Ethnography

Egyptian Collection

The different pieces exhibited tell us about the funerary traditions of ancient Egypt. The small mummy of a five year old child stands out because of its singularity, popularly called Nesi, it´s one of five mummies in Catalonia.

The Egyptian collection of the museum is the first one formed in Catalonia and was donated to the museum in the year 1886 by the diplomat and writer Eduardo Toda I Güell, who collaborated with Víctor Balaguer in the Renaixenca movement.

Pre-Columbian Collection

In Catalonia the presence of these objects proceeding from pre-Colombian cultures was initiated in the XIX century, when sailors and merchants together with Indians would bring these objects with them when they would return from there trips. In this gallery you will find objects representative of the most significant regions of Mesoamerica especially the Mexican plateau, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru

Philippine Collection

The Pieces exhibited tell us about the religious beliefs and the daily life of the archipelago formed by 7,000 islands.

Exhibited are the objects pertaining to the cults typical of the religious beliefs of igorot who live in the mountains north of Luzon. There are other objects related to the daily life elaborated with basketwork and wood. Just like some warlike objects, often these objects indicate the social status of the owner.

The pieces exhibited in this collection formed part of the general exhibited of the Philippines that took place in Madrid in 1887, realized at the request of Víctor Balaguer, in that time the minister of ultramar, and later repeat the exhibit in Barcelona the following year. The objective of the exhibit was to introduce the Philippine culture to the Spanish and therefore stimulate commercial exchange between the colonies and Spain. An objective that when taken into context with anthropological interests for “the other one” pertaining to the XIX century.

Oriental Collection

This collection has decorative and religious artifacts from both China and Japan.

Amongst the pieces objects found in the Chinese collection you will find objects elaborated in ivory originating from Canton, which in the beginning of the XIX century becomes and important producer of this kind of pieces. In the case of Japan, porcelain and gods dressed as samurais stand out.
Most of the objects of this collection were exhibited in the universal exposition in Barcelona in 1888 and showed the increased interest of the European population of oriental art of the time.