Pergamon Museum

sight | 2023-01-18

The Pergamon Museum and Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin, Germany is a fascinating experience for the curious traveller. It offers exquisite exhibitions of antiquities from different civilisations and contains over twenty different collections such as ancient Middle Eastern architecture, classical sculpture, Islamic art and Roman mosaics. We choose to go to the museum instead of wandering aimlessly around the city. I am glad we did, as there were some really fascinating relics and artworks on display.

Eros, the Greek god of love and desire, is shown here carrying a bundle of decorative garlands
A carving from Roman times in the 2nd century AD presents a view of the holy symbol of Apollo at the Miletus temple
Archaeologists have uncovered a temple from the 15th century B.C., built by King Kara-indash to honor the goddess Inanna of Uruk
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A Male Figure Made of Copper Alloy from Ancient Lebanon (left)
Egyptian pair of earrings (right)
The Sam’al Lions, modern Zincirli
A Sumerian mosaic, which demonstrates the mosaic approach, from a temple at Uruk IV dating back to 3400–3100 BC
The Kudurru of King Marduk-apla-iddina II illustrates how land grants were used to strengthen ties between the ruler and state officials, as indicated by its text and imagery
Puzur-Ishtar, who reigned over Mari in northern Mesopotamia during the period of 2050–2025 BCE, was a city ruler (left)
The Code of Hammurabi, a Babylonian legal text written around 1755-1750 BC, is the most extensive, well-structured and well-preserved law document from the ancient Near East (right)
The Code of Hammurabi (left)
Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East (right)
A cuneiform text written in Akkadian language, dated back to 1370 BCE, which is a letter from Tushratta, the king of Mitanni to Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep III was discovered at Tell el-Amarna in Egypt and known as one of the Amarna letters
A Middle Assyrian legal document concerning women (left)
Tablet with an inscription (right)
The Orpheus Mosaic is a Roman mosaic floor originating from Miletus in Asia Minor
A lion striding from the Processional Way of Babylon during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar II, which was between 604 and 562 BC
The gate was adorned with lapis lazuli, a royal blue gemstone
Fragment of the wall from the Ishtar Gate of Babylon (left)
Right: ??
Assyrian wall carving
The winged genie relief from the palace of Ashurbanipal II at Nimrud
The Sphinx at the Gate of Hattusa
Statue of the emperor Trajan from Rome, with a head dating to the early 2nd century AD, seated on a base from the 1st century AD
An ivory box from 11th century Sicily, adorned with carved medallions and silver fittings (left)
Ivory horn featuring animal carvings (right)
A section of a wall covering from Samarra, Iraq, dating back to 836-892
A prayer niche from Iran’s Kashan Mosque, created in 1226
A prayer niche from Konya, Turkey that dates back to the 1300s (left)
The Damascus Niche dates back to the 15th and 16th centuries, featuring marble and colored stones with Old Testament inscriptions (right)
A relief of a lute player from Turkey dating back to the 13th century (left)
Glazed ceramic vessel (right)
An engraved walnut panel from the 15th century in Mazandaran, Iran featuring an aphorism in Tulut style
This Turkish towel is from the 18th or 19th century and features intricate embroidery with silk, silver thread and goldwork details
A Turkish towel from the late 18th century with embroidered images of homes and gardens
Rugs
The Berlin Collection carpet with the greatest weight is 50kg
Carpet with an Ottoman court design (left)
A wool carpet from Star Ushak, located in Western Anatolia, that dates back to the 15th or 16th century (right)
Antique Byzantine rug
The Aleppo Room is an extraordinary piece of art and a testament to cultural heritage
Processional Way of the Ishtar Gate (left)
The Market Gate of Miletus, dating back to the Roman period during Trajan’s reign (approximately 100 AD), has been recreated with modern components (right)
Renovation of the Aleppo Room is underway (left)
The Mshatta Facade (right)
The dolerite used to construct Sam’al lions is what gives them their shape
  • Cover Image – Portrait of a Priestess of Athena