Collection
As a result of this transition the museum collection is being transferred to other museums. For more information on the transfer of our collection, see our collection page.
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About the museum in transition
Amsterdam’s Biblical Museum has recently changed its course. In temporary art exhibitions young artists, designers and storytellers reflect on the meaning of the Bible in this day and age. The exhibitions are subsequently shown at various locations in the Netherlands, including - until the summer of 2020 - the magnificent Cromhouthuis in Amsterdam. Thereafter the organisation of the Biblical Museum will move to a new Amsterdam office. Its exhibitions will be on show throughout the country.
The Schouten Cabinet
The Schouten Cabinet houses the collection that Reverend Leendert Schouten (1828-1905) assembled. In 1852, he laid the foundations for the Biblical Museum with his famous scale model of the tabernacle: the sacred shrine housing the Ark of the Covenant, which the Israelites carried with them during their exile in the desert. To build this model he tried to make use of as many materials mentioned in the Bible as possible. The awning, for example, was woven from goat’s wool that Schouten had specially imported from Syria and the scroll of the priest was made of real parchment. The model is surrounded by unique pieces from his collection, including an Egyptian mummy of a young woman. The Schouten Cabinet will be on show in the Biblical Museum till June 2020. Thereafter it will be transferred to Museum Catharijneconvent in Utrecht.
