Georg Schweinfurth and Egyptology at the Neues Museum

From 22 May, 2025 to 8 February 2025, 2026, the Neues Museum presents an exhibition to mark the 100th anniversary of the death of an important collector and researcher for the Berlin museums: Georg Schweinfurth.

Source: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin · Image: Bahr Yusuf in Medinet el-Fayum (Egypt), Georg Schweinfurth, who accompanied Heinrich Schliemann and Rudolf Virchow on their journey in the Fayum in 1888, sitting on the left bank, © Carl Friedrich Classen. Photo: Rudolf Virchow, 1888

From May 2025 to February 2026, the Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection in the basement of the Neues Museum will be showing a special exhibition to mark the 100th anniversary of the death of an important collector and researcher for the Berlin museums: Georg Schweinfurth. The exhibition will show a cross-section of the archaeological collections: In addition to stone tools, flower and plant wreaths, textiles textiles and various autographs from the collector’s hand will be on display.

2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the death of Georg Schweinfurth (1836-1925), who was probably one of the best-known African explorers of his time and an important patron of many European institutions. Much less well known is his importance for Egyptology and its development as a science, which, in addition to focusing on written and archaeological legacies, also included the natural sciences. Botany in particular played a major role here. Schweinfurth was one of the first researchers in his time to go beyond the creation of herbaria of living plants, great importance was attached to the collection and botanical specimens and finds from excavations.

He repeatedly supported archaeologists and museums with his botanical expertise. The discovery of the mummy cachet in Deir el-Bahri (Thebes West) can undoubtedly be seen as one of the key finds that he did not excavate himself, but which is still closely associated with him today. Colourful floral wreaths were found on the royal mummies and those of high officials, which Schweinfurth prepared, preserved and scientifically determined at the behest of the then head of the Department of Antiquities.