Online Collections

Explore Penn Museum collections information, images, archival films, and more.

Notice for Collections Content

These records describe cultural and historical items that may be culturally sensitive. Some records may document human remains; others may contain names, images, or recordings of deceased individuals or include information or language that is outdated, offensive, or incorrect. These are based on past collecting practices and interpretations, which may not reflect current views and values of the Penn Museum.

We update records and images regularly and encourage and welcome members of descendant communities, scholars, and others to contact us with feedback, questions, or concerns.

Highlighted Objects

  • Crystal Ball

    It is the fourth largest crystal sphere in the world, the origins of the crystal sphere are a mystery.

  • Taizong Horses

    Two stone horse reliefs in the Asian collection are considered by many to be among the most important examples of Chinese sculpture outside of China.

  • Ram in the Thicket

    Sir Leonard Woolley dubbed this statuette the "ram caught in a thicket" as an allusion to the biblical story of Abraham sacrificing a ram.

Great Monuments

Great Monuments

2020-2021 Lecture Series

Monuments have been constructed throughout history—but why, how, and to what end? Join acclaimed Penn faculty and invited special guests as they examine the definition of a monument, what monuments of the past mean to the world today, whether they hold deeper or changed significance than when they were first created, if their purposes have shifted over time, and many more questions.

Watch Series
Nippur, Iraq

Nippur, Iraq

Located in the marshes of southern Mesopotamia, in modern-day Iraq, Nippur was one of the most sacred cities in the ancient Middle East. Between 1889 and 1900, the University of Pennsylvania was the first American institution to carry out archaeological excavations in this region. It revealed a multi-layer site with a long and complicated history, and, most significantly, a library of inscribed cuneiform tablets that have formed the basis of our understanding of the first literate society in the world, the Sumerians.

Hokkaido, Japan.

Hokkaido, Japan

In 1901, Hiram M. Hiller Jr. traveled to the northernmost island of Japan, Hokkaido, on behalf of the Penn Museum. The expedition produced over 250 artifacts as well as three journals of notes and numerous lantern slides, providing the Penn Museum with one of the best-documented Ainu collections in the US. Hiller also collected a small sample of pottery from the ancient Jomon culture which dates as far as back 12,000 BCE, some of the oldest known in the world.

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We update records and images regularly and encourage and welcome members of descendant communities, scholars, and others to contact us with feedback, questions, or concerns.

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