The Egyptian Collection

The Palazzo Altemps displays some of the National Roman Museum’s Egyptian collection, which includes pieces linked to Egypt and the Eastern world. Most of these originate from excavations of major archaeological sites in Rome, such as the Sanctuary of Isis and Serapis in the Campo Marzio and the ‘Syrian Sanctuary’ on the Janiculum Hill. Other finds are from the Kircherian Museum, housed for a certain period at the Jesuit’s Roman College, and from the private collections of the Brancaccio and Sciarra families. The collection documents the wealth of Egyptian artistic craftsmanship in Rome, first imported (following the Roman conquest of Egypt in 30 BC) and then produced using a method developed ‘in the Egyptian style’ and intended for the decoration of sacred buildings, private houses and tombs.