Coordinates: 22°54′20.40″S 43°13′33.

98″W

National Museum of Brazil

The National Museum (Portuguese: Museu Nacional) is the oldest scientific
National Museum of Brazil
institution of Brazil and one of the largest museums of natural history and
anthropology in the Americas. The museum is located inside the Quinta da
Boa Vista park, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, and was installed in the Paço de
São Cristóvão (Saint Christopher's palace). The palace served as residence for
the Portuguese Royal Family between 1808 and 1821, housed the Brazilian
Imperial Family between 1822 and 1889, and also hosted the Republican
Constituent Assembly from 1889 to 1891, before being assigned to the use of
the museum in 1892. The building has been listed as Brazilian National The national museum of Brazil
Heritage since 1938.[3] Established 1818
Location Quinta da Boa Vista in Rio
Founded by king John VI of Portugal on June 6, 1818, under the name of
de Janeiro, Brazil
"Royal Museum", the institution was initially housed at the Campo de Santana
park, where it exhibited the collections incorporated from the former House of Coordinates 22°54′20.40″S
Natural History, popularly known as Casa dos Pássaros ("house of the birds"), 43°13′33.98″W
created in 1784 by the Viceroy of Brazil Luís de Vasconcelos e Sousa, as well Type Natural history, ethnology
as collections of mineralogy and zoology. The museum foundation was and archaeology
intended to address the interests of promoting the socioeconomic development Collection approx. 20 million objects
of the country by the diffusion of education, culture, and science. Still in the size (before 2018 fire) [1]
19th century, the institution was already established as the most important
Visitors approx. 150,000 (2017)[2]
South American museum in its typologies. It was incorporated into theFederal
University of Rio de Janeiroin 1946.[4][3][5] Director Alexander Kellner
Website www.museunacional.ufrj.br
The National Museum held a vast collection with more than 20 million
objects, encompassing some of the most important material records regarding natural science and anthropology in Brazil, as well a
large number of items originated from distinct regions of the planet and produced by several cultures and ancient civilizations.
Formed along more than two centuries through expeditions, excavations, acquisitions, donations and exchanges, the collection was
subdivided into seven main nuclei: geology, paleontology, botany, zoology, biological anthropology, archaeology, and ethnology.
The collection was the principal basis for the research conducted by the academic departments of the museum — which are
responsible for carrying out activities in all the regions of the Brazilian territory and several places of the world, including the
Antarctic continent. The museum also has one of the largest scientific libraries of Brazil, with over 470,000 volumes and 2,400 rare
works.[3]

In the area of education, the museum offers specializations, extension and post-graduation courses in several fields of the knowledge,
in addition to hosting temporary and permanent exhibitions and educational activities open to the general public.[3] The museum
manages the Horto Botânico (Botanical Garden), adjacent to thePaço de São Cristóvão, as well as an advanced campus in the city of
Santa Teresa, in Espírito Santo — the Santa Lúcia Biological Station, jointly managed with the Museum of Biology Prof. Mello
Leitão. A third site, located in the city of Saquarema, is used as a support and logistics center for field activities. Finally, the museum
is also dedicated to editorial production, outstanding in that field the Archivos do Museu Nacional, the oldest scientific journal of
Brazil, continuously published since 1876.[4][6]

On September 2, 2018, the palace which houses the museum wasengulfed by a fire that started during the night.[7][8][9]

Contents
 History
Financial difficulty and 2018 fire
Collections
Archaeology
Ancient Egypt
Mediterranean cultures
Pre-Columbian archaeology
Brazilian archaeology

See also
References
External links

History
The National Museum was established by the King of Portugal Dom João VI (1769–
1826) in 1818 with the name ofRoyal Museum, in an initiative to stimulate scientific
research in the territory of Brazil. Initially the Museum sheltered botanical and
animal specimens, especially birds, what caused the old building where it was
located in center of Rio de Janeiro, to be known by the population as the "House of
the Birds".

After that, with the marriage of D. João VI's son and Brazil's first Emperor, Dom
Pedro I (1798–1834) with Princess Leopoldina of Austria, the Museum started to
The former Imperial Palace that attract the greatest European naturalists of the 19th century, such as Maximilian zu
currently houses the National Wied-Neuwied (1782–1867), Johann Baptist von Spix (1781–1826) and Carl
Museum
Friedrich Philipp von Martius (1794–1868). Other European researchers who
explored the country, such as Augustin Saint-Hilaire(1799–1853) and the Baron von
Langsdorff (1774–1891), contributed for the collections of the Royal Museum.

By the end the 19th century, reflecting the personal preferences of Emperor Dom Pedro II (1825–1891), the National Museum started
to invest in the areas of the anthropology, paleontology and archaeology. The Emperor himself, who was an avid amateur scientist
and enthusiastic supporter of all branches of science, contributed with several of the collections of the art of Ancient Egypt, botanical
fossils, etc., which he acquired during many of his trips abroad. In this way, the National Museum was modernized and became the
most important museum of Natural History and Human Sciences of South America. Edmund Roberts visited the museum in 1832,
noting that the museum only had three open rooms at that time, and that the closed rooms were "sadly plundered of its contents by
Don Pedro."[10]

D. Pedro II was well aware of the shortage of true scientists and naturalists in
Brazil. He fixed this problem by inviting foreign scientists to come to work at
the Museum. The first to come was Ludwig Riedel (1761–1861), a German
botanist who had participated in Baron von Langsdorff's famed expedition to
Mato Grosso from 1826 to 1828. Other scientists to come were: German
chemist Theodor Peckolt and American geologist and paleontologist Charles
Frederick Hartt (1840-1878). In the following years the Museum gradually
became known so it continued to attract several foreign scientists who wished
to achieve scientific stature with their work in Brazil, such as Fritz Müller The National Museum at its first location in
(1821–1897), Hermann von Ihering (1850–1930), Carl August Wilhelm Campo de Sant'Anna, today's Praça da
Schwacke (1848–1894), Orville Adalbert Derby (1851–1915), Émil August República, ca. 1870
Goeldi (1859–1917), Louis Couty (1854–1884) and others, all fired by
museum director Ladislau Netto when the emperor was deposed.
The Emperor was still a very popular figure when he was deposed by a military coup in 1889, so the republicans tried to erase the
symbols of the Empire. One of these symbols, the Paço de São Cristóvão, the official residence of the emperors in the Quinta da Boa
Vista, became vacant; therefore, in 1892, the National Museum, with all its collections, valuables and researchers, was transferred to
this palace, where it stays until today.

In 1946, the Museum’s management was passed to the University of Brazil, currently the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. The
researchers and their offices and laboratories occupy a good part of the Palace and other buildings erected at Botanical Gardens
(Horto Florestal), in the Quinta da Boa Vista park. There, one can find one of the largest scientific libraries of Rio. Currently, the
National Museum offers graduate courses in the following areas: Anthropology and Sociology, Botany, Geology and Paleontology,
and Zoology.

Financial difficulty and 2018 fire

Since 2014, the Museum faced budget cuts that dropped its maintenance to less than
R$520,000 annually. The building fell into disrepair, evidenced by peeling wall
material and exposed electrical wiring.[11] By June 2018, the Museum's 200th
anniversary, it had reached a state of near-complete abandonment.[12]

The building was heavily damaged by a large fire on 2 September 2018.[7][9]

Although some items were saved, it is believed that a large part of its 20 million
archived items had been destroyed in the fire, while other items stored in a separate
building were not damaged.[8] First responders fighting the conflagration were
Fire at the National Museum of Brazil
hindered by a lack of water. Rio's fire chief claimed that two nearby fire hydrants
had insufficient water, leaving firefighters to resort to pumping water from a nearby
lake.[13]

Collections
The Museum sheltered one of the largest exhibits of the Americas, consisting of animals, insects, minerals, aboriginal collections of
utensils, Egyptians mummies and South American archaeological artifacts,meteorites, fossils and many other findings.

One of the meteorites that was on display is the Bendegó meteorite, which weighs
over 5,000 kg and was discovered in 1784.[14]

Archaeology
The collection of archaeology of the National Museum was comprised of more than
100,000 objects, covering distinct several civilizations that lived in the Americas,
Europe, Africa, and Middle East, since the Paleolithic Age until the 19th century.
The collection is subdivided into four main segments: Ancient Egypt, Mediterranean
Bendegó meteorite, front, National
cultures, Pre-Columbian archaeology, and Brazilian archaeology — this last nucleus,
Museum, Rio de Janeiro. Prior to the
systematically gathered since 1867, is the largest segment of the archaeological
2018 fire.
collection, as well as the most important collection of its tipology in the world,
covering the history of Pre-Cabraline Brazil in a very comprehensive manner and
sheltering some of the most important material records related to Brazilian archaeology. It is, therefore, a collection of considerable
[15][16]
scientific value, and object of several works of basic research, theses, dissertations, and monographs.

Ancient Egypt
 With more than 700 items, the collection of Egyptian archaeology of the National Museum is the
largest of Latin America and one of the oldest in the Americas. Most part of the objects entered
the museum collection in 1826, when the tradesman Nicolau Fiengo brought from Marseille an
assemblage of Egyptian antiquities that belonged to the famous Italian explorer Giovanni Battista
Belzoni, who had been in charge of excavating the Theban Necropolis (modern-day Luxor) and
the Temple of Karnak.[17]

Sarcophagus and
mummy of Sha-amun-
en-su. Third Intermediate
Period, XXIII Dynasty, c.
750 BC.
This collection had Argentina as initial destination, and had probably been ordered by the
president of that country, Bernardino Rivadavia, creator of the University of Buenos Aires and a
noted enthusiast of museums. However, a naval blockade at the La Plata River would impede
Fiengo of completing his journey, forcing him to return fromMontevideo to Rio de Janeiro, where
the pieces were offered at an auction. EmperorPedro I bought the entire collection for five million
réis, and subsequently donated it to the National Museum. It has been suggested that the action of
Pedro I would have been influenced by José Bonifácio de Andrada, a relevant early member of
Freemasonry in Brazil, perhaps driven by the interest that the organization had for the Egyptian
iconography.[18][19] [20]

The collection started by Pedro I would be expanded by his son, emperor Pedro II, amateur egyptologist and notable collector of
archaeological and ethnographic artifacts. One of the most important additions to the Egyptian collection of the National Museum
made by Pedro II is the polychromed wood sarcophagus of the singer ofAmun, Sha-Amun-en-su, from theLate Period, offered to the
emperor as a gift during his second trip to Egypt, in 1876, by the Khedive Isma'il Pasha. The sarcophagus is distinguished for its
rarity, since it is one of few examples that have never been opened, still preserving the mummy of the singer in its interior.[17] The
collection would be enriched through other acquisitions and donations, becoming, at the beginning of the 20th-century, sufficiently
relevant to draw the attention of international researchers and egyptologysts, such as Alberto Childe, who served as conservator of
the Department of Archaeology of the museum between 1912 and 1938, and was also responsible for publishing the Guide of the
Collections of Classical Archaeology of the National Museum, in 1919.[18][19][20]

Besides the forementioned coffin of Sha-Amun-en-su, the museum possesses other three
sarcophagi, from the Third Intermediate Period and the Late Era, belonging to three priests
of Amun: Hori, Pestjef, and Harsiese. The museum also conserves six human mummies
(four adults and two children), as well as a number of mummies and sarcophagi of animals
(cats, ibises, fishes, and crocodiles). Among the human examples, the highlight is a mummy
of a woman from the Roman Period, which is considered extremely rare for the preparatory
technique used, of which there are only eight similar examples worldwide. Called "princess
Egyptian mummy ("Princess
of the Sun" or "princess Kherima", the mummy has her members and fingers of the hands
Kherima"). Roman Period,
and feet individually swaddled and is richly adorned, with painted strips.[20] "Princess
1st-3rd centuries AD.
Kherima" is one of the most popular items of the National Museum collection, being even
related to accounts of parapsychological experiencesand collective trances, that supposedly
occurred in the 1960s. "Kherima" also inspired the romance The Secret of the Mummy by Everton Ralph, member of the Rosicrucian
society.[18][21][22]

The collection of votive and funerary steles is composed of dozens of pieces dated, in their majority, from the Intermediate Period
and the Late Era. The steles of Raia and Haunefer, which are graved with titles of Semitic origins present in the Bible and in the
tablets of Mari, stand out, as well as an unfinished stele, attributed to the emperor Tiberius, of the Roman Period. The museum also
has a vast collection of shabtis, i.e. statuettes representing funerary servers, including a group of pieces that belonged to pharaoh Seti
I, excavated from his tomb at the Valley of the Kings. Still among the group of rare artifacts, there is a limestone statue of a young
woman, dated of the New Kingdom, carrying a conic ointment vessel on the top of her head — an iconography that is almost
exclusively found among paintings and reliefs. The collection also includes fragments of reliefs, masks, statues of deities in bronze,
stone and wood (such as representations of Ptah-Sokar-Osiris), canopic jars, alabaster bowls, funerary cones, jewels, amulets,
etc.[18][20][23]
 Stele of Raia. New Sarcophagus of Hori. Bronze statuette of Golden mask. Ptolemaic
Kingdom, XIX Dynasty, c. Third Intermediate Amun. Kingdom, c. 304 BC.
1300-1200 BC Period, XXI Dynasty, c.
1049-1026 BC.

Mediterranean cultures
The collection of classical archaeology of the National Museum added up to around 750 pieces
and consists mostly of Greek, Roman, Etruscan, and Italiote objects, being the largest collection
of its kind in Latin America. Most of the pieces previously belonged to the Greco-Roman
collection of empress Teresa Cristina, who was interested in archaeology since her youth. When
the empress disembarked in Rio de Janeiro in 1843, right after her proxy wedding to emperor
Pedro II, she brought an assemblage of antiquities found during the excavations of Herculaneum
and Pompeii, the Ancient Roman cities destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
Part of this collection had also belonged to Carolina Murat, sister of Napoleon Bonaparte and
queen consort of the king of Naples,Joachim Murat.[24][25][26]

In his turn, Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies, brother of empress Teresa Cristina, had ordered the
excavations of Herculaneum and Pompeii, initiated in the 18th century, to be resumed. The
recovered pieces were sent to the Royal Bourbon Museum of Naples. Aiming to increase the
number of classical artifacts in Brazil and cogitating the future creation of a museum of Greco-
Roman archaeology in the country, the empress established formal exchanges with the Kingdom Kore statuette, sculpted
in marble. Greek
of Naples. She requested the shipment of Greco-Roman objects to Rio de Janeiro, while sending
civilization, c. 5th century
artifacts of indigenous origins to Italy. The empress also personally financed excavations in Veios, BC.
an Etruscan archeological site located fifteen kilometers to the north of Rome, bringing a large
part of the objects found to Brazil. Most part of the pieces were gathered between 1853 and 1859,
but Teresa Cristina continued to enrich the collection until the fall of the Brazilian empire in 1889, when Republic was proclaimed
.[24][25]
and the empress left the country with all the royal family

Detail of a fresco from the
Temple of Isis, representing a
sea dragon and a dolphin, 1st
century AD (Fourth Style).
Prior to the 2018 fire.
important styles and schools of classical antiquity are represented, from the Corinthian geometric style of the 7th century BC to the
Among the highlights of the collection, there is a set of four frescos from Pompeii, made
around the 1st century AD. Two of the pieces are decorated with marine motifs, respectively
depicting a sea dragon and a seahorse as central figures, surrounded by dolphins, and used
to adorn the lower walls of the room of the devotes at the Temple of Isis. The other two
frescos are decorated with representations of plants, birds, and landscapes, stylistically close
to the paintings of Herculaneum and Stabiae. The museum also houses a large number of
objects from Pompeii, portraying the daily life of the Ancient Roman citizens: fibulae,
jewels, mirrors, and other pieces of the Roman female toilette, glass and bronze vessels,
[21][26][27]
phallic amulets, oil lamps molded in terracotta, etc.
The collection of Mediterranean pottery comprises dozens of objects and is noted for the
diversity of origins, shapes, decorations and utilitarian purposes. Several of the most
Roman terracotta amphoras of the Early Christian era. The museum houses examples of kraters, oenochoai, kantharos, chalices,
kyathos, cups, hydriai, lekythoi, askoi, and lekanides. The groups of Etruscan Bucchero pottery (7th-4th centuries BC), Greek black-
figure vases (7th-5th centuries BC), Gnathian vessels (4th century BC), and the vast set of Italiote red-figure vases, with ceramics
from Apulia, Campania, Lucania and Magna Graecia, also stand out.[21]

The collection of sculptures comprises a large number of Tanagra figurines, small terracotta sculptures of Greek origin that were
largely appreciated in the Ancient world, as well as a group of Etruscan bronze statuettes representing warriors and female figures.
The collection of military artifacts includes entire pieces or fragments of helmets, maces, scabbards, bronze blades, brooches and
phalleras.[21]

Venus or Leda. Alabaster Etruscan caryatid Corinthian oinochoe with Campanian Red-figure
sculpture, Hellenistic. chalice, c. 620-560 BC lid, c. 600-575 BC chalice krater, late 4th
century BC

Pre-Columbian archaeology
The National Museum housed an important group of about 1,800 artifacts produced by the
Indigenous peoples of the Americas during the Pre-Columbian era, as well as Andean mummies.
Gathered throughout the 19th century, the collection takes its rise from the holdings of the
Brazilian royal family, with several objects coming from the private collection of emperor Pedro
II, later enlarged through acquisitions, donations, exchanges, and excavations. By the end of the
19th-century, the collection already had considerable prestige, being cited, in the occasion the
1889 Anthropological Exposition inauguration, as one of the largest collections of South
American archaeology.[21][28][29]

The collection comprised mostly objects related to the textile manufacturing, featherwork,
ceramic production, and stonecraft of the Andean cultures (groups of Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and
Argentina) and, to a lesser extent, of the Amazonian natives (including a rare assemblage of
Peruvian Wari culture. Venezuelan artifacts) and Mesoamerican cultures (mainly from present-day Mexico and
Anthropomorphic Nicaragua). Several aspects of the daily routine, social organization, religiosity, and imagery of
ceramic figurine, 500- the Pre-Columbian civilizations are addressed in the collection, exemplified from the basic
1200 AD. utilitarian dimensions (clothing, body ornaments, weapons) to more refined artifacts, imbued with
notable artistic sense (measurement and musical instruments, ritualistic objects, figurative ceramic
sculptures and vessels distinguished for their aesthetic features).[28][21] Other aspects of the Pre-
Columbian life, such as the dynamics of trade, ideological diffusion and cultural influences among the groups are also represented in
the collection, being noticeable, for example, on the similarity of the decorative patterns, artistic techniques, as well as in the subjects
portrayed in their production, common to nearly all distinct groups, such as the representation of plants, nocturnal animals (bats,
[30][21][31]
serpents, owls) and fantastic creatures associated to natural elements and phenomena.

Best represented groups, in the context of Andean cultures, include:

Nazca culture, which flourished on the southern coast of Peru between the 1st century BC and 800 AD. The National
Museum has a large set of fragments of Nazca textiles depicting animals (mainly llamas), fantastic beings, plants,
[30]
 and geometric patterns;[30]
Moche civilization, which flourished on the northern coast of Peru between the early
Christian era and 8th century AD, responsible for building large monuments,
temples, pyramids, and ceremonial complexes, represented in the collection by a
group of figurative pottery of high artistic and technical quality (zoomorphic,
anthropomorphic, and globular vessels) and examples of goldsmithery; [32][33]

Wari culture, which inhabited the south-central Andes since the 5th century AD, Peruvian Chancay
represented by anthropomorphic ceramic vessels and textile fragments; [33]
culture. Fragment of
Lambayeque culture, which arose in the homonymous region of Peruduring the 8th textile with
century AD, exemplified in the collection through textiles, pottery and metalwork; [34]
representation of birds.
Chimú culture, which flourished on theValley of the Moche Riversince the 10th Huaca del Sol, Late
century AD, represented by a group of zoomorphic and anthropomorphic pottery Period, c. 1200-1400 AD.
(characteristically dark, obtained through the technique of reducing burning, and
inspired by stylistic elements of the Moche and W ari cultures), as well as textiles
decorated with varying motifs;[35][36]
Chancay culture, which developed between the Intermediate and Late periods (from
about 1000 to 1470 AD), on the valleys of the rivers Chancay and Chillon, presented
in the collection by a set of anthropomorphic pottery (characteristically dark,
decorated with light-colored engobe and brown painting) and sophisticated textiles
depicting animals and vegetables — namely a large mantle, with three meters of
length;[21][37]
Inca civilization, which flourished around the 13th century AD and became the
largest empire of the Pre-Columbian Americas in the following century . The National
Museum possesses a set of figurative pottery and vessels decorated with geometric
patterns ("Incan aryballos"), miniature figures of human beings and llamas, made
with alloys of gold, silver, and copper, miniatures of Inca ceremonial clothing, Shrunken head,
featherwork, quipus, mantles, tunics, and several other examples of textiles. [38][39]
mummified by the
The collection of Andean mummies of the National Museum allows a glimpse at the funerary Ecuadorian-Peruvian
Jivaroan peoples.
practices of the cultures of the region. The mummies of the collection were preserved either
naturally (as a result of the favorable geo-climatic conditions of the Andean Mountains) or
artificially, in the context of religious and ritualistic practices. Originating from Chiu Chiu, at the Atacama Desert, northern Chile,
there is a mummy of a man with an estimated age of 3.400 to 4.700 years, preserved in a seated position, with the head resting on the
knees and covered by a wool cap. This was the position which the Atacaman cultures used to sleep, due to the cold climate of the
desert. It was also the position in which they were buried, together with their belongings.[40] A second mummy in the collection —
an Aymara man, found in the surroundings of Lake Titicaca, between Peru and Bolivia — is preserved in the same position, but
involved in a funerary bundle.[41] The collection of mummies also include a boy, donated by the Chilean government, and,
illustrating the techniques of artificial mummification of Pre-Columbian cultures, an example of a shrunken head, coming from the
Jivaroan peoples of equatorial Amazon, of ritualistic purposes.[31][42]

Mexican Olmec Peruvian Moche Inca civilization. Ceramic Mummy of a Chilean

civilization. Statuette of a civilization. Head-shaped vase ("Inca Aryballos"), Atacaman man, c. 4700–
male figure, sculpted in ceramic vessel, c. 100 c. 1430-1532 3400 years before
jadeite, c. 1500-400 BC BC-800 AD present.

Brazilian archaeology
 The collection of Brazilian archaeology of the National Museum brings together a vast set
of artifacts produced by the cultures that flourished in the Brazilian territory during the pre-
colonial era, with more than 90,000 objects. It is considered the largest collection in its
typology worldwide. Gradually assembled since the early 19th century
, the collection started
being systematically gathered since 1867 and has been continually expanded until the
present day, through excavations, acquisitions and donations, also serving as basis for a
large number of research projects conducted by the academics of the museum, the Federal
University of Rio de Janeiro, and other institutions. It is composed of objects coming from
[31][16][15]
all regions of Brazil, establishing a timeline spanning more than 10,000 years.

From the oldest inhabitants of the Brazilian territory (horticulturists and hunter-gatherer
groups), the museum preserves several artifacts made of stone (flint, quartz and other
minerals) and bones, such as projectile points used for hunting, axe blades of polished stone
Marajoara culture. and other tools used for carving, scraping, cleaving, triturating, and piercing, in addition to
Anthropomorphic funerary artifacts of ceremonial use and adornments. Although objects made of wood, fiber, and resin
urn, 400-1400 AD. were also produced, the majority of them didn't stand the test of time and are almost absent
in the collection, except for some individual pieces — namely a woven straw basket covered
[31][43][30][44]
by resin, only partially preserved, found in the southern coast of Brazil.

In the segment regarding the Sambaqui people, i.e. the fishing and gathering communities which lived in the south-central coast of
Brazil between 8,000 years before present and the early Christian era, the National Museum holds a large number of vestiges
originating from deposits constituted of agglomerated lime and organic material — the so-called Sambaquis, or middens. Two
fragments of Sambaquis are preserved in the collection, in addition to a group of human skeletal remains found in these
archaeological sites, as well as several cultural testimonies of the Sambaqui people, encompassing utilitarian objects used in routine
tasks (vessels, bowls, pestles and mortars carved in stone), ceremonies and rituals (such as votive statuettes). Among the highlights of
the Sambaqui collection, there is a large set of zoolites (stone sculptures of votive use, with representation of animals, such as fish
and birds, and human figures).[31][30]

The collection also includes several examples of funerary urns, rattles, dishes, bowls,
clothing, dresses, idols, and amulets, with emphasis being placed on ceramic objects,
produced by numerous cultures of precolonial Brazil.[31] Best represented groups in the
collection include:

Marajoara culture, which flourished on Marajó island, at the mouth of the

Amazon River, between the 5th and the 15th centuries, considered the group
that reached the highest level ofsocial complexity in precolonial Brazil. The
museum has a vast assemblage of Marajoara pottery , notable for their
heightened artistic and aesthetic sense, as well as for the variety of shapes and Santarém culture. Ceramic
refined decoration — mostly works of figurative nature (representations of vessel ("caryatid" vase), 1000-
humans and animals), combined with rich geometric patterns (compositions 1400 AD.
imbued with symmetry, rhythmic repetitions, paired elements, binary
oppositions, etc.) and with a predominant usage of the excision technique.
Major part of the ceramic pieces are of ceremonial nature, used in funerary
contexts, rites of passage, etc. Among the highlights, it's possible to mention the anthropomorphic statuettes
(particularly the phallus-shaped female figurines, uniting the male and female principles, a recurring theme of the
Marajoara art), large-scale funerary urns, anthropomorphic vases with geometric decoration, ritual thongs,
zoomorphic, anthropomorphic and hybrid vessels, etc. [45]

Santarém culture (or Tapajós culture), which inhabited the region of the Tapajós River in the state of Pará, between
the 5th and the 15th centuries, known for their ceramic work of peculiar style and high technical quality , produced
with the techniques of modeling, incision, dotted lines, andappliqué, imbued with aesthetic features that suggest the
influence of the Mesoamerican civilizations. Among the highlights of the collection are the anthropomorphic
statuettes of naturalist style (characterised by the closed eyes, shaped like cof
fee beans), the anthropomorphic and
zoomorphic vessels, vases for ceremonial use and, above all, the so-called "caryatid vases" - complex ceramic
vessels, endowed with bottlenecks, reliefs and pedestals decorated with anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines
and fantastic beings. The museum also possesses several examples of Muiraquitãs, i.e. small statuettes carved in
green gems, shaped like animals (mainly frogs) used as adornments or amulets. [45]
 Konduri culture, which reached their apex in the 7th century and met their decline in
the 15th century, and inhabited the region between the Trombetas and Nhamundá
rivers, in Pará. Although this culture kept an intense contact with the Santarém
culture, their artistic production developed unique features. The Konduri collection
is primarily composed of pottery, noted for the techniques of decoration such as
incision and dotted lines, the lively polichromy, and the reliefs with anthropomorphic
and zoomorphic motifs. [46]

Trombetas River culture, which inhabited the lower Amazon, in the state of Pará,
near the region of Santarém. This culture, still largely unknown, was responsible for
producing rare artifacts sculpted in polished stone and objects imbued with stylistic
elements common to the Mesoamerican cultures. The museum collection preserves
lithic artifacts of ceremonial use, as well as anthropomorphic and zoomorphic
statuettes (zoolites representing fish and jaguars). [47]

Miracanguera culture, which flourished on the left bank of the Amazon river , in the
region between Itacoatiara and Manaus, between the 9th and the 15th centuries.
Santarém culture. The museum preserves several examples of ceremonial pottery , mainly
Anthropomorphic vase anthropomorphic funerary urns characterized by the presence of bulges, necks, and
lids, used to store the ashes of the deceased, and other vessels related to funerary
representing a seated man,
rituals. The Miracanguera pottery is distinguished for the presence oftabatinga
1000-1400 AD. layers (clay mixed with organic materials) and the eventual painted decoration of
geometric motifs. The plastic composition frequently outlines specific details, such
as human figures in a seated position, with the legs represented. [48]

Maracá culture, which lived in the region ofAmapá between the 15th and the
18th centuries, represented in the collection by a group of typical funerary urns
depicting male and female figurines in hieratic position, with head-shaped lids,
as well as zoomorphic funerary urns depicting quadrupedal animals, originating
from indigenous cemeteries located in the outskirts of theMaracá River. The
Maracá pottery was frequently adorned with geometric patterns and
polychromed with white, yellow, red, and black pigments. Ornaments in the
members and the head of the figures expressed the social identity of the
deceased.[49] Trombetas River culture.
Tupi-Guaraní culture, which inhabited the Brazilian coast when the Portuguese Zoolite in the shape of a fish,
arrived in the 16th century — subdivided into the group of theTupinambá
w/d.
people (in the North, Northeast, and Southeast regions of Brazil) and the group
of the Guaraní people (in the South region of Brazil and parts of Argentina,
Paraguay, and Uruguay). The collection is predominantly composed of
ceramics and lithic artifacts of daily use (such as pans, bowls, jars, and dishes) or ritual nature (mainly funerary
urns). The Tupi-Guaraní pottery is characterized by its distinct polychromy (with predominance ofred, black, and
white pigments) and drawings of geometric and sinuous patterns. [50]

The National Museum also preserves the only known examples of indigenous mummies found in the Brazilian territory. The
collection consists of the body of an adult woman of approximately 25 years of age, and two children, one located at her feet, with an
estimated age of twelve months, involved in a bundle, and a new-born, also covered by a mantle, positioned behind the head of the
woman. This mummified set is composed of individuals that probably belonged to the group of the Botocudos (or Aimoré) people, of
the Macro-Jê branch. They were found at the Caverna da Babilônia, a cavern located in the city of Rio Novo, interior of the state of
Minas Gerais, in a farm that belonged to Maria José de Santana, who donated the mummies to emperor Pedro II. As an act of
[51]
gratitude for this favor, Pedro II awarded Maria José with the title of Baroness of Santana.
 Hunter-gatherer groups. Sambaqui culture. Stone Santarém culture. Maracá culture.
Projectile point. sculpture of a human Muiraquitã in the shape Anthropomorphic
figure of a frog, 1000-1400 AD funerary urn, 1000-1500
AD

See also
Paço de São Cristóvão, the historic palace that houses the National Museum
National Historical Museum of Brazil

References
1. "Museus em Números, Vol. 1" (https://web.archive.org/web/20151029034028/http://www .museus.gov.br/wp-content/
uploads/2011/11/museus_em_numeros_volume1.pdf)(PDF). Instituto Brasileiro de Museus – IBRAM. p. 73.
Archived from the original (http://www.museus.gov.br/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/museus_em_numeros_volume1. p
df) (PDF) on 2015-10-29.
2. "200 Anos do Museu Nacional"(https://web.archive.org/web/20170708083018/http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/200
_anos/doc/200_anos_do_Museu_Nacional.pdf)(PDF). Associação Amigos do Museu Nacional. p. 8. Archived from
the original (http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/200_anos/doc/200_anos_do_Museu_Nacional.pdf)(PDF) on 2017-07-
08.
3. "Museu Nacional - UFRJ"(http://www.museusdorio.com.br/joomla/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=12:mus
eu-nacional) (in Portuguese). Museus do Rio. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
4. Grande Enciclopédia Larousse Cultural. Santana de Parnaíba: Banco Safra. 1998. p. 4132.
5. "O Museu" (http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/dir/omuseu/omuseu.html) (in Portuguese). Museu Nacional - UFRJ.
Retrieved 2017-02-15.
6. "A Revista Arquivos e a Biblioteca do Museu Nacional"(http://linux.an.gov.br/seer/index.php/info/article/view/574/48
9) (in Portuguese). Revista do Arquivo Nacional
. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
7. "Rio's 200-year old National Museum hit by massive fire"(https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-fire-museum/rios-
200-year-old-national-museum-hit-by-massive-fire-idUSKCN1LJ00L) . Reuters. 2 September 2018. Archived (https://
web.archive.org/web/20180903003435/https://www .reuters.com/article/us-brazil-fire-museum/rios-200-year-old-natio
nal-museum-hit-by-massive-fire-idUSKCN1LJ00L)from the original on 2 September 2018. Retrieved 2 September
2018.
8. "Fire engulfs 200-year-old Brazil museum"(https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-45392668). BBC. 2
September 2018. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20180903005443/https://www .bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-a
merica-45392668) from the original on 2 September 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
9. "Incêndio atinge prédio do Museu Nacional, no Rio"(https://noticias.uol.com.br/cotidiano/ultimas-noticias/2018/09/0
2/incendio-atinge-predio-do-museu-nacional-no-rio.htm). UOL Notícias (in Portuguese). 2 September 2018.
Retrieved 2 September 2018.
10. Roberts, Edmund (1837).Embassy to the Eastern Courts of Cochin-China, Siam, and Muscat(http://www.wdl.org/e
n/item/7317/view/1/25/). New York: Harper & Brothers. p. 25.
11. Pamplona, Nicola; Alegretti, Laís (2 September 2018)."Incêndio de grandes proporções atinge Museu Nacional na
Quinta da Boa Vista, no Rio" (https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/cotidiano/2018/09/incendio-atinge-o-museu-nacional-na
-quinta-da-boa-vista-no-rio.shtml). Folha de S.Paulo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 3 September 2018.
12. "Fogo destrói Museu Nacional, mais antigo centro de ciência do País"(https://brasil.estadao.com.br/noticias/geral,in
cendio-atinge-museu-nacional-no-rio,70002484984) . Estadão (in Portuguese). 2 September 2018. Retrieved
3 September 2018.
13. Phillips, Dom (3 September 2018)."Brazil museum fire: 'incalculable' loss as 200-year-old Rio institution gutted"
(http
s://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/03/fire-engulfs-brazil-national-museum-rio). The Guardian.
14. Sears, P M (1963). "Recovery of the Bendego Meteorite"(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1963Metic...2...22S)
.
Merteoritics. 2 (1): 22–23. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
15. O Museu Nacional. São Paulo: Banco Safra. 2007. p. 45.
16. "Departamento de Antropologia"(http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/dir/pesquisa/antropologia) (in Portuguese).
Museu Nacional/UFRJ. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
17. "Guia de Exposições do Museu Nacional - Egito Antigo (I)"(http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/guiaMN/Guia/paginas/
4/princ9.htm) (in Portuguese). Museu Nacional/UFRJ. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
18. Barkos, Margaret Marchiori (2004).Egiptomania - O Egito no Brasil. São Paulo: Paris Editorial. pp. 31–35.ISBN 85-
72-44261-8.
19. O Museu Nacional. São Paulo: Banco Safra. 2007. p. 222.
20. Brancaglion Junior, Antonio (2007). Revelando o Passado: estudos da coleção egípcia do Museu Nacional (in In:
Lessa, Fábio de Souza & Bustamente, Regina. "Memoria & festa") . Rio de Janeiro: Mauad Editora. pp. 75–80.
21. O Museu Nacional. São Paulo: Banco Safra. 2007. pp. 41–42.
22. "Múmia Kherima intriga pesquisadores do Museu Nacional"(http://oglobo.globo.com/sociedade/historia/mumia-kheri
ma-intriga-pesquisadores-do-museu-nacional-10998769)(in Portuguese). O Globo. 2016. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
23. "Guia de Exposições do Museu Nacional - Egito Antigo (II)"(http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/guiaMN/Guia/paginas/
4/principal10.htm) (in Portuguese). Museu Nacional/UFRJ. 2016 . Retrieved 2017-02-09.
24. "Culturas do Mediterrâneo"(http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/dir/exposicoes/arqueologia/culturas-mediterraneo/inde
x.html) (in Portuguese). Museu Nacional/UFRJ. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
25. O Museu Nacional. São Paulo: Banco Safra. 2007. p. 238.
26. "Italianos restauram afrescos inéditos da coleção Imperatriz ereza
T Cristina" (http://memoria.ebc.com.br/agenciabra
sil/noticia/2004-01-14/italianos-restauram-afrescos-ineditos-da-colecao-imperatriz-tereza-cristina)
(in Portuguese).
Agência Brasil. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
27. "Guia de Exposições do Museu Nacional - Culturas Mediterrâneas"(http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/guiaMN/Guia/
paginas/3/princ8.htm) (in Portuguese). Museu Nacional/UFRJ. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
28. O Museu Nacional. São Paulo: Banco Safra. 2007. p. 19.
29. "Projeto da Nova Exposição do Museu Nacional/UFRJ"(http://flanelografo.com.br/impermanencia/biblioteca/Duart
e%20et%20al%20(2003).pdf)(PDF) (in Portuguese). Museu Nacional/UFRJ. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
30. "Guia de Visitação Escolar ao Museu Nacional/UFRJ" (http://www.slideboom.com/presentations/290230/Guia-de-Vis
ita%C3%A7%C3%A3o-da-UFRJ)(in Portuguese). Museu Nacional/UFRJ. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
31. O Museu Nacional. São Paulo: Banco Safra. 2007. p. 43.
32. "Cultura Moche" (http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/dir/exposicoes/arqueologia/pre-colombiana/moche.html)(in
Portuguese). Museu Nacional/UFRJ. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
33. O Museu Nacional. São Paulo: Banco Safra. 2007. p. 290.
34. "Cultura Lambayeque"(http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/dir/exposicoes/arqueologia/pre-colombiana/lambayeque.ht
ml) (in Portuguese). Museu Nacional/UFRJ. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
35. "Cultura Chimu" (http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/dir/exposicoes/arqueologia/pre-colombiana/chimu.html)(in
Portuguese). Museu Nacional/UFRJ. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
36. O Museu Nacional. São Paulo: Banco Safra. 2007. p. 296.
37. "Cultura Chancay" (http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/dir/exposicoes/arqueologia/pre-colombiana/chancay
.html) (in
Portuguese). Museu Nacional/UFRJ. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
38. "Cultura Inca" (http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/dir/exposicoes/arqueologia/pre-colombiana/inca.html)(in
Portuguese). Museu Nacional/UFRJ. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
39. O Museu Nacional. São Paulo: Banco Safra. 2007. p. 304.
40. O Museu Nacional. São Paulo: Banco Safra. 2007. p. 308.
41. O Museu Nacional. São Paulo: Banco Safra. 2007. p. 309.
42. O Museu Nacional. São Paulo: Banco Safra. 2007. p. 334.
43. "Arqueologia Brasileira - Artefatos líticos dos primeiros povoadores"(http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/guiaMN/Guia/
paginas/7/coletaartefatos.htm)(in Portuguese). Guia de Exposições do Museu Nacional . Retrieved 2017-02-16.
44. O Museu Nacional. São Paulo: Banco Safra. 2007. p. 261.
45. O Museu Nacional. São Paulo: Banco Safra. 2007. pp. 264–275.
46. O Museu Nacional. São Paulo: Banco Safra. 2007. p. 282.
47. O Museu Nacional. São Paulo: Banco Safra. 2007. pp. 284–285.
48. "Arqueologia Brasileira - Miracanguera"(http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/guiaMN/Guia/paginas/7/miracanguera.ht
m) (in Portuguese). Guia de Exposições do Museu Nacional . Retrieved 2017-02-16.
49. O Museu Nacional. São Paulo: Banco Safra. 2007. pp. 286–289.
50. "Arqueologia Brasileira - Cerâmica Tupi-guaran" (http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/guiaMN/Guia/paginas/7/ceramica
tupi.htm) (in Portuguese). Guia de Exposições do Museu Nacional . Retrieved 2017-02-16.
51. "Só para os íntimos" (http://www.revistadehistoria.com.br/secao/artigos/so-para-os-intimos)(in Portuguese). Revista
de História. Retrieved 2017-02-16.

External links
National Museum website
The National Museum and its European employeesJens Andermann
The National Museum at Rio de JaneiroJens Andermann

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_Museum_of_Brazil&oldid=857859132

"

This page was last edited on 3 September 2018, at 14:09(UTC).

Text is available under theCreative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this
site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of theWikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.