Egyptian section
One of the most ancient in Europe, this section bears precious testimony to the taste for collecting Egyptian antiquities. The original core, including all the objects found in Campania at Pompeii, Herculaneum and Pozzuoli, was enriched with private collections, each characterized by a distinct taste reflecting the time and circumstances of their creation: the Farnese Naophor, the Borgia (18th century) and Picchianti (19th century) collections, and smaller groups of artifacts. The approximately 2500 items on display illustrate various aspects of Egyptian civilization from the Ancient Kingdom (2686 BC) down to the Graeco-Roman period (395 AD).
Entrance hall
The bronze and marble sculptures on display come from public monuments in Herculaneum, explored in the 18th century. The monumental staircase is dominated by the statue of Ferdinand I of Bourbon by Antonio Canova.
Greek and Roman sculptures from Campania
Overlooking the western courtyard are temporarily set on display the masterpieces of sculpture found in different sites of Campania. Among the most renowned is the Sosandra Aphrodite from Baia, the bas-relief of Orpheus and Eurydice, the Psyche from Capua and the famous Doryphorus from the Gymnasium of Pompeii, as well as many sarcophagus.
Mosaics
A unique collection of mosaics that showcase many decorative techniques and variety of materials. Different kinds of pictorial effects were transposed into stone, and the techniques range from opus sectile to opus vermiculatum. The core of the collection includes the rich mosaic decorations from the House of the Faun in Pompeii, which also features the extraordinary battle of Alexander the Great. Other masterpieces are four glass-paste mosaic columns, the allegorical representation known as the memento mori and two mosaics with theatrical subjects from the so-called Villa of Cicero in Pompeii, signed by Dioskurides.
Secret cabinet
At the beginning of the 19th century these objects were considered so immoral that they were hidden away. The erotic collection includes pre-Roman artifacts, paintings from the private houses and brothels of Pompeii, and a great number of phallic amulets of different sizes and materials. The marble group of Pan and the she-Goat from the Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum, the so-called Venus in a bikini and the ivory statuette of the Indian goddess of fertility Laksmi found in Pompeii are particularly remarkable.
Hall of the Sundial
Hall of the Sundial is named after the sundial inset into the floor towards the end of the 18th century, which is today the only evidence of the unfulfilled project for an astronomical observatory. On the ceiling is a painting executed by Pietro Bardellino in 1781, showing an allegory of Virtue Crowning Ferdinand IV and his wife Maria Carolina. The two cartouches read “Regibus virtutibus fundata felicitas” and “Iacent nisi pateant”, a celebration of the cultural policies promoted by the King. On the walls there are 18 paintings by Giovan Evangelista Draghi representing the deeds of the Farnese family.
Artifacts from Pompeii and Herculaneum
Objects related to daily life and buried under Vesuvius in 79 AD are arranged according to the different kinds of materials (instead of the original context of provenance). In the bronze section is a group of surgical tools as well as musical instruments and a series of household objects. The ivory and bone game pawns and tesserae are not to be missed, together with the beauty-case and the Egyptian-style glazed pottery. A splendid selection of bronze tableware and cookware follows, along with silverware from the so-called House of Menander in Pompeii (118 pieces). The glass section boasts a great variety of forms and production techniques and some true masterpieces, such as the Blue Vase, made with the cameo-glass technique.
The model of Pompeii
This miniature of the ruins of Pompeii, made of wood, cork and paper on a scale of 1:100, meticulously documents the portion of the ancient city unearthed by 1879, the year it was made. In some cases the model is the only evidence of the existence of lost paintings and mosaics.
Ancient Naples
The objects on display illustrate the Greek and the Roman presence in Naples through materials unearthed in the 19th and the 20th centuries. They range from artifacts found in the ancient Greek site of Parthenope to the wealthy tomb furnishings from the Roman city of Neapolis, as well as sculptures and inscriptions from public and private buildings from Roman times. The collection is completed with items from recent excavations for the new subway line, on show in the corridor joining the Museo subway station.
Prehistory and protohistory
The collection takes a cross-cultural look at many archaeological sites of Campania and also includes specimen from private collections. The most important ones come from the Cave of the Fern in Capri, the Pertosa cave, the Gaudo necropolis, as well as from Capua, Calatia, Vivara and Palma Campania.
Temple of Isis
The discovery of a shrine dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Isis at Pompeii caused a sensation all over Europe and contributed to the spread of Egyptomania, long before Napoleon’s campaigns in 1798. The arrangement of the objects aims to reconstruct the whole architectural setting and decorations of the building, with the display of paintings, ornaments in marble, bronze and terracotta, inscriptions and furnishings.
Frescoes
This vast array of painted and plastered wall fragments detached from the buildings buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD is a precious testimony of Roman decorative art. The frescoes on display have been selected to illustrate different themes and subjects from the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD and represent the only extensive documentation of ancient painting, made more extraordinary by the complete loss of ancient Greek painting. These specimens have been arranged to reconstruct the original context and provenance. Among the most characteristic ones are the Sappho from Pompeii and the Flora from Stabiae, the life-size frescoes from the Villa of Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale and those from the Villa of Agrippa Posthumous at Boscotrecase.
Pithecusae
The artifacts on display come from the island of Ischia, the ancient Pithecusae, considered the first Greek settlement in the West (8th century BC). A house built in dry stone is reconstructed here from the small settlement at Punta Chiarito. Some Roman votive reliefs found at the shrine of the Nitrodi Ninphs are also exhibited.
