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This museum has an important collection of art objects from different civilizations from all over the world. It offers an overview of the history of mankind in the five continents (with the exclusion of Black Africa) from prehistoric times until today. The museum was founded in 1835 and was located in the Hallepoort/Porte de Hal, one of the last remaining medieval city gates of Brussels. In 1889 it was transferred to the newly built pavilions in the Cinquantenaire Park. The Art and History Museum as remained at this site, albeit in different pavilions and exposition halls that were renovated or constructed after 1889. The museum is part of the Royal Museums of Art and History, to which also belong The Hallepoortmuseum, The Japanese Tower and the Chinese Pavilion.

The 15 masterpieces of the Museum.

• relief with representation of Gilgamesj (Mesopotamia, 2250-1900 B.C.)
• relief with representation of Queen Teje (Egypt, ca 1360 B.C.)
• great hunting mosaic (Syria, Apamea, 2nd half of 5th century B.C.)
• golden ornament for Celtic drinking horn (Belgium, ca 400 B.C.)
• portable altar from Stavelot ( Belgium, around 1150)
• altarpiece with the Passion of Christ (Brussels, around 1470-1480)
• lace bed-spread with the Archdukes (Brussels, 1599)
• set of 10 wall tapestries with the history of Jacob (Brussels, 1528-1534)
• violin in Delftware (Delft, beginning of the 18th century)
• art nouveau sculpture of the mysterious Sphinx (Brussels, 1897)
• dish in enameled glass (Maurice Marinot, 1919)
• bronze sculpture of Shiva Nataraja (South India, beginning 13th century)
• wooden sculpture of Bodhisattva (China, around 1200)
• Feather cloak (Brazil, Tupinamba, 16th - beginning 17th century)
• colossal statue of Pou hakakanonga (Easter Island, between 1000 and 1680)

The Collection.

ANTIQUITY

Middle East and Ancient Iran.
This collection comprises objects from an extended area, ranging from the Mediterranean to the Zagros Mountain range and from the Caspian Sea to The Gulf : Cyprus, Anatolia, Palestine, Mesopotamia, the Arab Peninsula, Syria, Fenicia and Petra. The Ancient Iran collection gives an overview of the Iranian cultures from 6.000 B.C until the rise of Islam in the 7th century.

Egypt
An overview of Egyptian art from prehistoric times until the Christian era One of the most important objects is the so-called "Lady of Brussels", an archaic sculpture representing a woman dating from the first dynasties and considered to be one of the oldest Egyptian sculptures of a woman, circa 2650 B.C.

Greece.
The Greek collection was composed primarily in the second half of the 19th century and in the beginning of the 20th century with objects which came mainly from private collections. The collection is constructed around Greek Vases that lead the visitor from the Bronze Age until the Hellenistic era.

Rome
This collection is less important than the Greek one. The most important are the floor mosaics from Apamea (Syria).

Byzantium
The Byzantine collection was founded in 1979 and is the only one of its kind open to the public in Belgium. Some objects go back to the Byzantine era, others come from different places and eras in the orthodox world.

NON-EUROPEAN CIVILIZATIONS

In this part of the museum, art objects can be seen from different non-European civilizations such as : the Islam world, China and Korea, India and Southeast Asia, pre-Colombian America, Polynesia and Micronesia (on display is a gigantic statue of the Tuna God, brought back from Easter Island in 1935 by the Belgian training ship Mercator).

NATIONAL (Belgian) ARCHEOLOGY

Prehistorical times
The oldest objects date from the Paleolithic hunters and nomads ( bone and stone utensils, fishing, hunting, etc..). Around 5500 B.C. the way of living changed drastically, man becomes sedentary and raises cattle. A miniature model shows a village of that period which was found in the Belgian region of Haspengouw. Around 2000 B.C. the first metal objects start to appear in the area which is now Belgium. As from 750 B.C, iron forging results in more commercial activity. Because of this trade, local barons became wealthier, which shows in the many golden objects that were found.

Gallo-Roman Period
In 57-51 B.C. Julius Caesar invaded Gaul and a new era arrived for our country. The new network of roads which were built for military purposes, soon favoured trade between the different parts of the country and new cities were founded. The systematic reclaim of the soil is at the basis of the large farmhouses, in the soil of which many artifacts from this period have been found (such as : glass work, coins, metal decorative objects, etc.)

Merovingian Period
This is the period between the Gallo-Roman era and the beginning of the early Middle-Ages in the 8th century. Most of the objects from the Merovingian period come from graves discovered in Belgium.

EUROPEAN DECORATIVE ARTS

This is one of the largest collections of the museum. Different periods and countries are represented here : Romanesque art from the Meuse valley, sculptural and decorative arts from the Middle-Ages (e.g. a beautiful collection of wall tapestries) until the Baroque period., from Baroque until Art Deco, and several other sub-departments such as glass-stained windows, metallic decorative objects and glassware.

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Facilities
The museum offers visitors six documentation facilities: a very-well equipped slide collection, three libraries, a moulding workshop and a bookstore.

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