YEREVAN.- To mark its 200th anniversary, the Museumsinsel Berlin is presenting itself for the first time in a cross-collection joint exhibition at the History Museum of Armenia in Yerevan. Under the title Myths, Cult, Cosmology. Museumsinsel Berlin Visits Armenia, approximately 50 selected objects from six collections of Museumsinsel Berlin engage in a dialogue with an equally large selection from the holdings of the Armenian partner museum. The roughly 100 exhibits open up new perspectives on myths, religious practices, and cosmological concepts of various cultures. In the fall of 2027, the collaboration will continue in Berlin: The Museumsinsel Berlin will then present a joint exhibition featuring significant archaeological treasures from Armenia.
Following previous exhibition collaborations between the History Museum of Armenia and the British Museum and the Musée du Louvre, Museumsinsel Berlin is now making its first appearance in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, with a major joint exhibition. Featuring around 100 exhibits, the exhibition offers a unique opportunity to explore the shared cultural heritage and the worldviews of different civilizations. Some 50 objects from six collections of Museumsinsel Berlin engage in a dialogue with an equally extensive selection from the holdings of the History Museum of Armenia. Together, they shed light on myths, cults, and cosmology, and build a bridge between Armenias cultural and spiritual heritage and the cultures of the ancient world.
The diverse collections of Museumsinsel Berlin and the rich holdings of the History Museum of Armenia offer a unique opportunity to examine cultural developments from a comparative perspective across time and space. The spectrum ranges from Babylonian stone documents to Bronze Age cosmological depictions and early Christian religious artifacts.
The exhibition takes as its starting point an extraordinary bronze object from the collection of the History Museum of Armenia: a depiction of a symbolic model of the solar system, which also serves as the museums logo. Three similar pieces are part of the collection of the Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin and are being presented to the public for the first time in the exhibition in Yerevan.
The exhibition, conceived jointly by Museumsinsel Berlin and the Historical Museum of Armenia, symbolizes a significant collaboration and a longstanding Armenian-German bond whose roots in archaeological research date back to the 19th century. The project forges new connections between the collections of both institutions, deepens cultural exchange between Armenia and Germany, and underscores the importance of international museum dialogue.
In the fall of 2027, the collaboration will continue on Museumsinsel Berlin: A joint exhibition there will showcase significant archaeological treasures from Armenia.