unGlaublich weiblich

An exhibition from October 29, 2007, to May 31, 2008 

Marriage contracts and divorce certificates, lease offers, and tax receipts demonstrate that some women along the Nile were already acting independently in the first centuries AD. Even though they were exceptional women, some of them possessed considerable wealth. They also wielded religious influence, for example, as priestesses of various cults. Makeup Pots and Parpyri Papyri up to 1,900 years old paint a picture of women who acted independently in private and public life. This certainly distinguished them from the majority of their female counterparts in antiquity. More than 50 objects are on display in the seven exhibition sections: Dance, Beauty, Jewelry, Religion, Everyday Life, Law, and Economics.


671 Salboel Flakon
653 Aschera
737 Neunfache Udjat Kette

The 2007 exhibit with artefacts from ancient times representing women’s life contrasted with cosmetic features from WELLA museum

Among the most ancient attractions in the exhibition is a prehistoric marble cosmetic jar. It comes from northern Persia and dates back to the end of the 4th millennium BC. A large portion of the objects are on loan from the Papyrus Museum of the Austrian National Library. 

Women in the Bible 

This perspective is complemented by women from the Bible. These include Miriam, the author of a victory song and sister of Moses; the prostitute Rahab; the judge Deborah; the God-fearing heroine Judith; the Moabite Ruth; the sisters and disciples of Jesus Mary and Martha; and Paul’s collaborator Prisca.