Ethnological Collections and Asian Art

New presentation of the collections

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	Free admission
	No time slot ticket required.
	English, German
	Accessible for wheelchairs
	Africa, 2nd floor, Asia, 3rd floor, Oceania, 2nd floor
	Opening hours Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun: 10:30 am – 6:30 pm Tue: closed Exceptions 24/12/24: closed 25/12/24: 12:00 pm – 06:00 pm 26/12/24: 12:00 pm – 06:00 pm 31/12/24: 10:30 am – 04:30 pm 01/01/25: 12:00 pm – 06:00 pm

Free admission

Newly curated, right in the centre of Berlin

With around 20,000 exhibits on 16,000 square metres, the collections of the Ethnologisches Museum and Museum für Asiatische Kunst of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, as well as six temporary exhibitions, offer a diverse view of past and present cultures of Africa, America, Asia and Oceania. The new presentation, which was developed in many areas in cooperation with communities from the various regions of the world, raises pressing questions about the origin of the objects, the conditions under which they were collected and the effects of colonialism up to the present day.

Contents

Africa

Power figure “mangaaka“ (Congo, Yombe, 19th century) in the module “Open Storage Africa. Appropriating objects and imagining Africa“ of the Ethnologisches Museum in the Humboldt Forum.

Wooden figures and masks from Cameroon, ivory objects, traditional clothing from Namibia and the “bronzes” from the historic kingdom of Benin – many objects were taken from the African continent as a consequence of colonial rule.

Africa: The Must Sees

Oceania

Big Outrigger Boat from the Island of Luf in the module “Oceania: People and Sea. A sea of islands“ of the Ethnologisches Museum in the Humboldt Forum

In the vastness of the Pacific, the islands of Oceania appear small and isolated. For their local populations, however, the sea was an interconnected living space. The boats in the Humboldt Forum bear witness to their outstanding navigational and boat-building skills.

Oceania: The Must Sees

Asia

Parvati or Uma, the goddess Shiva as a processional figure (South India, 14th -16th century) in the module "Hindu Art in South Asia“ of the Museum für Asiatische Kunst in the Humboldt Forum.

Experience Khmer art, Chinese courtly art, Buddhist cave temples, religious rituals around the gods of India, Korean ceramic traditions, Indian miniature paintings, Asian shadow play, the global diversity of Islam or a tea ceremony in the tea house specially designed for the Humboldt Forum.

Asia: The Must Sees

The Americas

"Ausstellungsansicht des Moduls „Mesoamerika. Ballspiel, Pyramiden, Götter“ des Ethnologischen Museums im Humboldt Forum"

Discover the Mesoamerican ball game, the the golden “Kazike” figure of the of the pre-Columbian Quimbaya, an elaborately painted Mayan cacao vessel or the monumental Cotzumalhuapa stelae from present-day Guatemala.

The Americas: The Must Sees

Temporary Exhibitions

Open Storages

Exhibition view of the domed room in the module "Turfan Collection Central Asia“ of the Museum für Asiatische Kunst in the Humboldt Forum.

Learn more about the 100-year history of the collection: Why were objects acquired? How were the works reinterpreted as cultural objects, art and historical evidence?

Sounds of the World

Exhibition view of the module “Sound of the World. The study of organised sound“ of the Ethnologisches Museum in the Humboldt Forum.

When and why do people make music? Get to the heart of the universal language of humanity – with three-dimensional sound installations in the listening room, the phonogram archive and instruments from all over the world.

Must See: Listening Space

Highlight

Listening Space
Immerse yourself in sound experiences from around the world

Family Spaces

Hands-on stations, a specially made boat to climb and explore in the Oceania area, media stations on everyday racism designed especially for children and young people, or computer games on colonial history in the Africa area: the family areas allow young visitors their own access to the objects and their stories.