Page 92 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2016 - Austria

90  VIENNA AREA B Y AREA

Exploring the cameo depicting Emperor
Kunsthistorisches Museum Augustus welcoming his son
Tiberius on his return from
war, together with Roma, the
The Museum of Art History has a fine collection of Egyptian, goddess of Rome.
Greek and Roman objects, which provide an intriguing record The antiquities section also
of the world’s earliest civilizations. The European sculpture and contains some Etruscan ceramics
decorative art in the Kunstkammer Wien dates from the 15th and statuettes from Tanagra.
to the 18th centuries. This period is also the focus of the picture Early Coptic, Byzantine and
gallery, which largely reflects the personal tastes of its Habsburg German items are shown in the
other rooms, but the true jewel
founders. Venetian and 17th-century Flemish paintings are well among the antiquities is the
represented, and there is an excellent display of works by earlier Treasure of Nagyszentmiklós,
Dutch and German artists. There is also a vast coin collection. a collection of 9th-century
golden vessels with stunning
represented in the museum reliefs, showing Far-Eastern
Oriental and Egyptian collections by the Babylonian influences, found in Romania
Antiquities
reliefs, a lion made of red in 1799.
At the core of this collection ceramic brick and various
are the objects unearthed by exhibits from Arabia. Kunstkammer Wien
Austrian archaeologists in Giza.
Particularly fascinating are the Greek and Roman This museum within a museum
well-preserved relics from the is spread over twenty galleries
tomb of Ka-Ni-Nisut, dating from Antiquities filled with magnificent works of
the Early Kingdom era, including Only part of the museum’s art bought or commissioned
a meticulously reconstructed Greek and Roman collec- by succes sive Habsburg
burial chamber. The blue ceramic tion is housed in the rulers, scientific instru-
figure of a hippopotamus dates main building; the finds ments and clocks
from the Middle Kingdom era. from Ephesus and on regarded as master pieces
Such animal figures were placed Samothrace are on of applied art, and curios-
in the tombs to mark the social display in the Ephesus ities and artifacts from
status of the deceased – the Museum in Neue Burg the rulers’ Kunstkammern
hippopotamus was regarded (see p70). The main (chambers of art). Some
as a royal beast and could be building in Burgring has of the royals worked in
hunted only with the pharaoh’s a beautiful collection of the studio; exhibits
permission. early Greek urns, in include, for example,
The exhibits from the Late a variety of shapes, glass blown by Archduke
Kingdom, mainly associated including vessels Ferdinand II and embroi-
with the mortuary cult, include presented to winners dery by Maria Theresa.
a papyrus book of the dead, the at the Panathenaean Some of the most
mummified corpses of people Games. The sculpture Virgin with Child (c.1495) intriguing items,
and animals, sarcophagi and rooms house many by Tilman however, are
Canopic jars used to preserve the examples of early Greek Riemenschneider splendid examples
entrails of mummified corpses. and Roman art. Some of crafts manship,
Near-Eastern antiquities are are of outstanding quality: for including pieces of jewellery
example, the Youth from and items made from gold.
Magdalensburg, a cast The show piece of the
of a lost Roman statue collection is the golden Saliera
found buried in an or Salt Cellar (see p88), made by
Austrian field; the huge the Italian gold smith and
Head of Athena, probably sculptor Benvenuto Cellini for
from the school of the French King, François I.
Phidias; and fragments Other gems in these rooms
of a frieze with a dying include the magnificent chalice
Amazon. The Hellenic from the collegiate church
era is represented by in Wilten and the precious
the magnificent Head Burgundy cup of Friedrich III.
of a Philosopher, likely A separate section is devoted
to have been that of to wood and stone sculptures
Aristotle. One of the from the Middle Ages, mainly
most precious items in of religious subjects, among
the entire collection of them the amazing Madonna
antiquities is Gemma from Krumlowa (c.1400), the
Room I of the Egyptian galleries Augustea, a Roman poignant Virgin with Child
For hotels and restaurants in this area see p293 and pp312–13

090-091_EW_Austria.indd 90 03/09/15 5:41 pm
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Flashmap follow-on template “UK” LAYER
(Source v1.5)
Date 7th January 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm