View source for National Museum of Brazil

{{Short description|Museum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil}}
{{Distinguish|National Historical Museum (Brazil)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox museum
|name           = National Museum of Brazil
|native_name    = Museu Nacional
|logo           = Museu nacional logo.png
|image          = Museu Nacional UFRJ.jpg
|caption        =
|image_size     =
|map_type       =
|coordinates    = {{Coord|22|54|21|S|43|13|34|W|type:landmark_region:|display=inline,title}}
|established    = {{Start date|df=y|1818|06|06}}
|location       = [[Quinta da Boa Vista]] in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
|type           = [[Natural history]], [[ethnology]] and [[archaeology]]
|collection     = approx. 20 million objects (before 2018 fire),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.museus.gov.br/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/museus_em_numeros_volume1.pdf|title=Museus em Números, Vol. 1|work=Instituto Brasileiro de Museus – IBRAM|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151029034028/http://www.museus.gov.br/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/museus_em_numeros_volume1.pdf|archive-date=29 October 2015|page=73}}</ref> 1.5&nbsp;million objects placed in other buildings (after 2 September 2018 fire)
|visitors    = approx. 150,000 (2017)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/200_anos/doc/200_anos_do_Museu_Nacional.pdf|title=200 Anos do Museu Nacional|publisher=Associação Amigos do Museu Nacional|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708083018/http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/200_anos/doc/200_anos_do_Museu_Nacional.pdf|archive-date=8 July 2017|page=8}}</ref>
|director    = [[Alexander Kellner|Alexander Wilhelm Armin Kellner]]
|curator     =
|founder     = [[João VI of Portugal|King João VI of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves]]
|owner       = [[Federal University of Rio de Janeiro]]
|website     = {{url|museunacional.ufrj.br}}
}}
[[File:Museu Nacional da UFRJ - Quinta da Boa Vista no Rio de Janeiro, Brasil 13.jpg|thumb|262px|The former [[Paço de São Cristóvão|Imperial Palace]] that housed the National Museum at [[Quinta da Boa Vista]] Park and [[Rio de Janeiro Zoological Garden|Zoo]]]]
[[File:Frond, Cicéri - Palácio Imperial da Quinta da Boa Vista.jpg|thumb|262px|The Historical appearance of the initial building and surroundings]]
The '''National Museum of Brazil''' ({{langx|pt|Museu Nacional}}) is the oldest scientific institution of Brazil.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oeco.org.br/blogs/salada-verde/video-o-museu-nacional-vive-por-alexander-kellner/|title=Museum lives|date=8 October 2018|publisher=Eco & Youtube|language=pt|access-date=8 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/dir/omuseu/omuseu.html|title=O Museu Nacional é uma instituição autônoma, integra...|publisher=Museu Nacional Ufrj|language=pt|access-date=7 October 2018}}</ref> It is located in the city of [[Rio de Janeiro]], where it is installed in the [[Paço de São Cristóvão]] (Saint Christopher's [[Palace]]), which is inside the [[Quinta da Boa Vista]]. The main building was originally the residence of the [[House of Braganza]] in colonial Brazil, as the Portuguese royal family between 1808 and 1821 and then as the [[Brazilian imperial family]] between 1822 and 1889. After the monarchy was deposed, it hosted the Republican Constituent Assembly from 1889 to 1891 before being assigned to the use of the museum in 1892. The building was listed as Brazilian National Heritage in 1938<ref name="Museus do Rio - MNRJ">{{Cite web |title=Museu Nacional – UFRJ|website=Museus do Rio|year=2018|url=http://www.museusdorio.com.br/joomla/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=12:museu-nacional| access-date=15 February 2017|language=pt|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215122231/http://www.museusdorio.com.br/joomla/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=12:museu-nacional| archive-date=15 February 2017}}</ref> and was largely destroyed by a fire in 2018.
Founded by [[João VI of Portugal|King João VI of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves]] on 6 June 1818, under the name of "Royal Museum", the institution was initially housed at the [[Campo de Santana (park)|Campo de Santana park]], where it exhibited the collections incorporated from the former House of Natural History, popularly known as ''Casa dos Pássaros'' ("House of the Birds"), created in 1784 by the Viceroy of Brazil, {{interlanguage link|Luís de Vasconcelos e Sousa, 4th Count of Figueiró|pt|Luís de Vasconcelos e Sousa, 4º Conde de Figueiró}}, as well as collections of [[mineralogy]] and zoology. The museum foundation was intended to address the interests of promoting the [[socioeconomic development]] of the country by the diffusion of education, culture, and science. In the 19th century, the institution was already established as the most important South American museum of its type. In 1946, it was incorporated into the [[Federal University of Rio de Janeiro]].<ref name="Larousse 4132">{{cite book|title=Grande Enciclopédia Larousse Cultural|year=1998|publisher=Banco Safra|location=Santana de Parnaíba|page=4132}}</ref><ref name="Museus do Rio - MNRJ"/><ref name="MN UFRJ O Museu">{{Cite web |title=O Museu|website=Museu Nacional - UFRJ|url=http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/dir/omuseu/omuseu.html| access-date=15 February 2017|language=pt|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215124011/http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/dir/omuseu/omuseu.html| archive-date=15 February 2017| url-status=live}}</ref>
The National Museum held a vast collection with more than 20 million objects, one of the largest collections of [[natural history]] and [[anthropology|anthropological]] artifacts in the world, encompassing some of the most important material records regarding [[natural science]] and anthropology in Brazil, as well as numerous items that came from other regions of the world and were produced by several cultures and ancient civilizations. Built-up over more than two centuries through expeditions, excavations, acquisitions, donations and exchanges, the collection was subdivided into seven main nuclei: geology, [[paleontology]], [[botany]], [[zoology]], [[biological anthropology]], [[archaeology]], and [[ethnology]]. The collection was the principal basis for the research conducted by the academic departments of the museum{{snd}}which are responsible for carrying out activities in all the regions of the Brazilian territory and several places of the world, including the [[Antarctica|Antarctic continent]]. The museum holds one of the largest scientific [[library|libraries]] of Brazil, with over 470,000 volumes and 2,400 rare works.<ref name="Museus do Rio - MNRJ"/>
In the area of education, the museum offers [[Academic specialization|specialization]]s, [[Continuing education|extension]] and post-graduation courses in several fields of the knowledge, in addition to hosting temporary and permanent exhibitions and educational activities open to the general public.<ref name="Museus do Rio - MNRJ"/> The museum manages the ''Horto Botânico'' (Botanical Garden), adjacent to the ''Paço de São Cristóvão'', as well as an advanced campus in the city of [[Santa Teresa, Espírito Santo|Santa Teresa]], in [[Espírito Santo]]{{snd}}the Santa Lúcia Biological Station, jointly managed with the Museum of Biology Prof. Mello Leitão. A third site, located in the city of [[Saquarema]], is used as a support and logistics center for field activities. Finally, the museum is also dedicated to editorial production, outstanding in that field the ''[[Archivos do Museu Nacional]]'', the oldest scientific journal of Brazil,<ref>{{Cite periodical |periodical=Arquivos do Museu Nacional |volume=62 |issue=3 |date=July–September 2004|url=http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/publicacoes/wp-content/arquivos/Arqs%2062%20n%203%20Completo.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180904030911/http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/publicacoes/wp-content/arquivos/Arqs%2062%20n%203%20Completo.pdf|archive-date=4 September 2018|access-date=3 September 2018|title=Archivos do Museu Nacional|lang=pt-br}}</ref> continuously published since 1876.<ref name="Larousse 4132"/><ref name="Revista Arquivos do MN 1">{{Cite periodical |author=Michele de Barcelos Agostinho |date=January–June 2018 |title=A revista Arquivos e a Biblioteca do Museu Nacional: espaços de circulação e conservação das ciências naturais no Brasil imperial |periodical=Acervo revista do Arquivo Nacional |volume=26 |issue=1 |url=http://revista.arquivonacional.gov.br/index.php/revistaacervo/article/view/492/491|access-date=15 February 2017|language=pt|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426033410/http://revista.arquivonacional.gov.br/index.php/revistaacervo/article/view/492/491|archive-date=26 April 2018| df=dmy-all}}</ref>
The palace, which housed a large part of the collection, was [[National Museum of Brazil fire|destroyed in a fire]] on the night of 2 September 2018.<ref name=reuters20180902>{{Cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-fire-museum/rios-200-year-old-national-museum-hit-by-massive-fire-idUSKCN1LJ00L |title=Rio's 200-year-old National Museum hit by massive fire |date=2 September 2018 |work=[[Reuters]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903003435/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-fire-museum/rios-200-year-old-national-museum-hit-by-massive-fire-idUSKCN1LJ00L|archive-date=3 September 2018|url-status=live|access-date=2 September 2018}}</ref><ref name=bbc20180902>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-45392668 |title=Fire engulfs 200-year-old Brazil museum|date=2 September 2018 |publisher=BBC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903005443/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-45392668|archive-date=3 September 2018|url-status=live|access-date=2 September 2018}}</ref><ref name=noticiasBrazil20180902>{{Cite web |url=https://noticias.uol.com.br/cotidiano/ultimas-noticias/2018/09/02/incendio-atinge-predio-do-museu-nacional-no-rio.htm |title=Incêndio atinge prédio do Museu Nacional, no Rio |date=2 September 2018 |website=UOL Notícias |language=pt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903045942/https://noticias.uol.com.br/cotidiano/ultimas-noticias/2018/09/02/incendio-atinge-predio-do-museu-nacional-no-rio.htm |archive-date=3 September 2018 |access-date=2 September 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> The building had been called a "firetrap" by critics, who argued the fire was predictable and could have been prevented.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/leaders/2018/09/08/lessons-from-the-destruction-of-the-national-museum-of-brazil|title=Lessons from the destruction of the National Museum of Brazil|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=13 September 2018}}</ref> The fire began in the [[air-conditioning system]] of the [[auditorium]] on the ground floor. One of the three devices did not have external grounding, there was no individual [[circuit breaker]] for each of them, and a [[wire]] was without insulation in contact with metal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://g1.globo.com/rj/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2019/04/04/policia-federal-divulga-laudo-de-incendio-que-destruiu-o-museu-nacional-no-rio.ghtml|title=Incêndio que destruiu o Museu Nacional começou no ar-condicionado do auditório, diz laudo da PF|date=4 April 2019|website=G1|language=pt|access-date=4 April 2019}}</ref> In the wake of the fire, the [[ruin]]ed edifice was being treated as an [[archaeological site]] and undergoing [[Reconstruction (architecture)|reconstruction]] efforts, with a metallic roof covering a 5,000 m<sup>2</sup> area including [[debris]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://noticias.uol.com.br/cotidiano/ultimas-noticias/2018/09/14/museu-nacional-e-liberado-para-acoes-de-prevencao-e-estabilizacao.htm|title=Museu Nacional é liberado para ações de prevenção e estabilização|date=14 September 2018|website=UOL|language=pt|access-date=15 September 2018}}</ref>
In 2019, more than 30,000 pieces of the imperial family's past were found during archaeological works on [[Rio de Janeiro Zoological Garden]] nearby, part of [[Quinta da Boa Vista]]. Among the finds are many items such as fragments of [[crockery]], [[cups]], [[Plate (dishware)|plate]]s, [[cutlery]], [[Horseshoes (game)|horseshoes]] and even [[buttons]] and [[brooches]] with imperial coat of arms from military clothing. Those items were given to the museum.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://g1.globo.com/rj/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2019/04/05/mais-de-30-mil-pecas-do-passado-da-familia-imperial-sao-encontradas-durante-obras-no-riozoo.ghtml|title=Mais de 30 mil peças do passado da Família Imperial são encontradas durante obras no RioZoo|work=G1|access-date=5 April 2019|language=pt-BR}}</ref> After being destroyed by fire, the National Museum has received donations to the amount of [[Brazilian Real|R$]] 1.1 [[million]] in seven months towards rebuilding efforts.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://g1.globo.com/rj/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2019/04/05/mais-de-30-mil-pecas-do-passado-da-familia-imperial-sao-encontradas-durante-obras-no-riozoo.ghtml|title=Destruído por incêndio, Museu Nacional recebeu R$ 1,1 milhão em doações. Em dois dias, R$ 3 bilhões foram doados para reconstrução da Catedral Notre-Dame, na França|work=Folha De S.Paulo|access-date=18 April 2019|language=pt-BR}}</ref>
== History ==
[[File:Quinta da Boa Vista 10.jpg|left|thumb|The former [[Paço de São Cristóvão|Imperial Palace]] that housed the National Museum]]
The National Museum was officially established by [[João VI of Portugal|King João VI of Portugal, Brazil, and the Algarves]] (1769–1826) in 1818 with the name ''Royal Museum'', in an initiative to stimulate scientific research in the [[Kingdom of Brazil]], then a constituent part of the [[United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and the Algarves]]. Initially, the museum housed plant and animal [[Biological specimen|specimen]]s, especially birds, which caused it to be known by locals n as the "House of the Birds".
After the marriage of King João VI's eldest son and Brazil's first emperor, [[Pedro I of Brazil|Dom Pedro I]] (1798–1834), to [[Her Imperial and Royal Highness|H.I. & R.H.]] [[Archduchess]] [[Maria Leopoldina of Austria]] (1797–1826), the museum started to attract some of the greatest European [[natural history|naturalist]]s of the 19th century, such as [[Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied]] (1782–1867), [[Johann Baptist von Spix]] (1781–1826), and [[Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius]] (1794–1868). Other European researchers who explored the country, such as [[Augustin Saint-Hilaire]] (1799–1853) and the [[Georg von Langsdorff]] (1774–1852), contributed to the collections of the Royal Museum.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vmrviVAKB4UC&q=Langsdorff+museu+nacional+brazil&pg=PA53|title=Space for Science: The Development of the Scientific Community in Brazil|author=Simon Schwartzman|date=November 2010|publisher=Penn State Press|page=53|isbn=978-0-271-04157-5|access-date=7 September 2018|language=en}}</ref>
By the end of the 19th century, reflecting the personal preferences of [[His Imperial Majesty]] [[Emperor of Brazil|Emperor]] [[Pedro II of Brazil|Pedro II]] (1825–1891), the National Museum started to invest in the areas of the [[anthropology]], [[paleontology]] and [[archaeology]]. The emperor himself, who was an avid amateur scientist and enthusiastic supporter of all branches of science, contributed with several of the collections of the [[art of Ancient Egypt]], [[botany|botanical]] [[fossil]]s, etc., which he acquired during many of his trips abroad. In this way, the National Museum was modernized and became the most important museum of natural history and human sciences of South America. [[Edmund Roberts (diplomat)|Edmund Roberts]] visited the museum in 1832, noting that the museum only had three open rooms at that time, and that the closed rooms were "sadly plundered of its contents by Don Pedro."<ref name=Roberts>{{cite book|last=Roberts|first=Edmund|title=Embassy to the Eastern Courts of Cochin-China, Siam, and Muscat|year=1837|publisher=Harper & Brothers|location=New York|page=25|url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/7317/view/1/25/|access-date=10 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610213410/http://www.wdl.org/en/item/7317/view/1/25/|archive-date=10 June 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:MuseuNacional1870.jpg|thumb|262px|right|The National Museum at its first location in Campo de Sant'Anna, today's Praça da República, ca. 1870]]
[[File:1905 Sala Spix Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiro.png|thumb|left|Sala Spix, {{circa|1905}}]]
D. Pedro II was well aware of the shortage of true scientists and naturalists in Brazil. He fixed this problem by inviting foreign scientists to come to work at the museum. The first to come was [[Ludwig Riedel]] (1761–1861), a German botanist who had participated in [[Georg von Langsdorff|Baron von Langsdorff]]'s famed expedition to [[Mato Grosso]] from 1826 to 1828. Other scientists to come were German chemist [[Theodor Peckolt]] and American geologist and paleontologist [[Charles Frederick Hartt]] (1840–1878). In the following years, the museum gradually became known so it continued to attract several foreign scientists who wished to achieve scientific stature with their work in Brazil, such as [[Fritz Müller]] (1821–1897), [[Hermann von Ihering]] (1850–1930), [[Carl August Wilhelm Schwacke]] (1848–1894), [[Orville Adalbert Derby]] (1851–1915), [[Émil August Goeldi]] (1859–1917), [[Louis Couty]] (1854–1884) and others; all of them were fired by museum director [[Ladislau Netto]] when the emperor was deposed.
The emperor was a very popular figure when he was deposed by a military coup in 1889, so the republicans tried to erase the symbols of the empire. One of these symbols, the [[Paço de São Cristóvão]], the official residence of the emperors in the [[Quinta da Boa Vista]], became vacant; therefore, in 1892, the National Museum, with all its collections, valuables and researchers, was transferred to this palace, where it stays until today.
In 1946, the museum's management was passed to the [[University of Brazil]], currently the [[Federal University of Rio de Janeiro]]. The researchers and their offices and laboratories occupy a good part of the palace and other buildings erected at Botanical Gardens (Horto Florestal), in the Quinta da Boa Vista park – one of the largest scientific libraries of Rio. The National Museum offers graduate courses in the following areas: [[anthropology]], [[sociology]], [[botany]], [[geology]], [[paleontology]], and [[zoology]].
It was presented as a [[Lego]] Idea.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.brickfanatics.com/next-lego-ideas-set-to-be-announced-tomorrow/|title=Lego|date=25 September 2019}}</ref>
== Former collections ==
{{see also|Collection of fossils in the National Museum of Brazil|Collection of meteorites in the National Museum of Brazil}}
[[File:Bendegó meteorite, front, National Museum, Rio de Janeiro.jpg|thumb|[[Bendegó meteorite]], which survived the fire]]
The museum sheltered one of the largest exhibits of the Americas, prior to the fire, consisting of animals, insects, minerals, [[indigenous peoples|aboriginal]] collections of utensils, Egyptian [[mummy|mummies]] and South American archaeological artifacts, [[meteorite]]s, fossils and many other findings.
One of the meteorites that was on display is the [[Bendegó meteorite]], which weighs over {{convert|5000|kg|lb}} and was discovered in 1784.<ref name="Sears">{{cite journal|last1=Sears|first1=P M|title=Recovery of the Bendego Meteorite|journal=Meteoritics|year=1963|volume=2|issue=1|pages=22–23|doi=10.1111/j.1945-5100.1963.tb01400.x|bibcode=1963Metic...2...22S}}</ref>
=== Archaeology ===
The collection of archaeology of the National Museum comprised more than 100,000 objects, covering distinct several civilizations that lived in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, since the [[Paleolithic]] Age until the 19th century. The collection is subdivided into four main segments: [[Ancient Egypt]], [[History of the Mediterranean region|Mediterranean cultures]], [[Pre-Columbian era|Pre-Columbian]] archaeology, and Pre-Columbian Brazil{{snd}} last nucleus, systematically gathered since 1867, is the largest segment of the archaeological collection, as well as the most important collection of its typology in the world, covering the history of [[Pedro Álvares Cabral|Pre-Cabraline]] Brazil in a very comprehensive manner and sheltering some of the most important material records related to Brazilian archaeology. It was, therefore, a collection of considerable scientific value, and object of several works of basic research, theses, dissertations, and monographs.<ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 45">{{cite book|title=O Museu Nacional|year=2007|publisher=Banco Safra|location=São Paulo|page=45}}</ref><ref name="MNRJ Arqueologia Dep">{{Cite web | title=Departamento de Antropologia| website=Museu Nacional/UFRJ| url=http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/dir/pesquisa/antropologia| access-date=13 February 2017| language=pt| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214102631/http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/dir/pesquisa/antropologia| archive-date=14 February 2017}}</ref>
==== Ancient Egypt ====
{{see also|Collection of mummies in the National Museum of Brazil|Collection of funerary steles in the National Museum of Brazil}}
With more than 700 items, the collection of [[Egyptology|Egyptian archaeology]] of the National Museum was one of the largest of Latin America and one of the oldest in the Americas. Most part of the objects entered the museum collection in 1826, when the tradesman Nicolau Fiengo brought from [[Marseille]] an assemblage of Egyptian antiquities that belonged to the famous Italian explorer [[Giovanni Battista Belzoni]], who had been in charge of excavating the [[Theban Necropolis]] (modern-day [[Luxor]]) and the [[Karnak|Temple of Karnak]].<ref name="Guia MN-UFRJ Egito 1">{{Cite web | title=Egito Antigo (I)| website=Museu Nacional/UFRJ| url=http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/guiaMN/Guia/paginas/4/princ9.htm| access-date=9 February 2017| language=pt| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315063145/http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/guiaMN/Guia/paginas/4/princ9.htm| archive-date=15 March 2017| url-status=live}}</ref>
This collection had [[Argentina]] as the initial destination, and had probably been ordered by the president of that country, [[Bernardino Rivadavia]], creator of the [[University of Buenos Aires]] and a noted enthusiast of museums. However, a naval blockade at the [[Río de la Plata|La Plata River]] would impede Fiengo from completing his journey, forcing him to return from [[Montevideo]] to Rio de Janeiro, where the pieces were offered at an auction. Emperor [[Pedro I of Brazil|Pedro I]] bought the entire collection for five million ''[[Brazilian real (old)|réis]]'', and subsequently donated it to the National Museum. It has been suggested that the action of Pedro I would have been influenced by [[José Bonifácio de Andrada]], a relevant early member of [[Freemasonry]] in Brazil, perhaps driven by the interest that the organization had for the Egyptian iconography.<ref name="Barkos 2004 31-35">{{cite book|last=Barkos |first=Margaret Marchiori|title=Egiptomania – O Egito no Brasil|year=2004|publisher=Paris Editorial|location=São Paulo|pages=31–35|isbn=85-72-44261-8}}</ref><ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 222">{{cite book|title=O Museu Nacional|year=2007|publisher=Banco Safra|location=São Paulo|page=222}}</ref>
<ref name="Brancaglion 2007">{{cite book|last=Brancaglion Junior |first=Antonio|title=Revelando o Passado: estudos da coleção egípcia do Museu Nacional (in In: Lessa, Fábio de Souza & Bustamente, Regina. "Memoria & festa")|year=2007|publisher=Mauad Editora|location=Rio de Janeiro|pages=75–80}}</ref>
The collection started by Pedro I would be expanded by his son, Emperor [[Pedro II of Brazil|Pedro II]], an amateur Egyptologist and notable collector of archaeological and ethnographic artifacts. One of the most important additions to the Egyptian collection of the National Museum made by Pedro II is the polychromed wood sarcophagus of the singer of [[Amun]], [[Sha-Amun-en-su]], from the [[Late Period of ancient Egypt|Late Period]], offered to the emperor as a gift during his second trip to Egypt, in 1876, by the [[Khedive]] [[Isma'il Pasha|Ismail Pasha]]. The sarcophagus is distinguished for its rarity, since it is one of few examples that have never been opened, still preserving the [[mummy]] of the singer in its interior.<ref name="Guia MN-UFRJ Egito 1"/> The collection would be enriched through other acquisitions and donations, becoming, at the beginning of the 20th century, sufficiently relevant to draw the attention of international researchers and Egyptologists, such as Alberto Childe, who served as conservator of the Department of Archaeology of the museum between 1912 and 1938 and was also responsible for publishing the ''Guide of the Collections of Classical Archaeology of the National Museum'', in 1919.<ref name="Barkos 2004 31-35"/><ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 222"/><ref name="Brancaglion 2007"/>
[[File:Múmia feminina 02.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|Egyptian mummy ("Princess Kherima"). Roman Period, 1st–3rd centuries AD.]]
Besides the aforementioned coffin of Sha-Amun-en-su, the museum possesses other three sarcophagi, from the [[Third Intermediate Period of Egypt|Third Intermediate Period]] and the Late Era, belonging to three priests of [[Amun]]: Hori, Pestjef, and [[Harsiese B|Harsiese]]. The museum also conserves six human mummies (four adults and two children), as well as a number of mummies and sarcophagi of animals (cats, ibises, fishes, and crocodiles). Among the human examples, the highlight is a mummy of a woman from the [[Egypt (Roman province)|Roman Period]], which is considered extremely rare for the preparatory technique used, of which there are only eight similar examples worldwide. Called "princess of the Sun" or "princess Kherima", the mummy has her members and fingers of the hands and feet individually swaddled and is richly adorned, with painted strips.<ref name="Brancaglion 2007"/> "Princess Kherima" is one of the most popular items of the National Museum collection, being even related to accounts of [[Parapsychology|parapsychological experiences]] and collective trances, that supposedly occurred in the 1960s. "Kherima" also inspired the romance ''The Secret of the Mummy'' by Everton Ralph, member of the [[Rosicrucianism|Rosicrucian society]].<ref name="Barkos 2004 31-35"/><ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 41-42">{{cite book|title=O Museu Nacional|year=2007|publisher=Banco Safra|location=São Paulo|pages=41–42}}</ref><ref name="Globo Kherima">{{Cite news | title=Múmia Kherima intriga pesquisadores do Museu Nacional|newspaper=O Globo| year=2016| url=http://oglobo.globo.com/sociedade/historia/mumia-kherima-intriga-pesquisadores-do-museu-nacional-10998769 |url-access=subscription |access-date=9 February 2017| language=pt}}</ref>
The collection of votive and funerary [[stele]]s is composed of dozens of pieces dated, in their majority, from the Intermediate Period and the Late Era. The steles of Raia and Haunefer, which are graved with titles of [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] origins present in the Bible and in the tablets of [[Mari, Syria|Mari]], stand out, as well as an unfinished stele, attributed to the emperor [[Tiberius]], of the Roman Period. The museum also had a vast collection of ''[[Ushabti|shabtis]]'', ''i.e.'' statuettes representing funerary servers, including a group of pieces that belonged to pharaoh [[Seti I]], excavated from his tomb at the [[Valley of the Kings]]. The rare artifacts included a limestone statue of a young woman, dated of the [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]], carrying a conic ointment vessel on the top of her head{{snd}}an iconography that is almost exclusively found among paintings and reliefs. The collection also includes fragments of reliefs, masks, statues of deities in bronze, stone and wood (such as representations of Ptah-Sokar-Osiris), [[canopic jar]]s, alabaster bowls, [[funerary cone]]s, jewels, and amulets.<ref name="Barkos 2004 31-35"/><ref name="Brancaglion 2007"/><ref name="Guia MN-UFRJ Egito 2">{{Cite web | title=Egito Antigo (II)|website=Museu Nacional/UFRJ| year=2016| url=http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/guiaMN/Guia/paginas/4/principal10.htm| access-date=9 February 2017| language=pt| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424082027/http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/guiaMN/Guia/paginas/4/principal10.htm| archive-date=24 April 2016| url-status=live}}</ref>
<gallery class="center">
File:Estela de Raia 01.jpg|Stele of Raia. New Kingdom, XIX Dynasty, {{circa|1300–1200 BC|lk=on}}
File:Esquife de Hori (tampa) 01.jpg|Sarcophagus of [[Hori (High Priest)|Hori]]. Third Intermediate Period, XXI Dynasty, {{circa|1049–1026 BC|lk=no}}.
File:Estatueta egípcia MN-UFRJ 11.jpg|Bronze [[statuette]] of Amun.
File:Máscara dourada 01.jpg|Golden mask. Ptolemaic Kingdom, {{circa|304 BC|lk=no}}.
File:Esquife de Harsiese (tampa, interior) 01.jpg|Harsiese [[Sarcophagus]] interior
File:Esquife de gato 02.jpg|[[Cat]] Sarcophagus
File:Vasos canopos MN-UFRJ 01.jpg|[[Canopic jar]]
File:Leão reclinado 01.jpg|[[Lion]] figure
</gallery>
==== Mediterranean cultures ====
{{see also|Collection of Mediterranean antiquities in the National Museum of Brazil}}
[[File:Estatueta Koré 01.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.7|''[[Kore (sculpture)|Kore]]'' statuette, sculpted in marble. Greek civilization, {{circa|5th century BC|lk=on}}.]]
The collection of [[classical archaeology]] of the National Museum added up to around 750 pieces and consists mostly of [[Ancient Greece|Greek]], [[Ancient Rome|Roman]], [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]], and [[Italiotes|Italiote]] objects, being the largest collection of its kind in Latin America. Most of the pieces previously belonged to the Greco-Roman collection of [[Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies|empress Teresa Cristina]], who had been interested in archaeology since her youth. When the empress disembarked in Rio de Janeiro in 1843, right after her [[proxy wedding]] to [[Pedro II of Brazil|Emperor Pedro II]], she brought an assemblage of antiquities found during the excavations of [[Herculaneum]] and [[Pompeii]], the Ancient Roman cities destroyed by the eruption of [[Mount Vesuvius]] in 79 AD. Part of this collection had also belonged to [[Caroline Bonaparte|Carolina Murat]], sister of [[Napoleon]] Bonaparte and queen consort of the king of Naples, [[Joachim Murat]].<ref name="MN-UFRJ Arqueologia do Mediterrâneo">{{Cite web | title=Culturas do Mediterrâneo|website=Museu Nacional/UFRJ| url=http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/dir/exposicoes/arqueologia/culturas-mediterraneo/index.html| access-date=9 February 2017| language=pt| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211080941/http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/dir/exposicoes/arqueologia/culturas-mediterraneo/index.html| archive-date=11 February 2017| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 238">{{cite book|title=O Museu Nacional|year=2007|publisher=Banco Safra|location=São Paulo|page=238}}</ref><ref name="EBC Coleção TC">{{Cite news |title=Italianos restauram afrescos inéditos da coleção Imperatriz Tereza Cristina|work=Agência Brasil| url=http://memoria.ebc.com.br/agenciabrasil/noticia/2004-01-14/italianos-restauram-afrescos-ineditos-da-colecao-imperatriz-tereza-cristina| access-date=9 February 2017| language=pt| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211080019/http://memoria.ebc.com.br/agenciabrasil/noticia/2004-01-14/italianos-restauram-afrescos-ineditos-da-colecao-imperatriz-tereza-cristina| archive-date=11 February 2017| url-status=live}}</ref>
In turn, [[Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies]], brother of empress Teresa Cristina, had ordered the excavations of [[Herculaneum]] and [[Pompeii]], initiated in the 18th century, be resumed. The recovered pieces were sent to the [[Naples National Archaeological Museum|Royal Bourbon Museum]] of [[Naples]]. Aiming to increase the number of classical artifacts in Brazil with a view to the future creation of a museum of Greco-Roman archaeology in the country, the empress established formal exchanges with the [[Kingdom of Naples]]. She requested the shipment of Greco-Roman objects to Rio de Janeiro, while sending artifacts of [[Indigenous peoples in Brazil|indigenous origins]] to Italy. The empress also personally financed excavations in Veios, an Etruscan archeological site located fifteen kilometers north of Rome, thus enabling a large part of the objects found there to be brought to Brazil. A greater part of those had been gathered between 1853 and 1859, but Teresa Cristina continued to enrich the collection until the fall of the Brazilian empire in 1889, when the [[Proclamation of the Republic (Brazil)|Republic was proclaimed]] and the empress left the country with all the royal family.<ref name="MN-UFRJ Arqueologia do Mediterrâneo"/><ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 238"/>
[[File:Afresco de Pompéia 02.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|Detail of a fresco from the [[Temple of Isis at Pompeii|Temple of Isis]], representing a sea dragon and a dolphin, 1st century AD (Fourth Style)]]
Among the highlights of the collection were a set of four [[fresco]]s from Pompeii, made around the 1st century AD. Two of those are decorated with marine motifs, respectively depicting a sea dragon and a seahorse as the central figure surrounded by dolphins, and had adorned the lower walls of the room of the devotees at the [[Temple of Isis (Pompeii)|Temple of Isis]]. The other two frescos are decorated with representations of plants, birds, and landscapes, stylistically close to the paintings of Herculaneum and [[Stabiae]]. The museum also housed a large number of objects from Pompeii portraying the daily life of Ancient Roman citizens: ''[[Fibula (brooch)|fibulae]]'', jewels, mirrors, and other pieces of the Roman female ''toilette'', glass and bronze vessels, phallic amulets, oil lamps molded in terracotta, etc.<ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 41-42"/><ref name="EBC Coleção TC"/><ref name="Guia MN-UFRJ Arqueologia do Mediterrâneo">{{Cite web| title=Culturas Mediterrâneas|website=Museu Nacional/UFRJ| url=http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/guiaMN/Guia/paginas/3/princ8.htm| access-date=9 February 2017| language=pt| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301031214/http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/guiaMN/Guia/paginas/3/princ8.htm| archive-date=1 March 2018| url-status=live}}</ref>
The collection of Mediterranean [[pottery]] comprised more than dozens of objects and is noted for the diversity of origins, shapes, decorations and utilitarian purposes. Several of the most important styles and schools of classical antiquity are represented, from the [[Corinth]]ian [[Geometric art|geometric style]] of the 7th century BC to the Roman [[terracotta]] [[amphora]]s of the Early Christian era. The museum houses examples of ''[[krater]]s'', ''[[Oenochoe|oenochoai]]'', ''[[kantharos]]'', [[chalice]]s, ''[[kyathos]]'', [[cup]]s, ''[[hydria]]i'', ''[[Lekythos|lekythoi]]'', ''[[Askos (pottery vessel)|askoi]]'', and ''lekanides''. The groups of Etruscan ''[[Bucchero]]'' pottery (7th–4th centuries BC), Greek [[Black-figure pottery|black-figure vases]] (7th–5th centuries BC), [[Gnathia vases|Gnathian vessels]] (4th century BC), and the vast set of Italian [[Red-figure pottery|red-figure]] vases, with ceramics from [[Apulia]], Campania, [[Lucania]] and [[Magna Graecia]], which also stand out.<ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 41-42"/>
The collection of sculptures comprised a large number of [[Tanagra figurine]]s, small terracotta sculptures of Greek origin that were widely appreciated in the Ancient world, as well as a group of Etruscan bronze statuettes representing warriors and female figures. The collection of military artifacts included entire pieces or fragments of helmets, maces, scabbards, bronze blades, brooches and ''phalleras''.<ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 41-42"/>
<gallery class="center">
File:Torso nu (Vênus ou Leda) 01.jpg|Venus or Leda. [[Alabaster]] [[sculpture]], Hellenistic.
File:Cálice com cariátides etrusco 02.jpg|Etruscan caryatid [[chalice]], {{circa|620–560 BC|lk=on}}
File:Enócoa coríntia com tampa 01.jpg|Corinthian oinochoe with lid, {{circa|600–575 BC|lk=no}}
File:Cratera em cálice de figuras vermelhas MN 02.jpg|Campanian Red-figure chalice krater, late 4th century BC
File:Arqueologia do Mediterrâneo MN07.jpg|[[Vase]]s
File:Ânfora para vinho MN 01.jpg|[[wine]] [[amphora]]
File:Museu Nacional (Brasil) - pequenas ânforas.jpg|[[Amphora]]
File:Estatuetas femininas em terracota MN 01.jpg|[[Statue]]s
File:Sinos MN 01.jpg|[[bell]]s
</gallery>
==== Pre-Columbian archaeology ====
[[File:Cultura Huari - Figura antropomorfa em cerâmica.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.7|Peruvian [[Wari culture]]. Anthropomorphic ceramic figurine, 500–1200 AD]]
The National Museum housed an important group of about 1,800 artifacts produced by the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas]] during the [[Pre-Columbian era]], as well as [[Andes|Andean]] [[Mummy|mummies]]. Gathered throughout the 19th century, the collection was based on holdings of the Brazilian royal family, with several objects coming from the private collection of Emperor Pedro II. It was later enlarged through acquisitions, donations, exchanges, and excavations. By the end of the 19th century, the collection already had considerable prestige, being cited, on the occasion of opening the 1889 Anthropological Exposition, as one of the largest collections of South American archaeology.<ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 41-42"/><ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 19">{{cite book|title=O Museu Nacional|year=2007|publisher=Banco Safra|location=São Paulo|page=19}}</ref><ref name="Projeto Exposição MN/UFRJ">{{Cite book | title=Projeto da Nova Exposição do Museu Nacional/UFRJ| publisher=Museu Nacional/UFRJ| url=http://flanelografo.com.br/impermanencia/biblioteca/Duarte%20et%20al%20(2003).pdf| access-date=9 February 2017| language=pt| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214105317/http://flanelografo.com.br/impermanencia/biblioteca/Duarte%20et%20al%20(2003).pdf| archive-date=14 February 2017}}</ref>
[[File:Cultura Chancay - Fragmento de tecido com representação de aves MN 01.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1|Peruvian [[Chancay culture]]. Fragment of textile with representation of birds. [[Huaca del Sol]], Late Period, {{circa|1200–1400&nbsp;AD}}]]
[[File:Múmia de cabeça - Povo Jivaro 01.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1|[[Shrunken head]], mummified by the Ecuadorian-Peruvian [[Jivaroan peoples]]]]
The collection comprised mostly objects related to the [[textile manufacturing]], [[featherwork]], [[pottery|ceramic production]], and [[Stone carving|stonecraft]] of the Andean cultures (groups of [[Peru]], [[Bolivia]], [[Chile]], and [[Argentina]]) and, to a lesser extent, of the [[Amazon rainforest|Amazonian]] natives (including a rare assemblage of artifacts from the area of present-day Venezuela) and [[Mesoamerica]]n cultures (mainly from present-day [[Mexico]] and [[Nicaragua]]). Several aspects of the daily routine, social organization, religiosity, and imagery of the Pre-Columbian civilizations are addressed in the collection, which has items from common daily use (clothing, body ornaments, weapons) to more refined artifacts, imbued with notable artistic sense (measurement and musical instruments, ritual objects, figurative ceramic sculptures and vessels distinguished for their aesthetic features).<ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 19"/><ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 41-42"/> Other aspects of Pre-Columbian life, such as the dynamics of trade, ideological diffusion, and cultural influences among the groups, are also represented in the collection. Items are evaluated in terms of the similarity of decorative patterns and artistic techniques, as well as in the subjects portrayed. Common to nearly all distinct groups are such subjects as plants, nocturnal animals (bats, serpents, owls), and fantastic creatures associated to natural elements and phenomena.<ref name="Visitação Escolar MN/UFRJ">{{Cite web | title=Guia de Visitação Escolar ao Museu Nacional/UFRJ |website=Slideboom | url=http://www.slideboom.com/presentations/290230/Guia-de-Visita%C3%A7%C3%A3o-da-UFRJ| access-date=9 February 2017| language=pt| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214101615/http://www.slideboom.com/presentations/290230/Guia-de-Visita%C3%A7%C3%A3o-da-UFRJ| archive-date=14 February 2017}}</ref><ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 41-42"/><ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 43">{{cite book|title=O Museu Nacional|year=2007|publisher=Banco Safra|location=São Paulo|page=43}}</ref>
The best represented groups, in the context of Andean cultures, include:
* [[Nazca culture]], which flourished on the southern coast of Peru between the 1st century BC and 800 AD. The National Museum has a large set of fragments of Nazca textiles depicting animals (mainly [[llama]]s), fantastic beings, plants, and geometric patterns;<ref name="Visitação Escolar MN/UFRJ"/>
* [[Moche culture|Moche civilization]], which flourished on the northern coast of Peru between the early Christian era and 8th century AD, responsible for building large monuments, temples, pyramids, and ceremonial complexes, represented in the collection by a group of figurative pottery of high artistic and technical quality (zoomorphic, anthropomorphic, and globular vessels) and examples of goldsmithery;<ref name="MNUFRJ Moche">{{Cite web | title=Cultura Moche|website=Museu Nacional/UFRJ| url=http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/dir/exposicoes/arqueologia/pre-colombiana/moche.html| access-date=9 February 2017| language=pt| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214102019/http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/dir/exposicoes/arqueologia/pre-colombiana/moche.html| archive-date=14 February 2017| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 290">{{cite book|title=O Museu Nacional|year=2007|publisher=Banco Safra|location=São Paulo|page=290}}</ref>
* [[Wari culture]], which inhabited the south-central Andes since the 5th century AD, represented by anthropomorphic ceramic vessels and textile fragments;<ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 290"/>
* [[Sican culture|Lambayeque culture]], which arose in the [[Lambayeque Region|homonymous region of Peru]] during the 8th century AD, exemplified in the collection through textiles, pottery and metalwork;<ref name="MNUFRJ Lambayeque">{{Cite web | title=Cultura Lambayeque|website=Museu Nacional/UFRJ| url=http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/dir/exposicoes/arqueologia/pre-colombiana/lambayeque.html| access-date=9 February 2017| language=pt| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214101946/http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/dir/exposicoes/arqueologia/pre-colombiana/lambayeque.html| archive-date=14 February 2017| url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Chimú culture]], which flourished on the [[Moche Valley|Valley of the Moche River]] since the 10th century AD, represented by a group of zoomorphic and anthropomorphic pottery (characteristically dark, obtained through the technique of reducing burning, and inspired by stylistic elements of the Moche and Wari cultures), as well as textiles decorated with varying motifs;<ref name="MNUFRJ Chimu">{{Cite web | title=Cultura Chimu|website=Museu Nacional/UFRJ| url=http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/dir/exposicoes/arqueologia/pre-colombiana/chimu.html| access-date=9 February 2017| language=pt| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214181302/http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/dir/exposicoes/arqueologia/pre-colombiana/chimu.html| archive-date=14 February 2017| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 296">{{cite book|title=O Museu Nacional|year=2007|publisher=Banco Safra|location=São Paulo|page=296}}</ref>
* [[Chancay culture]], which developed between the Intermediate and Late periods (from about 1000 to 1470 AD), on the valleys of the rivers Chancay and [[Chillón River|Chillon]], presented in the collection by a set of anthropomorphic pottery (characteristically dark, decorated with light-colored engobe and brown painting) and sophisticated textiles depicting animals and vegetables{{snd}}namely a large mantle, with three meters of length;<ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 41-42"/><ref name="MNUFRJ Chancay">{{Cite web | title=Cultura Chancay|website=Museu Nacional/UFRJ| url=http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/dir/exposicoes/arqueologia/pre-colombiana/chancay.html| access-date=9 February 2017| language=pt| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215020734/http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/dir/exposicoes/arqueologia/pre-colombiana/chancay.html| archive-date=15 February 2017| url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Inca Empire|Inca civilization]], which flourished around the 13th century AD and became the largest empire of the Pre-Columbian Americas in the following century. The National Museum possesses a set of figurative pottery and vessels decorated with geometric patterns ("Incan aryballos"), miniature figures of human beings and llamas, made with alloys of [[gold]], [[silver]], and [[copper]], miniatures of Inca ceremonial [[clothing]], [[feather]]work, ''[[quipu]]s'', [[Mantle (clothing)|mantle]]s, [[tunics]], and several other examples of textiles.<ref name="MNUFRJ Inca">{{Cite web | title=Cultura Inca|website=Museu Nacional/UFRJ| url=http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/dir/exposicoes/arqueologia/pre-colombiana/inca.html| access-date=9 February 2017| language=pt| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214180300/http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/dir/exposicoes/arqueologia/pre-colombiana/inca.html| archive-date=14 February 2017| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 304">{{cite book|title=O Museu Nacional|year=2007|publisher=Banco Safra|location=São Paulo|page=304}}</ref>
The collection of Andean mummies of the National Museum allows a glimpse at the funerary practices of the cultures of the region. The mummies of the collection were preserved either naturally (as a result of the favorable geo-climatic conditions of the Andean Mountains) or artificially, in the context of religious and ritualistic practices. Originating from [[San Francisco de Chiu Chiu|Chiu Chiu]], at the [[Atacama Desert]], northern Chile, there is a mummy of a man with an estimated age of 3,400 to 4,700 years, preserved in a seated position, with the head resting on the knees and covered by a wool cap. This was the position which the Atacaman cultures used to sleep, due to the cold climate of the desert. It was also the position in which they were buried, together with their belongings.<ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 308">{{cite book|title=O Museu Nacional|year=2007|publisher=Banco Safra|location=São Paulo|page=308}}</ref> A second mummy in the collection{{snd}}an [[Aymara people|Aymara]] man, found in the surroundings of [[Lake Titicaca]], between Peru and Bolivia{{snd}}is preserved in the same position, but involved in a funerary bundle.<ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 309">{{cite book|title=O Museu Nacional|year=2007|publisher=Banco Safra|location=São Paulo|page=309}}</ref> The collection of mummies also include a boy, donated by the Chilean government, and, illustrating the techniques of artificial mummification of Pre-Columbian cultures, an example of a [[shrunken head]], coming from the [[Jivaroan peoples]] of equatorial Amazon, of ritualistic purposes.<ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 43"/><ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 334">{{cite book|title=O Museu Nacional|year=2007|publisher=Banco Safra|location=São Paulo|page=334}}</ref>
<gallery class="center">
File:Cerâmica Moche MN 01.jpg|Peruvian [[Moche culture|Moche civilization]]. Head-shaped ceramic vessel, {{circa|100 BC–800 AD|lk=no}}
File:Civilização Inca - Aríbalo MN 01.jpg|[[Inca Empire|Inca civilization]]. [[Ceramic]] vase ("Inca Aryballos"), {{circa|1430–1532|lk=no}}
File:Múmia pré-histórica de indivíduo do sexo masculino 01.jpg|Mummy of a Chilean [[Atacama Desert|Atacaman]] man, {{circa|4700–3400|lk=no}} years before present.
File:Cerâmicas amazônicas - Museu Nacional 02.jpg|[[Amazon basin|Amazon]]ian [[Ceramics]]
File:Cerâmicas pré-colombianas MN 02.jpg|[[Ceramics]]
File:Acessório plumário - Acari 02.jpg|[[Plume (feather)|Plume]]s
File:Acessório plumário - Acari, Costa Sul 01.jpg|[[Plume (feather)|Plume]]s
File:Adornos - Arqueologia Pré-Colombiana MN 06.jpg|[[Fashion accessory|Accessories]]
</gallery>
==== Brazilian archaeology ====
[[File:Cultura Marajoara - Urna funerária MN 03.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|[[Marajoara culture]]. Anthropomorphic funerary urn, 400–1400 AD]]
The collection of Brazilian archaeology of the National Museum brought together a vast set of artifacts produced by the cultures that flourished in the Brazilian territory during the pre-colonial era, with more than 90,000 objects. It was considered the largest collection in its typology worldwide. Gradually assembled since the early 19th century, the collection started being systematically gathered since 1867 and has been continually expanded until the present day, through excavations, acquisitions and donations, also serving as basis for a large number of research projects conducted by the academics of the museum, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, and other institutions. It was composed of objects coming from all regions of Brazil, establishing a timeline spanning more than 10,000 years.<ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 43"/><ref name="MNRJ Arqueologia Dep"/><ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 45"/>
From the oldest inhabitants of the Brazilian territory ([[Horticulture|horticulturists]] and [[hunter-gatherer]] groups), the museum preserved several artifacts made of stone ([[flint]], [[quartz]] and other minerals) and bones, such as [[projectile point]]s used for hunting, axe blades of polished stone and other tools used for carving, scraping, cleaving, triturating, and piercing, in addition to artifacts of ceremonial use and adornments. Although objects made of wood, fiber, and resin were also produced, the majority of them didn't stand the test of time and are almost absent in the collection, except for some individual pieces{{snd}}namely a woven straw basket covered by resin, only partially preserved, found in the southern coast of Brazil.<ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 43"/><ref name="Guia Expo MN Arqueologia Brasileira Artefatos Líticos Primeiros Povoadores">{{Cite web | title=Arqueologia Brasileira – Artefatos líticos dos primeiros povoadores|website=Museu Nacional| url=http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/guiaMN/Guia/paginas/7/coletaartefatos.htm| access-date=16 February 2017| language=pt| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503214622/http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/guiaMN/Guia/paginas/7/coletaartefatos.htm| archive-date=3 May 2015| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Visitação Escolar MN/UFRJ"/><ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 261">{{cite book|title=O Museu Nacional|year=2007|publisher=Banco Safra|location=São Paulo|page=261}}</ref>
In the segment regarding the Sambaqui people, ''i.e.'' the fishing and gathering communities which lived in the south-central coast of Brazil between 8,000 years before present and the early Christian era, the National Museum holds a large number of vestiges originating from deposits constituted of agglomerated lime and organic material{{snd}}the so-called [[Sambaquis]], or [[midden]]s. Two fragments of Sambaquis are preserved in the collection, in addition to a group of human skeletal remains found in these archaeological sites, as well as several cultural testimonies of the Sambaqui people, encompassing utilitarian objects used in routine tasks (vessels, bowls, pestles and mortars carved in stone), ceremonies and rituals (such as votive statuettes). Among the highlights of the Sambaqui collection, there is a large set of zoolites (stone sculptures of votive use, with representation of animals, such as fish and birds, and human figures).<ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 43"/><ref name="Visitação Escolar MN/UFRJ"/>
[[File:Cultura Santarém - Vaso de gargalo MN 01.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|[[Tapajós people|Santarém culture]]. Ceramic vessel ("caryatid" vase), 1000–1400 AD]]
The collection included several examples of funerary urns, rattles, dishes, bowls, clothing, dresses, idols, and amulets, with emphasis being placed on ceramic objects, produced by numerous cultures of precolonial Brazil.<ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 43"/> Best represented groups in the collection include:
* [[Marajoara culture]], which flourished on [[Marajó]] island, at the mouth of the [[Amazon River]], between the 5th and the 15th centuries, considered the group that reached the highest level of [[social complexity]] in precolonial Brazil. The museum has a vast assemblage of Marajoara pottery, notable for their heightened artistic and aesthetic sense, as well as for the variety of shapes and refined decoration{{snd}}mostly works of figurative nature (representations of humans and animals), combined with rich geometric patterns (compositions imbued with symmetry, rhythmic repetitions, paired elements, binary oppositions, etc.) and with a predominant usage of the excision technique. Major part of the ceramic pieces are of ceremonial nature, used in funerary contexts, rites of passage, etc. Among the highlights, it's possible to mention the anthropomorphic statuettes (particularly the phallus-shaped female figurines, uniting the male and female principles, a recurring theme of the Marajoara art), large-scale funerary urns, anthropomorphic vases with geometric decoration, ritual thongs, zoomorphic, anthropomorphic and hybrid vessels, etc.<ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 264-275">{{cite book|title=O Museu Nacional|year=2007|publisher=Banco Safra|location=São Paulo|pages=264–275}}</ref>
* [[Tapajós people|Santarém culture]] (or Tapajós culture), which inhabited the region of the [[Tapajós]] River in the state of [[Pará]], between the 5th and the 15th centuries, known for their ceramic work of peculiar style and high technical quality, produced with the techniques of modeling, incision, dotted lines, and ''appliqué'', imbued with aesthetic features that suggest the influence of the [[Mesoamerican civilizations]]. Among the highlights of the collection were the anthropomorphic statuettes of naturalist style (characterised by the closed eyes, shaped like coffee beans), the anthropomorphic and zoomorphic vessels, vases for ceremonial use and, above all, the so-called "caryatid vases" – complex ceramic vessels, endowed with bottlenecks, reliefs and pedestals decorated with anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines and fantastic beings. The museum also possesses several examples of ''[[Muiraquitã]]s'', ''i.e.'' small statuettes carved in green gems, shaped like animals (mainly frogs) used as adornments or amulets.<ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 264-275"/>
[[File:Cultura Santarém - Vaso antropomorfo representando um homem sentado 01.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|[[Tapajós people|Santarém culture]]. Anthropomorphic vase representing a seated man, 1000–1400 AD.]]
* Konduri culture, which reached their apex in the 7th century and met their decline in the 15th century, and inhabited the region between the [[Trombetas River|Trombetas]] and [[Nhamundá River|Nhamundá]] rivers, in Pará. Although this culture kept an intense contact with the Santarém culture, their artistic production developed unique features. The Konduri collection is primarily composed of pottery, noted for the techniques of decoration such as incision and dotted lines, the lively polychromy, and the reliefs with anthropomorphic and zoomorphic motifs.<ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 282">{{cite book|title=O Museu Nacional|year=2007|publisher=Banco Safra|location=São Paulo|page=282}}</ref>
* Trombetas River culture, which inhabited the lower Amazon, in the state of Pará, near the region of [[Santarém, Pará|Santarém]]. This culture, still largely unknown, was responsible for producing rare artifacts sculpted in polished stone and objects imbued with stylistic elements common to the Mesoamerican cultures. The museum collection preserves lithic artifacts of ceremonial use, as well as anthropomorphic and zoomorphic statuettes (zoolites representing fish and jaguars).<ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 284-285">{{cite book|title=O Museu Nacional|year=2007|publisher=Banco Safra|location=São Paulo|pages=284–285}}</ref>
* Miracanguera culture, which flourished on the left bank of the Amazon river, in the region between [[Itacoatiara, Amazonas|Itacoatiara]] and [[Manaus]], between the 9th and the 15th centuries. The museum preserved several examples of ceremonial pottery, mainly anthropomorphic funerary urns characterized by the presence of bulges, necks, and lids, used to store the ashes of the deceased, and other vessels related to funerary rituals. The Miracanguera pottery is distinguished for the presence of ''tabatinga'' layers (clay mixed with organic materials) and the eventual painted decoration of geometric motifs. The plastic composition frequently outlines specific details, such as human figures in a seated position, with the legs represented.<ref name="Guia Expo MN Arqueologia Brasileira Miracanguera">{{Cite web | title=Arqueologia Brasileira – Miracanguera|website=Museu Nacional| url=http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/guiaMN/Guia/paginas/7/miracanguera.htm| access-date=16 February 2017| language=pt| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228162559/http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/guiaMN/Guia/paginas/7/miracanguera.htm| archive-date=28 February 2017| url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Rio Trombetas - Zoólito em forma de peixe.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|[[Trombetas River culture]]. Zoolite in the shape of a fish, w/d]]
* Maracá culture, which lived in the region of [[Amapá]] between the 15th and the 18th centuries, represented in the collection by a group of typical funerary urns depicting male and female figurines in hierarchic position, with head-shaped lids, as well as zoomorphic funerary urns depicting quadrupedal animals, originating from indigenous cemeteries located in the outskirts of the [[Maracá River]]. The Maracá pottery was frequently adorned with geometric patterns and polychromed with white, yellow, red, and black pigments. Ornaments in the members and the head of the figures expressed the social identity of the deceased.<ref name="MN Safra 2007 p 286-289">{{cite book|title=O Museu Nacional|year=2007|publisher=Banco Safra|location=São Paulo|pages=286–289}}</ref>
* [[Tupi people|Tupi-Guaraní culture]], which inhabited the Brazilian coast when the Portuguese arrived in the 16th century{{snd}}subdivided into the group of the [[Tupinambá people]] (in the [[North Region, Brazil|North]], [[Northeast Region, Brazil|Northeast]], and [[Southeast Region, Brazil|Southeast]] regions of Brazil) and the group of the [[Guaraní people]] (in the [[South Region, Brazil|South region of Brazil]] and parts of [[Argentina]], [[Paraguay]], and [[Uruguay]]). The collection is predominantly composed of ceramics and lithic artifacts of daily use (such as [[Cookware|pans]], [[bowl]]s, [[jar]]s, and [[Dishware|dishes]]) or ritual nature (mainly funerary urns). The Tupi-Guaraní pottery is characterized by its distinct polychromy (with predominance of red, black, and white pigments) and drawings of geometric and sinuous patterns.<ref name="Guia Expo MN Arqueologia Brasileira Cerâmica Tupi-guarani">{{Cite web | title=Arqueologia Brasileira – Cerâmica Tupi-guaran|website=Museu Nacional| url=http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/guiaMN/Guia/paginas/7/ceramicatupi.htm| access-date=16 February 2017| language=pt| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301013836/http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/guiaMN/Guia/paginas/7/ceramicatupi.htm| archive-date=1 March 2017| url-status=live}}</ref>
The National Museum held the oldest known examples of indigenous mummies found in the Brazilian territory. The collection consisted of the body of an adult woman of approximately 25 years of age, and two children, one located at her feet, with an estimated age of twelve months, involved in a bundle, and a new-born, also covered by a mantle, positioned behind the head of the woman. This mummified set is composed of individuals that probably belonged to the group of the [[Aimoré people|Botocudos]] (or Aimoré) people, of the [[Macro-Jê languages|Macro-Jê]] branch. They were found at the ''Caverna da Babilônia'', a cavern located in the city of [[Rio Novo, Minas Gerais|Rio Novo]], interior of the state of [[Minas Gerais]], in a farm that belonged to Maria José de Santana, who donated the mummies to emperor Pedro II. As an act of gratitude for this favor, Pedro II awarded Maria José with the title of Baroness of Santana.<ref name="MN Íntimos">{{Cite periodical |author=Regina Dantas |date=2008 |title=Só para os íntimos|periodical=Revista de História| url=http://www.revistadehistoria.com.br/secao/artigos/so-para-os-intimos| archive-url=https://archive.today/20160624072024/http://www.revistadehistoria.com.br/secao/artigos/so-para-os-intimos| archive-date=24 June 2016| access-date=16 February 2017| language=pt}}</ref>
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Ponta de projétil MN 01.jpg|Hunter-gatherer groups. Projectile point.
File:Escultura de pedra em forma humana MN 01.jpg|[[Sambaqui culture]]. Stone [[sculpture]] of a human figure
File:Cultura Santarém - Muiraquitã MN 01.jpg|[[Tapajós people|Santarém culture]]. ''[[Muiraquitã]]'' in the shape of a [[frog]], 1000–1400 AD
File:Cultura Maracá - Urna funerária antropomorfa MN 01.jpg|[[Maracá culture]]. Anthropomorphic funerary [[urn]], 1000–1500 AD
File:Cultura Marajoara - Urna funerária MN 02.jpg|Marajoara [[urn]]
File:Cerâmicas no acervo de arqueologia brasileira MN 01.jpg|[[Ceramics]]
File:Cerâmicas amazônicas - Museu Nacional 03.jpg|[[Statuettes]]
File:Cultura Marajoara - Tangas MN 02.jpg|Marajora items
File:Cultura Santarém - Cerâmicas MN 01.jpg|[[Santarém, Pará|Santarém]] items
</gallery>
== Gallery ==
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Esqueleto de Luzia 01.jpg|[[Luzia Woman]]
File:MaxakalisaurusTopai Rec.jpg|''[[Maxakalisaurus]]''
File:Modelos artísticos de dinossauros carnívoros.jpg|Recreation of [[dinosaur]] heads
File:Afresco de Pompéia 02.jpg|Pompeii fresco
File:Afresco de Pompéia 03.jpg|Pompeii fresco
File:Museu Nacional - UFRJ - Detalhe Teto.jpg|Historic artwork of the interior
File:퀸타 다 보아비스타 15.jpg|[[Ceiling]] [[artwork]]
File:퀸타 다 보아비스타 20.jpg|Ceiling artwork
File:Caixão de Sha-Amun-En-Su.jpg|[[Sarcophagus]] of [[Sha-Amun-en-su]]
File:Detalhe 1 - sarcófago egípcio - Esquife de Hori.jpg|Artwork of an Egyptian sarcophagus
File:퀸타 다 보아비스타 14.jpg|[[Butterflies]] on display
File:퀸타 다 보아비스타 18.jpg|The [[throne]] room, on display in preserved rooms in the front wings of the museum
File:Sala do Trono - Museu Nacional 03.jpg|Part of the preserved throne room
File:Acervo de arqueologia pré-colombiana MN 04.jpg|[[Pre-Columbian]] artifacts
File:Cerâmicas pré-colombianas MN 01.jpg|Pre-Columbian [[jar]]s and ceramics
File:Cerâmicas Tupi-Guarani MN 02.jpg|[[Tupi-guarani]]
File:Acervo greco-romano MN 01.jpg|Ancient Greek [[vase]]s
File:Exposição paleontologia MN 04.jpg|Paleontological tools
</gallery>
== Financial difficulties ==
From 2014 the museum faced budget cuts that dropped its maintenance to less than [[Brazilian real|R$]] 520,000 annually. The budget was so low, there was [[US$]] 0.01 to spend on each of the artifacts.<ref name="The Economist">{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/leaders/2018/09/08/lessons-from-the-destruction-of-the-national-museum-of-brazil|title=Lessons from the destruction of the National Museum of Brazil|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=12 September 2018}}</ref> The building fell into disrepair, evidenced by peeling wall material, exposed electrical wiring, and [[termite]] infestation.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Pamplona|first1=Nicola|last2=Alegretti|first2=Laís|title=Incêndio de grandes proporções atinge Museu Nacional na Quinta da Boa Vista, no Rio|url=https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/cotidiano/2018/09/incendio-atinge-o-museu-nacional-na-quinta-da-boa-vista-no-rio.shtml|work=[[Folha de S.Paulo]]|date=2 September 2018|language=pt|access-date=3 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903002900/https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/cotidiano/2018/09/incendio-atinge-o-museu-nacional-na-quinta-da-boa-vista-no-rio.shtml|archive-date=3 September 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="The Economist"/> By June 2018, the museum's 200th anniversary, it had reached a state of near-complete abandonment.<ref>{{cite news|title=Fogo destrói Museu Nacional, mais antigo centro de ciência do País|url=https://brasil.estadao.com.br/noticias/geral,incendio-atinge-museu-nacional-no-rio,70002484984|work=[[Estadão]]|date=2 September 2018|language=pt|access-date=3 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903082044/https://brasil.estadao.com.br/noticias/geral,incendio-atinge-museu-nacional-no-rio,70002484984|archive-date=3 September 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> There was an offer from the [[World Bank]] to lend the museum funds, which was turned down because the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro would have to give up control to an independent Board.<ref name="The Economist"/>
According to the dean of UFRJ, Denise Pires de Carvalho, the university does not have the money to pay bills of light delayed since January 2019, of water since 2 years, of security and cleaning services. She also said that although they do not have any more money available, she would seek the release of 20% of the R$43&nbsp;million released by the parliamentary bench in Rio de Janeiro to continue the reconstruction works of the National Museum. It aimed to reopen at least one wing of the palace in 2022, the year of independence bicentennial.<ref>{{cite news|title=Reitora quer abrir ala em 2022|url=http://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/educacao/noticia/2019-07/ufrj-reitora-quer-abrir-ala-do-museu-para-200-anos-da-independencia|work=EBC|date=8 July 201|language=pt}}</ref>
== 2018 fire ==
{{main article|National Museum of Brazil fire}}
{{Excerpt|National Museum of Brazil fire}}
== Reconstruction ==
During the signing of a protocol of intent for technical-scientific cooperation with the Brazilian Institute of Museums (Ibram), held on 14 May 2019, it was reported that the works of restoration of the patrimony would be initiated in 2019, with an elaborated executive project of the reconstruction of the facades and of the roof, with an endowment of R$1&nbsp;million. Paulo Amaral, president of Ibram, said that the new concept of the National Museum would probably be announced in April 2020, when the final formatting of the space would be defined, with parts dedicated to the historical collection, contemporary works and equipment.<ref name="AECweb">{{Cite web|url=https://www.aecweb.com.br/cont/n/obras-de-restauracao-do-museu-nacional-deverao-comecar-ainda-este-ano_18798|title=Obras de Restauração do Museu Nacional deverão começar ainda este ano|date=20 May 2019|language=pt|publisher=AECweb}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://epoca.globo.com/a-rotina-os-desafios-da-reconstrucao-do-museu-nacional-sete-meses-depois-23612679|title=A ROTINA E OS DESAFIOS DA RECONSTRUÇÃO DO MUSEU NACIONAL, SETE MESES DEPOIS|work=Época|access-date=26 May 2018|language=pt}}</ref>
On the first floor of the building was the Francisca Keller Library, which had the largest collection of anthropology and human sciences in South America. To speed up the fundraising process, they are making a crowdfunding campaign on the Benfeitoria platform. The money would be used for the demolition of the interior walls of the space, restoring the floor, finishing and painting, laying the ceiling, making the electrical and air conditioning installation and the restoration of hardware. They expect to get R$129,000 by 12 September 2019.<ref name="AECweb"/><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://revistagalileu.globo.com/Sociedade/Historia/noticia/2019/08/vaquinha-e-criada-para-reconstruir-maior-biblioteca-de-antropologia-da-america-do-sul.html|title=Vaquinha é criada para reconstruir maior biblioteca de antropologia da América do Sul|work=Galileu|access-date=2 August 2018|language=pt}}</ref>
The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, responsible for the museum, signed on Saturday 31 August 2019 a memorandum of understanding with the Vale Foundation, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ([[UNESCO]]) and the [[BNDES]] to create a governance steering committee that can lead the museum's recovery project. Vale provides R$50 million and BNDES R$21.7 million for this reconstruction.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dgabc.com.br/Noticia/3122273/reconstrucao-do-museu-nacional-tera-ate-r-50-milhoes-da-fundacao-vale|title=Reconstrução do Museu Nacional terá até R$ 50 milhões da Fundação Vale|date=1 September 2019|language=pt|publisher=Diário do Grande ABC}}</ref> The Ministry of Education had allocated R$16 million to the National Museum. Of this total, R$8.9 million was used in emergency works, and the rest for facade and roof projects. The Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovations and Communications contributed R$10 million to acquire equipment for scientific research and infrastructure actions. Germany had donated 230,000 euros so far.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://extra.globo.com/noticias/na-vespera-de-completar-um-ano-do-incendio-do-museu-nacional-ufrj-cria-comites-para-reconstrucao-da-instituicao-23919181.html|title=Na véspera de completar um ano do incêndio do Museu Nacional, UFRJ cria comitês para reconstrução da instituição|date=1 September 2019|language=pt|publisher=Extra}}</ref> After 1 year since the destruction, 44% of the museum's collections had been saved. More than 50 of the 70 areas hit by the fire were searched.
Reconstruction of the facade and roof is expected to take place between the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020. In the first half of 2020, the salvage of parts of the collection and the start of the inventory process are expected to be completed. R$69 million in public funds for the project. The amount is composed of R$21 million from BNDES (R$3.3 million of which have already been released), R$43 million from the amendment of the Rio de Janeiro bench in the Chamber of Deputies and R$5 million from the Ministry Education.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nexojornal.com.br/expresso/2019/09/03/A-reconstru%C3%A7%C3%A3o-do-Museu-Nacional-um-ano-ap%C3%B3s-o-inc%C3%AAndio|title=Reconstruction|work=Nexo|access-date=2 September 2019|language=pt}}</ref>
On 3 October 2019, the museum has about 120 million reais available to make works, coming from funds from parliamentary amendments, the BNDES and Vale. But, the money cannot be used to buy the material needed to continue the rescue, only in the works. In the box of the Association Friends of the National Museum, there are 80 thousand reais in cash, coming from donations, but only R$25 thousand are not yet committed. The Rio de Janeiro Legislative Assembly (Alerj) donated R$20 million to help in the works. Funding are available as project steps are completed.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://istoe.com.br/alerj-doa-r-20-milhoes-para-obras-no-museu-nacional/|title=Alerj R$ 120 mi|work=Isto é|access-date=5 October 2019|language=pt}}</ref>
== Donations ==
[[File:Archivos do Museu Nacional (1876-1935) (20146507828).jpg|thumb|Drawings showing ancient vases]]
* The [[German Foreign Ministry]] offered €1&nbsp;million in aid to rebuild Brazil's National Museum. This amount was used to buy [[Intermodal container|container]]-[[laboratory|laboratories]] to investigate specimens. Those equipment were to be located in a donated field nearby [[Maracanã Stadium]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.dw.com/en/germany-pledges-1-million-for-rio-museum-cleanup/a-45377448|title=Germany pledges € 1&nbsp;million for Rio museum cleanup|work=DW|access-date=3 September 2018}}</ref> From the initial amount announced, R$180 thousand was delivered. On 21 May 2019 the director travelled to Germany and France to ask for the rest and more help, because the Brazilian government seemed not possible to financially further help.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://blogs.oglobo.globo.com/ancelmo/post/sem-auxilio-do-governo-diretor-do-museu-nacional-pedira-ajuda-na-europa.html|title=Sem auxílio do governo, diretor do Museu Nacional pedirá ajuda na Europa|work=Globo|access-date=20 May 2019}}</ref> From Germany, the second amount of €145 thousand or R$654 thousand was donated.
* Each of 140 [[geopark]]s of UNESCO's conservation areas collected and sent a [[Lithic fragment (geology)|lithic]], [[fossil]], or [[cultural artifact]] to Brazil. A total of 140 objects were donated for the future collection.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://nacoesunidas.org/parques-mundiais-da-unesco-anunciam-doacao-para-museu-nacional-do-rio/|title=Parques mundiais da UNESCO anunciam doação para Museu Nacional do Rio|access-date=4 October 2018|language=pt}}</ref>
* On 17 October 2018, Secretary of the Patrimony of the Union, Sidrack Correia confirmed the donation of the area of 49,300 m², that is about a kilometer from the museum, to install laboratories containers in 45 days, budgeted at R$2.2&nbsp;million, purchased with funds from the TJRJ Pecuniary Penalty Fund to be used by museum researchers. It also serves as a center for students visitation. Part of the total, 10 thousand square meters will be for the Justice Court to install its transport area.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://g1.globo.com/rj/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2018/10/17/governo-federal-doa-terreno-para-a-construcao-de-laboratorios-do-museu-nacional.ghtml|title=Governo federal doa terreno para a construção de laboratórios do Museu Nacional|work=G1|access-date=18 October 2018|language=pt}}</ref>
* The [[National Institute of Industrial Property (Brazil)|National Institute of Industrial Property]] (INPI), linked to the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services (MDIC), concluded on 17 October 2018 the donation of 1,164 items, mostly mobile, to the National Museum. The furniture, which includes tables, chairs, workstations, drawers and cabinets, aid in the restructuring of the museum. The idea of the donation came from the need for the institute to free itself of idle equipment that was in its old headquarters, in Edifício A Noite, located in Praça Mauá, the port area of Rio de Janeiro, to allow the return of the property to the Secretariat of the Patrimony of the Union (SPU), which should have been empty. Part of the furniture was taken to the Botanical Garden of the National Museum, located in Quinta da Boa Vista, where some sectors are working. Others will be used in the direction of the museum, in the services of museology and teaching assistance, and in the departments of invertebrates, geology, paleontology, entomology and ethnology.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.correiobraziliense.com.br/app/noticia/brasil/2018/10/17/interna-brasil,713350/npi-doa-moveis-para-ajudar-na-recuperacao-do-museu-nacional.shtml|title=INPI doa móveis para ajudar na recuperação do Museu Nacional|work=Correio Brasiliense, Agência Brasil|access-date=18 October 2018|language=pt}}</ref>
* On 24 October 2018, a farmer from [[Cuiabá]] donated 780 old Brazilian [[coin]]s at an average value of R$5 thousand to Rio de Janeiro National Museum.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://g1.globo.com/mt/mato-grosso/noticia/2018/10/24/pequeno-agricultor-de-cuiaba-doa-780-moedas-antigas-para-museu-nacional-do-rio-de-janeiro.ghtml|title=Pequeno agricultor de Cuiabá doa 780 moedas antigas para Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiro|work=G1|access-date=24 October 2018|language=pt}}</ref> More than R$100 thousand was donated in [[Civil society campaign|campaign]] to museum.
* On 13 November 2018, the [[Pará State University|Universidade Estadual do Pará]] donated 514 insects to the museum, 314 were borrowed from there. Among them were [[grasshopper]]s.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.sbt.com.br/jornalismo/sbtnoticias/noticias/117247/museu-nacional-recebe-doacao-que-vai-ajudar-a-recompor-acervo.html|title=Museu Nacional recebe doação que vai ajudar a recompor acervo|work=SBT|access-date=13 November 2018|language=pt}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://g1.globo.com/pa/para/noticia/2018/11/14/universidade-do-estado-do-para-doa-acervo-com-mais-de-200-especies-de-insetos-ao-museu-nacional.ghtml|title=UEPA doa acervo com mais de 200 espécies de insetos ao Museu Nacional|work=G1|access-date=13 November 2018|language=pt}}</ref>
* On 25 May 2019, ''Nuuvem'', the largest gaming platform in Latin America, donated R$16,860 to the National Museum. The two-day income from the game "The Hero's Legend" was reverted to the museum and 500 gamers engaged in the action. The inspiration came from an initiative that [[Ubisoft]] created for the game "[[Assassin's Creed]]" for the reconstruction of the Cathedral of [[Notre-Dame de Paris]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://blogs.oglobo.globo.com/ancelmo/post/contribuicao-dos-gamers-para-reconstrucao-do-museu-nacional.html|title=A contribuição dos gamers para a reconstrução do Museu Nacional|work=Globo|access-date=26 May 2018|language=pt}}</ref>
* Until June 2019, small donations from several private individuals summed R$323 thousand.<ref name="'IstoÉ''A">{{Cite news|url=https://istoe.com.br/o-que-sera-do-museu-nacional/|title=O que será do Museu Nacional|work=IstoÉ|access-date=14 June 2019|language=pt}}</ref>
* The British Council donated R$150 thousand for educational exchange.<ref name="'IstoÉ''A"/>
* The [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]] donated in 2020 a collection of relics collected in the Amazon, stored in the British institution for over 150 years. The items were grouped by botanist Richard Spruce, who spent 15 years gathering specimens and making notes while travelling through the forest and brought to [[Queen Victoria]] ceremonial tools and objects used by indigenous tribes in the region. His collection, later stored in the Kew Gardens archives, also included wooden [[basket]]s and [[grater]]s, trumpets, [[Rattle (percussion instrument)|rattle]]s, and ritual headdresses.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://oglobo.globo.com/sociedade/jardim-botanico-do-reino-unido-vai-contribuir-para-reconstrucao-do-acervo-do-museu-nacional-23849689|title=Jardim Botânico do Reino Unido vai contribuir para reconstrução do acervo do Museu Nacional|work=Globo|access-date=2 August 2019|language=pt}}</ref>
* Wilson Saviano, professor at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, donated 300 pieces, 15 paintings and 40 books from his private collection of contemporary African art.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nexojornal.com.br/expresso/2019/09/03/A-reconstru%C3%A7%C3%A3o-do-Museu-Nacional-um-ano-ap%C3%B3s-o-inc%C3%AAndio|title=Wilson Saviano|work=Nexo|access-date=2 September 2019|language=pt}}</ref>
* Books: In [[entomology]], the museum received 20 donations consisting of about 23,000 items. In [[vertebrates]], more than 500 specimens from various areas of Brazil were donated. In [[geology]] and [[paleontology]], it had assets seized by the IRS that were destined for the National Museum. The Francisca Keller Library of the Graduate Program in Social Anthropology, which had 37,000 documents and books and was fully incinerated, was under reconstruction. About 10,500 volumes were donated, and another 8,000 were forthcoming. From France came approximately 700 volume. At the Central Library the donation of several other books, reached over 170 volumes.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://exame.abril.com.br/brasil/incendio-no-museu-nacional-completa-um-ano/|work=Exame|title=Books donated|access-date=12 September 2019|language=pt}}</ref>
* In 2024, the museum received a 17th-century sacred feathered cloak that was taken to Denmark in 1689 from the [[Tupinambá people]] of Brazil and was repatriated by the [[National Museum of Denmark]] in [[Copenhagen]].<ref>{{cite news |title=‘A beacon of hope’: Indigenous people reunited with sacred cloak in Brazil |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/sep/12/indigenous-cloak-brazil-return |newspaper=The Guardian |first=Tiago |last=Rogero |date=12 September 2024 |access-date=12 September 2024 }}</ref>
== Political influences ==
[[File:Archivos do Museu Nacional (1876-1935) (20146447960).jpg|thumb|upright|Figures which had been in the museum]]
The director of the National Museum, Alexander W. A. Kellner, issued an open letter addressed to presidential candidates [[Jair Messias Bolsonaro]] and [[Fernando Haddad]] on the evening of 15 October 2018, which, along two pages, reinforces the historical importance of the institution, and recalls that his survival is tied to the responsibility of those who hold "power in the hands."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://oglobo.globo.com/rio/museu-nacional-em-carta-presidenciaveis-diretor-fala-sobre-quem-tem-poder-nas-maos-23158844|title=Museu Nacional: em carta a presidenciáveis diretor fala sobre quem tem o 'poder nas mãos'|access-date=4 October 2018|language=pt}}</ref>
The document was also sent to the [[National Congress of Brazil|National Congress]], where he had regularly gone to ask for a public hearing, during which he asked for the inclusion of resources for the museum, and for the next budget. Without these resources, he says the institution will end up harming decades of research.
In the letter, the director says that many reflect on what could have been done differently to avoid a disaster that led to the loss of an invaluable patrimony, involving millions of cultural and scientific pieces. He also adds that "others should be deeply reflecting on why, being in a position of decision, they did not act firmly in triggering actions that would have avoided the absurdity of that loss".
On 17 October 2018, the director of the museum had a meeting with federal deputies to first resolve the R$50&nbsp;million needed to reinstall the front part of Palace.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://g1.globo.com/politica/noticia/2018/10/17/incendio-no-museu-nacional-gestores-pedem-r-50-milhoes-para-restaurar-predio.ghtml|title=Incêndio no Museu Nacional: gestores pedem R$ 50 milhões para restaurar prédio|work=G1|access-date=18 October 2018|language=pt}}</ref> In late October 2018, the museum's director attended an audience in [[Brasília]] at the [[Chamber of Deputies (Brazil)|Chamber of Deputies]] in order to secure R$56&nbsp;million for the basic reconstruction of the front part of main building, No. 1, including the facade, roof and its structure. He negotiated the money before the President-elect [[Jair Bolsonaro]], being afraid that the building would remain destroyed for years in an abandoned state. Also, the laboratory containers were not received.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://extra.globo.com/noticias/rio/diretor-do-museu-nacional-vai-camara-em-busca-de-56-milhoes-para-reconstrucao-23195245.html|title=Diretor do Museu Nacional vai à Câmara em busca de R$ 56 milhões para reconstrução|work=G1|access-date=29 October 2018|language=pt}}</ref> On 31 October 2018, the Chamber of Deputies approved an amendment of R$55&nbsp;million to the budget of 2019. This would need to be further approved by a joint committee and also by the plenary.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://g1.globo.com/rj/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2018/10/31/museu-nacional-ira-receber-primeira-parte-da-verba-para-reconstrucao-em-2019.ghtml|title=Museu Nacional irá receber primeira parte da verba para reconstrução em 2019|work=G1|access-date=31 October 2018|language=pt}}</ref> The director travelled to China to guarantee pieces of collections for the museum. During his travel to Germany, specifically [[Berlin]], [[Munich]] and Paris, France to bargain some money, the amount of R$55&nbsp;million, supposed to reconstruct some part of building was reduced to R$43&nbsp;million by the government.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://g1.globo.com/rj/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2019/05/29/verbas-para-reconstrucao-do-museu-nacional-terao-corte-de-r-119-milhoes.ghtml|title=Verbas para reconstrução do Museu Nacional terão corte de R$ 11,9 milhões|work=G1|access-date=29 May 2018|language=pt}}</ref> However the [[Louvre Museum]] could lend some Egyptian pieces to be displayed in Rio de Janeiro, when its reconstruction comes done. From this sum, until June 2019, Education Ministry or Ministério da Educação (MEC) paid R$908.800,00 for the facade project.<ref name="'IstoÉ''A"/>
A proposal by [[Senate of Brazil|Senator]] Maria do Carmo Alves (DEM-SE), under review in the Commission of Education, Culture and Sport proposes to include a National Day of the Museum, in the official Brazilian calendar to be celebrated on 18 May.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www12.senado.leg.br/noticias/audios/2018/11/comissao-analisa-criacao-do-dia-nacional-do-museu-em-18-de-maio|title=Comissão analisa criação do Dia Nacional do Museu, em 18 de maio|work=Senado Notícias|access-date=13 November 2018|language=pt}}</ref>
Until December 2018, the concern was the change of the Brazilian government, because none of the transition teams of the future governor of Rio de Janeiro, nor incoming president Jair Bolsonaro have sought the direction of the museum to talk about the fire. Even then, the containers to store restored objects, until the reconstruction work is completed, had not yet been delivered by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, which did not express its opinion on the delay.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://bandnewsfmrio.band.uol.com.br/editorias-detalhes/incendio-no-museu-nacional-completa-tres-mese|title=Incêndio no Museu Nacional completa três meses|date=1 December 2018|publisher=Band News}}</ref>
== Recent events ==
[[File:Archivos_do_Museu_Nacional_(1876-1935)_(20145700388).jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|The top of this piece, the head, was recovered]]
During the three months after the fire debris was removed, the "economic support network" promised by the president was not established. The partnership to help the museum would count on the participation of the Brazilian Federation of Banks (Febraban), [[Petrobrás]], [[Bradesco]], [[Itaú]], [[Banco Santander|Santander]], [[Caixa Econômica Federal|Caixa]], [[Banco do Brasil]], [[BNDES]] and [[Vale (company)|Vale]]. According to the entity, the banks are awaiting approval of Provisional Measure 851 in the [[National Congress of Brazil|National Congress]] to be able to make the donations. The text must be approved by Congress until February 2019. If this does not happen, the Provisional Measure loses its validity. "The first disbursement of the contract between the BNDES, the Association of Friends of the National Museum and UFRJ, with a total execution period of four years, was scheduled for October 2018 of R$ 3&nbsp;million."
In June 2018, when the National Museum completed 200 years, the BNDES signed a R$21.7&nbsp;million contract to pay for the update of the building, but before the first transfer of R$3&nbsp;million, it caught fire. The agreement was maintained, and the BNDES promised that the money would be used to support the reconstruction works. That was not done. Until final of 2018, only R$8.9&nbsp;million was released to carry out emergency works for the reconstruction of the building.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://piaui.folha.uol.com.br/lupa/2018/12/03/museu-nacional-rede-incendio/ |title=Museu Nacional: três meses depois do incêndio, ajuda prometida não saiu do papel|work=Lupa|date=3 December 2018|language=pt}}</ref>
The Ministry of Education (MEC) gave R$5&nbsp;million to a second phase of elaboration of recovery project of the Museum. Unesco personnel and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs visited the debris. Another R$2.5&nbsp;million was allocated to the research of the institution through the Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://g1.globo.com/rj/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2018/12/13/museu-nacional-tera-verba-do-mec-para-projetos-de-recuperacao-do-predio.ghtml|title=Museu Nacional terá verba de R$ 5 milhões do MEC para projetos de recuperação do prédio|date=13 December 2018|publisher=G1}}</ref>
Among the rubble, 1,500 items were found, between parts of the collection, equipment, personal property and others not unidentifiable. Among them were pieces from the Egyptian collection and minerals from the Werner collection, that came to Brazil along with the Portuguese Crown, as well as pre-Columbian ceramics.
A partnership with Google Brasil, through Google Arts & Culture, allowed guided virtual tours via internet of 160 items from the collections in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://artsandculture.google.com/project/museu-nacional-brasil?hl=pt|title=Google|date=13 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://exame.abril.com.br/brasil/em-brasilia-diretor-do-museu-nacional-busca-apoio-do-novo-governo/|title=Em Brasília, diretor do Museu Nacional busca apoio do novo governo|date=2 January 2019|magazine=Exame}}</ref> {{paragraph break}}
== See also ==
* [[List of directors of the National Museum of Brazil]]
* [[National Historical Museum of Brazil]]
* [[Paço de São Cristóvão]], the historic palace that houses the National Museum
* [[:pt:Wikipédia:Comunicado sobre o Museu Nacional/en|Wikipedia:Notice on the National Museum]]
{{clear}}
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== Further reading ==
* {{cite journal |last1=Araujo |first1=Ana Lucia |title=The Death of Brazil's National Museum |journal=The American Historical Review |date=April 2019 |volume=124 |issue=2 |pages=569–580 |doi=10.1093/ahr/rhz177 }}
*{{Cite book|url=https://museunacional.ufrj.br/destaques/docs/500_dias_resgate/livreto_500_dias_de_resgate.pdf|title=500 dias de Resgate - Memória, coragem e imagem|trans-title=500 days of Rescue - Memory, courage and image|editor-first1=Luciana|editor-last1=Carvalho|editor-first2=Gabriel|editor-last2=Cardoso|editor-first3=Silvia|editor-last3=Reis|place=Rio de Janeiro|publisher=National Museum of Brazil|language=pt, en|isbn=978-65-5729-007-1|year=2021|series=Livros Digital; 22|edition=1|page=139 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210406174054/https://museunacional.ufrj.br/destaques/docs/500_dias_resgate/livreto_500_dias_de_resgate.pdf|archive-date=2021-04-06|url-status=live}}
== External links ==
{{commons category|Museu Nacional (Rio de Janeiro)}}
* [http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/ National Museum website]
* {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/*/http://acd.ufrj.br/museu/|title=National Museum of Brazil}}
* [http://www.bbk.ac.uk/ibamuseum/texts/Andermann01E.htm The National Museum and its European employees] Jens Andermann
* [http://www.bbk.ac.uk/ibamuseum/texts/Andermann01.htm The National Museum at Rio de Janeiro] Jens Andermann
* {{youTube|id=RGUYb-hivrc|title=Guided visit to museum}} (in Portuguese)
{{National Museum of Brazil}}
{{Portal bar|Latin America|Brazil|History|Arts|Architecture|Science|Africa|Ancient Egypt|Ancient Greece}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:National Museum of Brazil| ]]
[[Category:National museums of Brazil|*]]
[[Category:1810s establishments in Brazil]]
[[Category:Archaeological museums in Brazil]]
[[Category:Building and structure collapses in 2018]]
[[Category:Burned buildings and structures in Brazil]]
[[Category:Collapsed buildings and structures]]
[[Category:Federal University of Rio de Janeiro]]
[[Category:Museums disestablished in 2018]]
[[Category:Museums established in 1818]]
[[Category:Museums in Rio de Janeiro (city)]]
[[Category:Natural history museums in Brazil]]
[[Category:Research institutes in Brazil]]
[[Category:National heritage sites of Rio de Janeiro (state)]]