Bible and Orient Museum
The Bible and Orient Museum (own spelling: BIBEL + ORIENT Museum ) in Freiburg (Switzerland) is the exhibition of a collection of ancient Egyptian and ancient Near Eastern miniature art and a project to establish a modern museum to compare biblical and extra- biblical texts with archaeological , epigraphic and iconographic data. This comparison is intended to provide insights into promoting interreligious dialogue.
Sponsorship
In 2005, the canton of Friborg , the University of Friborg and the "Projekt BIBEL + ORIENT" association set up the BIBEL + ORIENT Foundation for the purpose of upgrading and developing the collection, with the aim of its effective publication and the future establishment and operation of a Bible and Orient Museum.
Origin and purpose
As a student, the biblical and religious scholar and Egyptologist Othmar Keel collected miniature picture carriers such as cylinder seals , scarabs and amulets on his travels in the Near Eastern and Ancient Near Eastern regions . This “miniature art”, which could easily be transported over long distances, spread important motifs and symbols five to three thousand years ago as a visual means of mass communication. At that time she visualized important symbols of protection and power and today reveals the close connection between the Bible and its ancient oriental environment. Keel stated that without knowledge of these symbols, many biblical comparisons, symbols and visions cannot be properly understood and thus made clear in general the importance of the ancient oriental cultural history for biblical studies.
By interpreting the biblical texts in their historical context, a fundamentalist - biblical understanding is avoided. In addition, this procedure shows connections between Islam and Judaism, between Christianity and Judaism, between Judaism and ancient oriental paganism and thus relativizes the monotheistic religions' claim to absoluteness.
As a result, Keel and his colleagues successfully collected more of these valuable objects to complement the collection. The medium-term goal is to build a corresponding museum with which new ways of imparting knowledge are sought.
Today's holdings of the collection
Since 1975, well-known donations and acquisitions have brought together over 15,000 unique exhibits from the ancient Near East. Many of them are exhibited in a permanent exhibition with 57 pull-out, illuminated drawers and 6 showcases , which give a meaningful insight into the world of the ancient Orient, from which the Bible emerged.
These include early Paleolithic hand axes from Syria; Near East, especially Akkadian , Old Babylonian , Old Syrian, Mitannic and Neo-Assyrian cylinder seals; Near Eastern, Prehistoric and Iron Age stamp seals ; Near Eastern terracottas , idols , amulets, etc. Ä .; Cuneiform tablets , old Akkadian to Persian , some with unrolled seals; Palestinian vessels, including from the excavations on Tel Kinneret (Israel); Scarabs and similar Egyptian and Egyptian seal amulets (world's third largest collection of this kind); unengraved scarabs and scarab amulets; Egyptian amulets and bronzes; Egyptian amulet forms; ancient Egyptian steles , bronzes and reliefs ; Clay tablets ; Tools; Weapons; Ceramics ; Manuscripts of biblical writings; Torah and Esther scrolls; Samaritan Pentateuch ; Koran editions ; Coins; Lamps; Palestinian Ethnologica .
Special exhibitions
With parts of the collection and their interpretations , the following special exhibitions have been conceived and realized with considerable success in Switzerland and Germany in recent years: "Animals in the Bible", "Advertising for the Gods", "Solomon's Temple", "God Female", «Vertical ecumenism».
Museum project
A 33 meter high defense tower, completed in 1415 and unused for decades, rises between the Freiburg train station and the university. In 1998 the canton of Friborg bought the site and the so-called "Heinrichsturm". A feasibility study was carried out with a view to setting up the museum in the tower and on the neighboring plot.
Publications
- Bible + Orient in the original: Introduction to the creation of the collections of the University of Freiburg , ISBN 978-3-7278-1568-3
- Susanne Bickel: In Egyptian Society: Aegyptiaca of the Bibles + Orient collections of the University of Friborg Switzerland , Friborg / Switzerland, 2004, ISBN 3-7278-1429-2
Web links
- Publications by and about the Bible and Orient Museum in the Helveticat catalog of the Swiss National Library
- Website of the Bible and Orient Museum
- Collectibles database
- Othmar Keel explains the iconography of early Christian lamps
- Research project by Silvia Schroer
- Special exhibition God female in Bamberg, Germany
Individual evidence
- ↑ BIBEL + ORIENT Foundation Freiburg / Switzerland ( Memento of the original from July 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Tel Kinrot excavation project, Israel
- ↑ Press comments ( Memento of the original from December 1, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Special exhibition God female ( Memento from May 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Feasibility study ( Memento from July 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
