The Egyptian collection from Łohojsk in the National Museum in Warsaw

Abstract

The National Museum in Warsaw, founded in 1916, took over the function of the older Museum of Fine Arts in Warsaw, founded in 1862. Between 1918 and 1922, the National Museum was systematically enriched through donations by private persons and institutions. One of the most important collections, placed there in 1919, was that originating from an old private museum owned by the Tyszkiewicz family in Łohojsk, donated through the agency of the Society of Fine Arts ‘Zachęta’ in Warsaw. The museum in Łohojsk (today in Belarus, not far from Minsk) was founded by Konstanty Tyszkiewicz (1806–1868). The rich collection of family portraits, paintings, engravings, and other works of art was enriched in 1862 by Count Michał Tyszkiewicz (1828–1897), who bequeathed a substantial part of the Egyptian antiquities brought from his travel to Egypt in 1861–1862. The Łohojsk collection was partly sold by Konstanty’s son, Oskar Tyszkiewicz (1837–1897), but some of these objects were purchased in 1901 by a cousin of Michał Tyszkiewicz, who then donated them to the Society of Fine Arts ‘Zachęta’. At this stage, the whole collection amounted to 626 items, of which 163 were connected to Egypt. During World War II, the National Museum in Warsaw suffered serious losses. At present, the exhibits originating from Łohojsk include 113 original ancient Egyptian pieces, four forgeries, and 29 paper squeezes reproducing the reliefs from the tomb of Khaemhtat of the 18th Dynasty (Theban tomb no. 57).