Is it possible to pack up an entire ancient temple and move it to another country? Yes, it is. We are standing in front of the Egyptian Museum. It is in Turin Italy. This museum is not just any museum. It holds the second largest collection of Egyptian artifacts in the world. Only the Egyptian Museum of Cairo has more.
The Egyptian Museum in Turin began with the Mensa Isiaca. It was an altar table made in imitation of Egyptian style. King Charles Emmanuel III then sent botanist Vitaliano Donati to Egypt in 1753. Donati returned with 300 pieces from Karnak and Coptos. These items became the heart of the Turin collection.
King Charles Felix acquired the Drovetti collection in 1824. It had over 5000 pieces. These included statues papyri mummies and other items. Jean-François Champollion used the Turin collection to test his hieroglyphic writing breakthroughs. He spent time in Turin studying the texts. A legend says that the Papiro dei Re mysteriously disappeared during this time. Some portions are still unavailable today.
Giuseppe Sossio’s collection added over 1200 pieces in 1833. Egyptologist Ernesto Schiaparelli’s excavations between 1900 and 1920 enriched the collection further. The Egyptian government gifted the small temple of Ellesiya to Italy. This was for their help during the Nubian monument salvage campaign in the 1960s.
The Egyptian Museum has always been in Turin. It is located in the building on Via Accademia delle Scienze 6. During World War II some items were moved to Agliè. In 2004 the Fondazione Museo delle Antichità Egizie was established. This was an experiment in privatization. Dante Ferretti redesigned the main rooms for the 2006 Winter Olympics. He used lighting and mirrors to display the Pharaonic statues. A new museum layout opened on April 1 2015.
The Museo Egizio joined the international Multaka network in 2019. This project organizes guided tours for refugees and migrants. These tours are led by trained Arabic-speaking guides.
The Egyptian Museum has more than 37000 items. They cover from the Paleolithic to the Coptic era. Important items include the Assemblea dei Re and the Temple of Ellesyia. There are also sarcophagi mummies and Books of the Dead from the Drovetti collection. You can find a painted fabric from Gebelein from about 3500 BC. It was discovered in 1930.
Other highlights are the tomb of Kha and Merit. Schiaparelli found it intact in 1906. He moved it to the museum. The Turin King List the Turin Papyrus Map and the Turin Erotic Papyrus are also here. The Egyptian Museum has three versions of the Egyptian Book of the Dead. This includes the most ancient copy known. The architect Kha’s personal copy is also on display.
The statue of Ramesses II is an icon of the Egyptian Museum. Jean-François Champollion called it the Apollo of Belvedere of Egyptian art. The Temple of Ellesiya was carved into rock in Nubia. It was gifted to Turin in 1966 and reassembled here.
The Egyptian Museum tells a story of an extraordinary era. It speaks of fashion travel men and explorers. The museum is not just for adults. Children are fascinated by the mummies amulets princesses and Pharaohs. They become little explorers with the magic eye of Horus.