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The Erimtan Archaeology and Arts Museum (Erimtan Arkeoloji ve Sanat Müzesi) is a private museum in Ankara, Turkey. It sits just across from the main gate to Ankara Castle.
History
The Erimtan Archaeology and Arts Museum was established in 2015 and is named after Yüksel Erimtan, an archaeology lover who endowed his entire private collection to the museum. Almost all of the artifacts have an Anatolian origin. The collection consists of around 2,000 items spanning from 3000 BC to Byzantine times.
The museum is housed in three historic stone buildings that are leased from the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. They were renovated at a cost of 10,000,000₺. In addition to the galleries, there’s a conference room, gift shop, and café.
Visiting
The Erimtan Archaeology and Arts Museum is open daily except Mondays. Adult admission is 50₺ (as of December 2023). Detailed information is presented in both Turkish and English. We spent about 45 minutes going through the museum.
In addition to the artifacts on display, the Erimtan Museum offers chamber music concerts every Tuesday, and a variety of conferences and workshops throughout the year.
Main Exhibition Hall
The mezzanine level and the main exhibition hall display the archaeology collection at the Erimtan Museum. Visits begin on the mezzanine level and work down to the main floor.
Artifacts include works in ceramic, glass, and bronze as well as jewelry, coins, and ring stones. They’re displayed in attractive glass cases in the walls and on the floor. Presentations highlight not only the historical value of each item, but also their importance in everyday life, which is a refreshing concept for an archaeology museum.
Glass Works
Roman works of glass sit in cases that are lit from the bottom. The collection includes 273 glass bottles, jugs, perfume bottles, cups, and bowls dating between the 1st and 3rd centuries.
Coins
Coins are exhibited in vertical cases that visitors can pull out to see both sides. They’re each labeled with the featured ruler and time period. There are 563 coins in the collection, mostly from the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods. 80 coins are gold, while the rest were made of silver, bronze, and gold-silver alloys.
Bronze and Ceramic Works
364 bronze works in the collection date between the Bronze Age and the Byzantine period. They include tools, jewelry, lamps, jugs, and religious items. Ceramics from the Roman period include items used in the kitchen, dining, and feasts.
Jewelry and Ring Stones
The jewelry collection of the Erimtan Museum is made up of necklaces, bracelets, pendants, rings, earrings, pins, and armbands as well as grave offerings. The majority belong to the Roman period. 196 seal stones and 92 rings, many from the Roman period, also feature.
Temporary Exhibitions
The basement of the Erimtan Archaeology and Arts Museum is reserved for temporary exhibitions. When we visited, we were able to see Artifex Ludens-Playing Artist: A Selection from Sunay Akın’s Art Toy Collection. It ran from October 25, 2019, to March 1, 2020.
The exhibit was curated by Marcus Graf and presented in partnership with the Istanbul Toy Museum. According to the official website, it “explored the relationship between art, history, and toys“. The exhibit displayed items from the private collection of Turkish writer and toy collector Sunay Akın.
The toys had a theme of art, film, literature, and music history. Toys and figurines of the Beatles, William Shakespeare, Charlie Chaplin, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, and many other icons featured.
