Episode 23: A Tragedy Highlights the Importance of Our Museums

Ii-wey! Headlining news today is the sad news of a fire that last night engulfed the 200-year old National Museum located in Rio de Janeiro. No loss of life has been reported, but it remains to be reported just how many of the near 20 million artifacts have been lost. This fire devastated a country’s heritage; not dissimilar to if we lost the Smithsonian, the Louvre or the British Museum in just a few hours’ time.

The museum was founded in 1818 with a focus on science, specifically natural history and anthropology. Distinguished as a Brazilian National Heritage building since 1938, the museum had the distinction of being one of the oldest scientific institutions and one of the largest in the Americas. The museum’s library was home to almost 500,000 volumes.

Of the 20 million artifacts, the archaeology collection housed over 100,000 items and was subdivided into four sections: Ancient Egypt, Mediterranean cultures, Pre-Columbian archaeology, and Brazilian archaeology. Highlights of museum’s collection included: 

Ancient Egypt:The initial collection has a naval blockade to thank. In 1826, a tradesman who had acquired many pieces that had been excavated by the famous explorer Giovanni Belzoni was headed for Argentina but was forced to Rio de Janeiro. Fiengo’s collection was put up for auction and emperor Pedro I bought the entire collection. His son, Pedro II, expanded the collection. Acquisitions included Sha-Amun-en-su’s (an Amun singer) polychromed wood sarcophagus dated to the 23^rd Dynasty (c. 750 B.C.) and was intact (never opened). 

Three Amun priests’ sarcophagi and mummies as well as a Roman-period mummy named princess Kherima, which went through a rare preparatory process, was also in the collection. Other artifacts included animal mummies, funerary items, steles, jewels, and alabaster bowls. 

Mediterranean cultures: Pedro II consort empress Teresa Cristina (nicknamed the Mother of All Brazilians) also had an interest in archaeology. In 1843, she acquired antiquities from Herculaneum and Pompeii. She established a formal exchange with the Kingdom of Naples whereas she would send indigenous artifacts and in turn, she could enlarge the museum collection of Greco-Roman objects. Notable amongst the collection were four frescos from Pompeii, two being from the Temple of Isis. Tragically, the frescos and empress Teresa Cristina’s entire collection have been reported lost in the fire. 

Pre-Columbian archaeology: Many items in this collection came from emperor Pedro II’s private collection. In its first 80 years, this section gathered together a well-rounded representation of the indigenous peoples during this era. Items from Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina included textile, ceramic, and stonecraft in addition to musical instruments and ritualistic objects. 

This collection included Andean mummies, representing both natural and intentional examples. For example, a male mummy from Atacama Desert was estimated to be 3,400 – 4,700 years old, an Aymara man, a young boy who had been mummified according Pre-Columbian traditions, and a shrunken head used for rituals by the Jivaroan peoples. 

Brazilian archaeology: The museum had the largest collection of Brazilian artifacts with over 90,000 objects representing over 10,000 years of history. Hunting and ceremonial objects made from stone and bones seemed to stand the test of time whereas only rarely were items of wood and fiber found. However, the museum preserved the only indigenous mummies from Brazil. A young adult woman was bundled with two children, one at her feet and one positioned behind her head, representing an unusual configuration. 

News articles mention that firefighters and museum employees were able to safely remove some of the artifacts before the three-story building was completely consumed. There are early reports coming out of items lost to the fire. Most clearly, the fire brought to light for the world that the museum suffered from a lack of adequate funding that dogged the museum for a number of years. As if to add to salt to the deep cultural wound being felt, the museum received funding this past June, which was going to include paying for the installation of a fire-sprinkler system. 

This event bears witness to the critical position our museums should have in our society. These are institutions that house significant, one-of-a-kind objects of antiquity that provide us insight and understanding of a shared history, our shared global identity. It is heartbreaking when war ravages our historical sites; it is shameful that a lack of monetary support directly impeded this museum from preventative options that could have avoided this fire and loss of history.  

Senebti! 

Banner photo from Wiki page “National Museum of Brazil” (see here).