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Discover the collection

Antwerp is a port city where the world has been mooring at the docks for centuries. The MAS collection is the place where city and world meet. 500,000 exhibits offer a varied perspective on the city and its age-old contacts with the world. Some of them are displayed in permanent and temporary exhibitions, but most are kept in storage. In the Visible Storage area, the MAS lifts a corner of the veil. For the really inquisitive, the MAS also has its entire collection on display online.

Ancient Glass

Publication of an extraordinary collection

The ancient glass collection is one of the hidden gems at the MAS. It's part of a valuable glass collection numbering nearly 700 objects. For the first time the subcollection of ancient glass is published in a comprehensive catalogue.

Mesoamerican object to Brussels

For the exhibition 'Postcolonial?' at the House of European History in Brussels, the MAS is lending an artefact from Mayan culture. It is an object from the collection of Paul & Dora Janssen-Arts.

Happy Birthday Dear Academy

08.09.2013 - 26.01.2014

The Royal Academy for Fine Arts existed 350 years in 2013. At the same time, the renowned Fashion Department turned 50. That is why the whole of Antwerp was dominated by the Academy and the clash between contemporary artistic "violence" and historical heritage.

Magic lantern slides in the light of today

The MAS started digitizing its collection of thousands of slides. These slides that used to be projected with a magic lantern, are finally seeing the light of day again.

Vessel collection

A cultural value assessment

An assessment of the cultural-historical values of the MAS' vessel collection. A stepping stone towards the development of a clear future vision for the collection.

Instinct - A beastly exhibition

25.10.2018 - 17.02.2019

CLOSED - The youth crew of the MAS took over a floor of the museum. A unique exhibition revealed the animal side of the museum collection, with creative materials and a wild programme.

Study painting First entry of Napoleon to Antwerp

Napoleon's visit to Antwerp in 1803 was a high point for the city on the Scheldt.  Joséphine de Beauharnais, Napoleon's wife, ordered a painting to immortalise the entry. This is a preliminary sketch for that.

Architect Le Corbusier

Short biography

As well as an architect, Le Corbusier was also a furniture designer, a painter, a sculptor and an influential theorist. He is sometimes called ‘the architect of the 20th century’. His ideas were showered with praise, but he also received a lot of criticism.

City at war

Antwerp, 1940 - 1945

Military violence and mass persecution of Jews and dissenters during World War II broke the city. Personal stories and objects make this period very tangible in this new permanent MAS exhibition.