From Egypt of the Pharaohs to the “Museum in a Rucksack”

This is a presentation of the Egyptological collection of the Archaeological Museum in Kraków in digital form.

The assemblage is part of a large collection donated by the soldiers of the Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade, part of the Anders Army, which fought in the Middle East during World War II, and is the only example of such collection in the world.

The creator of the collection, Jarosław Sagan – the curator of the pre-war museum at Truskawiec (now Ukraine), purchased the artefacts using his soldier’s pay from antique dealers, at bazaars or found them during fieldwork. This collection, called “Museum in a Rucksack” by Sagan’s comrades, was lost more than once in the turmoil of war. Ultimately, the Field Museum survived the war and in 1948 the whole collection found its way to Poland. The majority of it was transferred to the Archaeological Museum in Kraków. The collection is mentioned in Norman Davis’ book “Trail of Hope: The Anders Army, an Odyssey Across Three Continents”. The digitalised selection contains 52 artefacts (pottery, shabtis, amulets, oil lamps, figurines, and coins). These are chronologically diverse objects coming from various periods and areas of everyday life and constitute a valuable example of ancient Egyptian art.

The digitalised objects can be seen at the permanent exhibition “Gods of Ancient Egypt” at the Archaeological Museum in Kraków.