The collection was founded in 1868, but its history started much earlier. The first collectors of objects from outside Europe were the members of the
Wittelsbach dynasty. Today the museum is the second largest in Germany, outnumbered only by Berlin, with a collection of 200,000 objects and an exhibition area of . The total area is about and includes also facilities for carpentry, metalworking, painting and restoration, magazines, a meeting and conference room and offices. On the second floor the permanent exhibitions for art and culture of the Americas and of Africa are shown while the exhibitions about the
Islamic World, India, East Asia and Oceania are located in the first floor.
North America Historical objects, including the world's oldest surviving kayak (1577), masks of the Northwest Coast Nations, wooden bird masks, decorated moccasins and other textiles
South America Ceramics and objects of gold, silver and wood, as well as the art of Indigenous groups of Mexico, gods and war figures, masks, jewelry, vessels and textiles from Peru and Bolivia, everyday objects of the Native communities of the Amazon, head trophies from Brazil
Africa Plastic arts with masks and figures from all parts of Africa, for example, religious figure "Nduda" from Yombe / Zaire (19th century), sculptures and weapons from West Africa, silver handicrafts from Ethiopia, body jewelry from South Africa, ivories and bronzes from Guinea
Islamic arts and cultures The collection of Islamic arts and cultures encompasses around 20,000 objects of material culture not only from Islamic societies, but also from Christian and Jewish societies, from Southeast Europe, North Africa, West Asia as well as Central and Southwest Asia. In addition, it contains pre-Islamic archaeological objects from ancient southern Arabia and from Luristan in western Iran as well as ethnographica from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, e.g. from the Hindu Kush (
Nuristan Collection). The Islamic-influenced ethnographic collections mainly include jewellery from Yemen and Afghanistan as well as everyday objects and devotional objects from the Caucasus, North Africa, Iran, Pakistan and Central Asia. They also include a collection of 180 Turkish shadow puppets (
Karagöz and Hacivat) and over 200 Pakistani Sufi posters. The more than 1300 carpets and carpet fragments form a focus of the collection that is unique in Europe. Masterpieces of Islamic art from Turkey, the Middle East, Iran, Iraq and Moghul India demonstrate the wealth of artistic creativity. In addition to medieval
Islamic pottery, architectural elements and
Persian and Moghul book illustrations, examples include a silver-inlaid brass plate made in the 13th century for
Badr al-Din Lu'lu', the ruler of Mossul, Iraq, and a bronze casting vessel in the shape of a deer from the Egyptian Fatimid period (10th/11th century). The contemporary art section of the collection includes works by artists such as
Lalla Essaydi,
Hojat Amani,
Aneh Mohammad Tatari,
Maryam Salour,
Kamran Sharif,
Homayoun Salimi as well as
Lulwah Al Homoud,
Maryam Rastghalam,
Elisabeth Rössler or
Hassan Massoudy.
South Asia Colourful Indian deities, e.g. Nandi statue from India, Kapardin fragment of the Buddha (2nd century AD), Buddha heads of sandstone, statues of Shiva and Krishna
East Asia Chinese wood sculptures, sitting on the world throne Buddha Amitabha, ivory model of a pagoda from the Chinese emperor, Ornate carvings from China, Japan and Indonesia
Oceania Polynesian bar deity (Cook Islands), Melanesian paddle showing a fishing scene, Malangan figure from Melanesia, arms and shields from Australia ==Return of remains to Australia==