate. Parts of the holdings of the former Tell-Halaf-Museum are to be integrated in future; a gate complex from Tell Halaf is planned for the transition between a new wing and the Südflügel.

The permanent exhibition covered roughly 2,000 m² in 14 halls and presented objects spanning six millennia, from the 6th millennium BCE to the period of Islamic expansion. The objects derive mainly from present-day Iraq, Syria and Turkey, supplemented by finds from Iran, Lebanon and Jordan. Focuses include finds from Sumer, Babylonia, Assyria and the north-Syrian–eastern Anatolian region, recovered in excavations in cities such as Uruk, Assur, Ḫattuša, Tell Halaf and Babylon. Among the outstanding pieces were the Ischtar-Tor with its Prozessionsstraße, the gate complex from Zincirli, a water basin dating to the time of Sanherib, parts of the Eanna-Tempel from Uruk, as well as extensive collections of stamp and cylinder seals and cuneiform texts.

Because of the long-term closure a complete digital documentation of the historic exhibition was prepared; the recordings were made in 2023, and the virtual tour “Babylon Reloaded” was completed.

From 2015 until the temporary closure in 2023 the programme “Multaka – Treffpunkt Museum” offered tours in Arabic and Persian that promoted intercultural exchange between visitors from the Near East and the exhibitions.