On Paths Untrodden

Georg Schweinfurth and His Significance for the Collections of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Bahr Yusuf in Medinet el-Fayum (Ägypten), links am Ufer sitzend Georg Schweinfurth, der Heinrich Schliemann und Rudolf Virchow 1888 auf ihrer Reise im Fayum begleitete.

The exhibition will focus on Georg Schweinfurth and his significance for the field of Egyptology and will highlight some of the key aspects of his prolific career as a researcher and collector.
In addition to the reputation he earned as a restless wanderer, cartographer and botanist in his various spheres of activity, Georg Schweinfurth was also an avid networker who worked closely with the antique dealers and excavators of Egypt. His assistance and expertise earned him numerous donations and artefacts, which he left to the academic community, including the institutions of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. The stone artefacts, ethnographic objects, vessels, textiles and scientific specimens in question are primarily sourced from archaeologically documented contexts. The 100th anniversary of his death in 2025 provides an excellent opportunity to delve deeper into the man, his background and the artefacts themselves.
The initiative is a cooperation project between the Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrusssammlung, the Museum für Vor- and Frühgeschichte, the Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst and the Staatsbibliothek.

A special exhibition of the Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung, the Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte, the Skultpurensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin and the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin

Runtime: Thu, 22/05/2025 to Sun, 08/02/2026

Takes place here:

• Neues Museum