The Ancient Collections contain over 300 artifacts from sites around the world including the Middle East, Italy, Greece, Egypt, Central America, and South America. The largest part of the Ancient Collections consists of 227 Ancient Egyptian artifacts from carved wall fragments to kohl makeup pots. Some of the Museum’s most unique artifacts include two Egyptian mummy masks, an Akaddian (present-day Iraq) cuneiform tablet, Roman glass, and Peruvian textiles.
World travelers and private collectors purchased objects on their global journeys and donated many of the objects to the Children’s Museum between 1913 and 1966. Many of the artifacts are several thousands of years old and come from archaeological excavations. The artifacts range from religious, decorative, or everyday items from cultures including Ancient Egyptian, Ancient Roman, Ancient Greek, Akkadian, Aztec, Mayan, and Chimú (present-day Peru). Below you can explore some of the fascinating ancient artifacts here at Boston Children’s Museum.
A selection of Ancient Egyptian artifacts is currently exhibited in a window display on the third floor near Boston Black until December 2015.
Brittany Contratto is the Collections and Archives Graduate Intern for fall 2014. She is currently finishing her Master of the Arts in Historical Administration from Eastern Illinois University. While at Boston Children’s Museum, she focused on digitizing and rehousing the ancient artifacts and archiving the Museum’s institutional records.
