Papyrus Collection and Papyrus Museum Vienna

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Papyrus Collection - New Castle

The Vienna Papyrus Collection of the Austrian National Library is one of the most important collections of its kind in the world. Its premises are located in the Neue Burg in Vienna , and it comprises around 180,000 objects from around 3000 years of Egyptian history (approx. 1500 BC - 1500 AD). A papyrus museum is attached to the collection, which, in addition to a permanent exhibition on Egyptian cultures, also shows special exhibitions on special papyrology topics at regular intervals . The collection also has an extensive papyrological library with around 19,500 works. The collection has the task of preserving and restoring the papyri as well as the scientific research and publication of this important source for ancient and medieval history.

Since 2001 a papyrus collection Archduke Rainer (1 Fayyumer Fund) , the core of the collection, in the World Register Memory of the World of UNESCO received (World Documentary Heritage).

history

The collection owes its creation primarily to the professor for the history of the Orient at the University of Vienna , Josef Karabacek . With the help of the carpet and art dealer Theodor Graf , he was able to bring around 10,000 papyri from the 1st  Fayyum Fund to Vienna in 1881 and 1882 . At the end of 1883, Archduke Rainer decided to purchase the papyrus collection for an unknown amount. Karabacek was given the task of editing the collection. Archduke Rainer continuously expanded the collection through new purchases until 1899 and in the same year gave it to his uncle Emperor Franz Josef I , who incorporated it as a special collection in the Imperial and Royal Court Library (today's Austrian National Library). It received new premises on Josefsplatz . Additional purchases of mainly ostraka were made in 1899 and 1911.

After the court library had been transferred to the national library in 1920, the papyrus collection was given new premises in the Palais Friedrich (today's Albertina ) in 1921 . This was followed by increased editing efforts and the establishment of the specialist library in the 1920s and 1930s. On March 12, 1945, the collection building was badly damaged by a bomb. However, the damage was minor, the most valuable papyri had already been recovered. From 1948 the work in the emergency quarters could be continued, on April 18, 1954 the ceremonial opening of the new premises in the rebuilt Albertina took place.

From the 1960s onwards, the edition projects enjoyed a positive boom. It was possible to take on new staff, the collection was systematically expanded through acquisitions and donations and developed into an increasingly important scientific research institution . This international importance was also met in 2004 at the University of Vienna by establishing a chair for papyrology ( Bernhard Palme ) at the Institute for Ancient History and Classical Studies, Papyrology and Epigraphy . In 1998 the collection, specialist library and exhibition were moved to premises in the Neue Burg.

In 2001, UNESCO declared the collection, which goes back to Archduke Rainer, and which is perhaps the greatest of its kind in the world, as a World Document Heritage .

The collection

Detail from the Book of the Dead of Sesostris (15th century BC / 18th Dynasty )

The focus of the collection is on the Arabic , Greek and Coptic objects. The Greek population is largest, with the Byzantine epoch of Egypt being most strongly represented here. The majority of the documents consist of documents, but there are also literary pieces of great importance. The Arab holdings are the largest relevant closed collection in the world. Here, too, the documents make up the majority of the collection, many pieces have already been written on paper that replaced papyrus as writing material from the 9th century onwards. The importance of the Coptic collection lies primarily in its literary, biblical and liturgical writings. The specialist library comprises around 19,500 volumes.

Stocks

The total number of languages ​​is broken down as follows:

  • Hieroglyphic and hieratic : approx. 275 objects, 170 of which are papyri
  • Demotic : approx. 2000 signed objects, 1551 papyri and 352 ostraka
  • Coptic : approx. 26,000 objects, of which 7153 papyri, 1300 parchments , 935 papers and 770 ostracas
  • Greek : approx. 70,000 objects, including 41,039 papyri, approx. 3,000 parchments and 12,000 unsigned tiny fragments
  • Latin : approx. 150 objects, including 136 papyri and 11 parchments
  • Arabic : approx. 75,000 objects, of which 16,619 papyri, 16,523 papers, 382 parchments
  • Hebrew : approx. 200 objects

  • Mummy mask

  • Mummy mask

exhibition

The permanent exhibition of the papyrus collection sees itself as a museum of cultures in Egypt . It deals with different areas of life, such as the cult of the dead , magic , medicine , eating habits, music , religion , literature and everyday life. Around 200 exhibits provide an insight into ancient and medieval Egyptian worlds. In addition to papyri, pieces on parchment and ostraka as well as the production method of papyrus are shown. Particularly worth seeing and hearing is a fragment from the tragedy Orestes by Euripides , which has been set to music using modern technology and which gives every visitor an idea of ​​ancient choral singing. In addition to the permanent exhibition, special exhibitions on various topics are also held in the museum at regular intervals.

Significance for the historical sciences

The importance of papyrology for classical studies has increased steadily over the past decades. No other type of source allows such a deep insight into administrative and social structures, into economic processes, etc. as the papyri, which were mostly conserved by chance in the hot and dry desert climate of Egypt. In Vienna, papyrological research has a long tradition, for the last few years an edition project led by Bernhard Palme and financed by the FWF should be mentioned. In March 2009, the NFN project Imperium et Officium started , whose various interdisciplinary sub-projects ( ancient history , ancient oriental studies , Arabic studies ) are also based heavily on papyrological material.

Publication and edition series on Viennese papyri:

  • Corpus Papyrorum Raineri (CPR)
  • Messages from the papyrus collection of the Austrian National Library in Vienna, New Series (MPER NS)
  • NILUS
  • Small Format Greek Papyrus Documents (SPP)

Collection Directors

literature

  • Roger S. Bagnall : Reading Papyri, Writing Ancient History. London / New York 1995
  • Johannes Diethart: Papyrus collection of the Austrian National Library. In: Austrian National Library (Ed.): Handbook of historical book collections in Austria , Volume 1, Hildesheim 1994, pp. 148–150 ( online )
  • Herbert Hunger : The papyrus collection of the Austrian National Library. Permanent exhibition catalog. Vienna 1962
  • Helene Loebenstein and Hermann Harrauer : The papyrus collection of the Austrian National Library. Catalog of the special exhibition 100 Years Papyrus Archduke Rainer . Vienna 1983
  • Papyrus Archduke Rainer (P. Rain. Cent.): Festschrift for the 100th anniversary of the papyrus collection of the Austrian National Library . Vienna 1983

Web links

Commons : Papyrusmuseum Wien  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Papyrus Archduke Rainer , unesco.org: List of registered heritage
  2. ^ P. Rain. Cent., Pp. 13-39
  3. ^ “ The greatest of its kind in the world ”. Quote UNESCO: Papyrus Archduke Rainer , accessed on July 7, 2013
  4. ↑ https://webarchiv.onb.ac.at/web/20160203125352/http://www.onb.ac.at/sammlungen/papyrus/papyrus_bestaende.htm and P. Rain. Cent., Pp. 22-39
  5. ^ Herbert Hunger: The Papyrus Collection of the Austrian National Library. Permanent exhibition catalog. Vienna 1962
  6. ^ Roger S. Bagnall : Reading Papyri, Writing Ancient History. London and New York 1995, pp. 1-31

Coordinates: 48 ° 12 '18.7 "  N , 16 ° 21' 54.1"  E