A Visit to the Penn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
I saw a variety of works of art that piqued my interest during my visit to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, also known as Penn Museum. Furthermore, because I had experience that we had been taught in class, I was able to appreciate these works even more. As a result, I had a better understanding of the context of the different works of art, their time spans, and their history, which enhanced the value and interest of the art I was examining in the museum. All in all, the Penn Museum collection is extensive and contains artifacts from all over the world, including from places like ancient Egypt, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Even more amazing, these artifacts were discovered through archaeological expeditions led by the university, hence signifying that the museum also had the ability to contextualize the artifacts in a way only possible through knowing the details of each discovery. As such, the museum was able to tell the history of humanity as well as their different practices throughout the ages. In the present paper, I will analyze some of the galleries in Penn Museum and discuss how the artifacts tell the story of ancient human practices and history.
The Egyptian Gallery
I got to visit most of the galleries in the museum, but the most fascinating of them all was the Egyptian gallery, which occupied the main level as well as the upper level of the museum; other fascinating galleries included the Roman and the Greek gallery. As I went through these galleries, I got to see the fascinating story of humanity and the accomplishments that they made throughout history.
I started with the Egypt Sphinx Gallery located at the lower gallery; this gallery contains exhibitions of Egyptian architecture. The most significant artifact in this gallery is the sphinx of Ramses; surrounding this sphinx were columns, door frames, and windows, which seem to represent some sort of temple or palace. The Sphinx was made out of red granite and seemed to have the head of a man but the body shape of a lion. I concluded my tour of the main level sphinx gallery by visiting the part that displayed artifacts from the palace of Merenptah who was the successor of Ramses. There was a tablet made of limestone that had depictions of King Merenptah fighting enemies; the drawings were made using the sunken relief technique.
The Egyptian Mummies’ Gallery
The second place I visited was the Egyptian mummies’ gallery that was on the upper level of the museum. This gallery contained some of Egypt’s finest sculptures, including stone coffins, masks, as well as numerous three-dimensional sculptures. One sculpture that specifically drew my attention was that of Ramesses the second; the sculpture was at the center of the gallery, and it depicted Ramesses seated in the temple of Harsaphes. The statue has been carved out of Quartzite stone, which is common among the ancient rocks used to make statues. Other than that, one could notice that the head of the statue was somewhat small as if it had been carved out again, and also there were inscriptions on the statue. The mummies’ gallery also had funeral masks; I got to see one made of gilded cartonnage; the mask’s wig was depicted by vertical stripes painted dark blue, and it also seemed to have a gilt collar with some decorations. Another interesting artifact was the colossal head next to the walkway, which was made out of limestone; the figure represented in the statue is that of the king whose eyes seem to be looking down as if towering over the humans below.
The Rome Gallery
From the Egyptian mummies’ gallery, I visited the Rome gallery, which also had so much to offer in terms of Roman history. The gallery contained numerous artifacts, including sculptures, mosaics, as well as fresco fragments. However, the centerpiece of this gallery was the model of a Roman villa depicting the architecture that the Romans embraced while coming up with house designs. I also got to see mosaic fragments that were made of stone using the Tessera technique; the mosaic depicts a boat where two people are sailing. Also, the mosaic was rich in color since it comprised red, yellow, gray, as well as black and white. There was also a portrait head depicting a beardless male face; the statue was made out of white marble, and the portrait was broken off at the neck base.
The Greek Gallery
I also took the time to visit the Greek gallery, where I learned a lot about ancient Greek culture and history. The gallery had displays of pottery vessels, sculptures made out of different materials, architectural fragments, as well as gold and silver coins used at the time. One artifact that really drew my attention was the neck amphora vase made of ceramic; the artifact is a pot-like vessel with a number of drawings done on it. The drawings were done in the black-figure technique; more to this, the drawings seemed to be telling an ancient Greek story.
Before concluding my trip to the museum, I also visited other galleries, including the African gallery, which displayed numerous artifacts detailing the African social and religious life. There were statues, masks, as well as household items obtained from the African community. The Canaan and Israel gallery, on the other hand, contained objects made of iron and bronze, as well as pottery vessels; here I got to learn about the history of the region, including the successive periods of occupation, economic and social change.
The trip to the museum was amazing; one special thing that I learned is that the ancient communities used art to serve many purposes. For instance, they used it for religious purposes, for communication, as well as for the purpose of preserving culture. Most of the Egyptian artwork had religious functions; for example, the mummy and coffin sculptures showed their beliefs in the afterlife; on the other hand, the temple doors and columns revealed the ways that ancient Egyptians used to worship. Further, Roman and Greek artwork served the purpose of preserving culture since most of the art depicted ancient leaders and ways of life, including architecture.
In conclusion, the tour through the museum can be equated as taking a glimpse into the history of humanity, including the different practices they had back then. The viewing experience I got after my tour to the museum was great; the artifacts in the museum seemed to be telling a story that happened many years ago. For instance, I learned the story of mummification as the ancient Egyptians practices as well as the ways of life of the Greeks and Romans. As such, we can say that the museum had contextualized artifacts in such a way that the audience got to learn about human history.
Bibliography
Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Philadelphia, Pa.), Donald White, and Lee Horne. 2002. Guide to the Etruscan and Roman worlds at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
Quick, Jennifer. Magnificent Objects from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Museum, 2004.
Rodney S. Young Gallery.
Wegner, Josef W., and Jennifer Houser Wegner. 2015. The Sphinx that Traveled to Philadelphia: The Story of the Colossal Sphinx in the Penn Museum. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
Sphinx of Ramses object number E12326
Door Jamb item number E17527
Statue of Ramesses Item number E635
Gilded mummy mask item number 53-20-1A
Colossal head statue item number 69-29-1
Roman mosaic fragment item number MS4012
Neck amphora vase Item number MS3442
