Protohistory

The halls devoted to the Protohistory of the Iberian Peninsula (1st floor) exhibit pieces from a number of Pre-Roman peoples existing roughly along the 1st millennia BC, as well as from the Punic-Phoenician colonisation. The former includes items from the Talaiotic culture, Iberian, Celtic, and Tartessian artifacts. The collection of Iberian sculpture from southern and southeastern Iberia is particularly notable, including stone sculptures such as the iconic Lady of Elche, the Lady of Baza, the Lady of Galera, the Dama del Cerro de los Santos, the Bicha of Balazote, the Bull of Osuna, the Sphinx of Agost, one of the two sphinxes of El Salobral or the Mausoleum of Pozo Moro.^{[7][8][9][10]}

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  Bicha of Balazote
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  Lady of Elche
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  Lady of Baza
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  Lady of Cerro de los Santos
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  Bull of Osuna
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  Lioness of Baena
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  Iberian mausoleum of Pozo Moro.

Aside from the set of Iberian sculpture, the area also hosts other items from different cultures, such as the Talaiotic bulls of Costitx, the torque of Ribadeo from the Castro culture in northwestern Iberia, or the Lady of Ibiza, associated to the Punic civilization.^[7]

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  Bull heads of Costitx
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  Torque of Ribadeo
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  Punic Lady of Ibiza
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  Wheel of Toya
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  The Priest of Cadiz.

Roman Hispania

The collection of Hispano-Roman artifacts—located in the 1st floor—comes both from diggings at specific archaeological sites as well as from punctual purchases.^[11] The collection of Roman artifacts is completed by items from the personal collection of the Marquis of Salamanca (purchased in 1874 and comprising artifacts from the Paestum and Cales sites in the Italian Peninsula).^[11][10] The main room of the area is a courtyard, where the artifacts are placed creating a sort of forum-like arrangement.^[12] Meanwhile, the room #27 exhibits a number of mosaics both on its floor and walls.^[13] The collection of Hispano-Roman legal bronzes includes the Lex Ursonensis, comprising five pieces found in the 1870s in Osuna.^[14]

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  Mosaic of Winter, from Quintana del Marco
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  One the slabs part of the Lex Ursonensis
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  Sundial from Baelo Claudia
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  Bacchus of Aldaia
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  Mosaic of Medusa and the seasons from Palencia
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  Hypnos from Algorós
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  Puteal from La Moncloa

Late Antiquity

The halls corresponding to the Late Antiquity (1st floor) host pieces related to the period of time corresponding to the Lower Roman Empire in the Iberian Peninsula—the Diocesis Hispaniarum (3rd–5th centuries AD)—, the Visigothic Kingdom of Toledo (6th-8th centuries AD), the Byzantine Empire (5th to 12th centuries AD),^[15] as well as some artifacts of other peoples from the Migration Period.^[16]

Standout artifacts from this area include the Sarcophagus from Astorga, the Visigothic hoard of Guarrazar, including the votive crown of Recceswinth,^[16] or the fibulae from Alovera.^[15]

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  Paleochristian sarcophagus from Astorga
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  Votive crown of Recceswinth
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  Eagle-like fibulae from Alovera

Medieval World, al-Andalus

The area dedicated to al-Andalus is located in the 1st floor. Iconic pieces from al-Andalus include the pyxis of Zamora (actually made in Medina Azahara), the deer-like fountain source of Medina Azahara or the marble font for ablutions of Almanzor.^[17] A Jewish bilingual chapitel from Toledo is also exhibited.^[18] Two items of the so-called Alhambra vases stand out within the collection of Nasrid pottery.^[19]

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  Pyxis of Zamora
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  The deer of Medina Azahara, a bronze fountain
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  Ablution font of Medina Alzahira
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  Astrolabe of ibn Said, made in 1067 in Toledo by Ibrahim ibn Said al-Sahli^[20]
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  One of the Alhambra vases

Medieval World, Christian kingdoms

The area dedicated to the medieval Christian Kingdoms (roughly ranging from the 8th to the 15th century) is located in the 2nd floor. Iconic pieces of Romanesque ivory craftsmanship include the Arca de las Bienaventuranzas and the Crucifix of Ferdinand and Sancha.^[21] The medieval collection features the praying statue of Peter I of Castile, made in alabaster and moved from the former convent of Santo Domingo el Real in Madrid to the National Archaeological Museum in 1868.^[22][21] It also displays a number of items of Levantine pottery.^[21]

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  Crucifix of Ferdinand and Sancha
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  Arca de las Bienaventuranzas
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  praying statue of Peter I of Castile
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  Pottery from Manises

Near East

The topic area devoted to the Ancient Near East (conventionally excluding Ancient Egypt) is located at the 2nd floor. One of the most important sets of the MAN's Near East collection is that of pottery from Iran.^[23] The museum displays a diorite head from Mesopotamia donated to the Prado Museum in the 1940s by the Mexican collector Marius de Zayas (later deposited in the MAN).^[24] 21st century purchases include that of the Praying Sumerian figure bought at Christie's in 2001.^[25]

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  Pottery from Tepe Sialk
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  Brick from Girsu displaying cuneiform writing
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  Praying Sumerian figure
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  Head of Gudea (Lagash period)

Egypt and Nubia

The collections of Egypt and Nubia are made up mainly of funerary funds (amulets, mummies, steles, sculpture of divinities, ushabti...) ranging from prehistory to Roman and medieval times.^[26] Many of the pieces come from purchases such as the one made from the collection of the Spanish Egyptologist Eduardo Toda y Güell^[27] and also from various excavations such as the ones carried in Egypt and Sudan as a result of the agreements with the Egyptian government for the construction of the Aswan Dam^[28] or the systematic excavations in Heracleopolis Magna.

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  Stele of Nebsumenu from the Second Intermediate Period (1650–1550 BC)
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  Basalt sculpture of Harsomtus em hat from the twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt.
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  Late period sarcophagus.
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  Cocodrile baby mummy.
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  Black basalt sculpture of horus.
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  Ptolemaic period sculpture.

Greece

The Greek collection is made up of works from continental Greece, Ionia, Magna Graecia and Sicily, where the collection of bronzes, terracottas, goldsmiths, sculptures and to a greater extent pottery come from; pieces that ranging from the Mycenaean to the Hellenistic period.^[29] In its beginnings, the collection had funds from the Royal Cabinet of Natural History and the National Library, the collection was later enriched with works brought from the expeditions of the frigate Arapiles to the East^[28] in addition to the purchase of private funds such as those of the Marquis of Salamanca^[30] or those of Tomás Asensi.

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  Archaic period hoplite armor set.
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  Crater of the Madness of Herakles.
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  Dog-headed rhyton.
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  Roman copy of a Lyssippus original.