Catalan Archaeological Museum (Barcelona)

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Catalan Archaeological Museum

The Catalan Archaeological Museum , based in Barcelona ( Catalan Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya a Barcelona ), also known as MAC, is a museum located in the old Palace of Graphic Arts in the park of Montjuïc.

It is one of the seats of the Catalan Archaeological Museum and includes a number of archaeological objects and documents from different historical periods between prehistory and the Middle Ages, with a particular focus on ancient times. A visit to the permanent exhibition and the special exhibitions enables a detailed insight into the social, technological, economic and religious developments not only in Catalonia, but in the entire Iberian Peninsula and the Mediterranean region. The museum is under the Ministry of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia and is managed by the Catalan Agency for Cultural Assets (Agència Catalana de Patrimoni Cultural).

building

The exhibition rooms and offices of the museum are located in the old graphic arts pavilion, which was built in 1929 on the occasion of the world exhibition in Barcelona. It was a temporary construction that was realized with less resistant building materials, so that it was planned to be demolished after the international exhibition. As in the case of many other buildings erected on the occasion of the exhibition, the Graphic Arts Pavilion was ultimately preserved and used for other purposes: the autonomous government of Catalonia founded this palace since 1932, during the turmoil of the Second Spanish Republic the Catalan Archaeological Museum.

history

In 1935, the Catalan Archaeological Museum of Barcelona was opened under the direction of Pere Bosch i Gimpera . The museum was commissioned to manage the collections of the old museum of the Chapel of Santa Àgata, the Ciutadella Museum, the holdings of the Junta de Museus and the Institut d'Estudis Catalans and other private collections. The seat of the museum is located in the old Palace of the Graphic Arts, which was built on the occasion of the World Exhibition in 1929 and then converted into a museum building under the direction of the architect Josep Gudiol. After the Spanish Civil War, the museum was subordinated to the Provincial Council of the City of Barcelona. Only in 1995 did it come under the administration of the autonomous government of Catalonia again.

Permanent exhibition

The permanent exhibition was renewed between 2010 and 2013 and covers 4,000 m² using texts, audiovisual media, didactic means, images and staging in space, showing the most important characteristics of the cultures living in Catalonia and other places on the Spanish Peninsula and the Mediterranean.

The prehistory with an audio-visual report on the burial rituals of the Bronze Age, the early period in which the Iberians played an important role, the Greek and Phoenician colonization and the establishment of the Roman Empire are some of the thematic focuses of the tour.

The museum also has written holdings with 35,560 books and 1,554 newspaper publications.

One of the most emblematic exhibits is the statue of the god Esculapi, the original version of which was initially in the Barcelona headquarters until it was brought to the Empúries Museum in 2008. Other significant objects are the stone exhibits from the time of the Paleolithic , the 53,200-year-old pine of the Neanderthal man from Sitges , finds from the excavation site of El Argar (Almería), the Iberian treasure from Tivissa, Phoenician votive figures, Greek ceramics and the Roman statue of the Priapus from Hostafrancs.

Special exhibitions

Since its inception, the headquarters of the Catalan Archaeological Museum in Barcelona has endeavored to convey other topics in addition to the content of the permanent exhibition, with the aim of including other innovative and important aspects of archeology. The most important special exhibitions are:

  • The fragility in time. Glass in antiquity (La fragilitat en el temps. El vidre a l'antiguitat) : presented the techniques, objects and materials associated with the manufacture of glass.
  • Tales of the Dressing Table (Històries de tocador) : a tour of the concept of beauty and the evolution of cosmetics in the great cultures of antiquity.
  • Ötzi . The Mummy from the Ice (Ötzi. La mòmia del gel) : explained the importance of the exceptional find in the Alps, the remains and the appearance of a man more than 5,3000 years old.
  • Faces of Rome (Rostres de Roma) : introduced some of the most important personalities of the Roman Empire through sarcophagi, busts and statues.
  • Hairdressing death (Pentinar la mort) : thematized the rituals of life and death in the prehistory of Menorca.

Web links

Commons : Catalan Archaeological Museum (Barcelona)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ AADD. Museus i Centers de Patrimoni Cultural a Catalunya. Barcelona: Department de Cultura de la Generalitat de Catalunya, 2010, p. 19. ISBN 84-393-5437-1 .
  2. ↑ CALPENA, Enric. "Els primers europeus". Sàpiens [Barcelona], núm. 80, juny 2009, p. 70. ISSN  1695-2014 .
  3. ↑ Jump up ↑ Arxiu Històric de la Ciutat (Barcelona). Sílvia Domènech (dir.); Rafel torrella; Montserrat Ruiz. Barcelona fotografiada: 160 anys de registre i representació. Guia del fons i les col·lecions de l'arxiu fotogràfic de l'Arxiu Històric de la Ciutat de Barcelona (CC-BY-SA-3.0). Barcelona: Ajuntament de Barcelona, ​​Arxiu Municipal de Barcelona / Institut de Cultura de Barcelona, ​​2007, p. 162. ISBN 978-84-9850-029-5 .
  4. ↑ El Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya es renova i presenta onze noves sales. Generalitat de Catalunya. 08-10-2010
  5. ↑ L'Esculapi torna a Empúries. Report on the canal 3-24. 15-03-2008.

Coordinates: 41 ° 22 ′ 11.3 "  N , 2 ° 9 ′ 27.6"  E