Already as a student, the biblical, religious science and
Egyptology professor Othmar Keel collected miniature image carriers such as
Cylinder seals,
scarabs and
amulets on his trips to the region of Southwestern Asia and the ancient Near East. Five to three thousand years ago, this “miniature art”, which could easily be carried over long distances, distributed – as a sort of mass communication – important motives and
symbols. At that time it represented important symbols of protection and power and today it reveals the close bonds of the Bible with its ancient Near Eastern surroundings. Keel observed that without knowledge of these symbols, many biblical comparisons, symbols and visions cannot be properly understood and thereby demonstrated the general importance of ancient Near Eastern cultural history for
biblical science. By interpreting biblical texts in their historical context, a
fundamentalist-
literal understanding of the Bible can be avoided. Furthermore, this approach shows the relations between
Islam and
Judaism, between
Christianity and Judaism, between Judaism and ancient Near Eastern
Paganism, and thereby relativizes the claim to absolute truth by the
monotheist religions. Subsequently, Keel and his colleagues successfully collected more of these precious objects. The midterm goal is to erect an adequate museum with the aim of transmitting knowledge in new ways.
Today’s collection Since 1975, considerable donations have allowed the acquisition of over 15.000 unique items from the ancient Near East. Many of them are exposed in a permanent exhibition with 57 extendable, illuminated drawers and 6 showcases, offering a significant insight into the world of the ancient Near East, out of which the Bible emerged. Among them are Early
Paleolithic fist wedges from Syria; Near Eastern, particularly
Akkadian, Old-
Babylonian, Old Syrian,
Mitanni and New
Assyrian
cylinder seals; Near Eastern, prehistoric and Iron Age
stamp seals; Near Eastern
terra cotta,
idols, amulets, etc.;
Cuneiform script boards, from Old
Akkadian to
Persian, partly with cylinder seal impressions; Palestinian vessels, partly from the excavations on the Tel Kinneret (Israel); scarabs and similar Egyptian and Egypt-like seal amulets (worldwide the third largest collection of its kind); blank scarabs and scarab amulets; Egyptian amulets and bronzes; Egyptian amulet forms; Ancient Egyptian
steles,
bronzes and
reliefs;
clay tablets; tools; weapons; ceramics; manuscripts of biblical texts; Torah and Esther roles; a Samaritan Pentateuch; editions of the Koran; coins; lamps; Palestinian
ethnologica.
Special exhibitions In the past years, the following special exhibitions were conceived and realized with considerable success in Switzerland and Germany, using parts of the collection and interpretations thereof:
Animals in the Bible,
Publicity for the Gods, ''
Solomon's Temple , God as a woman
, Vertical
Ecumenism''. ==Project for the Museum==