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A Batak Pustaha looted from the last Singamangaraja

Two pustaha in the ‘Christoffel Collection’ have been identified in all likelihood as having been looted from Sisingamangaraja XII, a Batak ruler and national hero. What can palaeographic, linguistic and topographic analysis reveal about their provenance, history, and intended use?

Hans Christoffel: ‘The Little Captain Who Conquered the Jungle’

Concealed behind Dutch Ethical Policy there was the reality of resistance to colonial rule being violently suppressed through so-called ‘pacification’ campaigns. Christoffel became simultaneously one of the most notorious agents of these campaigns and one of the most highly decorated.

12,770 km from home and what was lost along the way

Colonial collectors brought many pustaha into European museum collections, thus separating these books from their communities of origin. What happens to the knowledge that manuscripts contain when they are displaced and access to them is lost?

MAS tour for non-Dutch-speakers

On this tour, you'll learn the story behind this exceptional building and its collections and exhibitions. Experience the encounters that the river and the port have brought about for centuries.

Book a guide via Experience Antwerp. 

World city | About here and elsewhere

17.05.2011 - 28.02.2016

CLOSED - In 'World city' you could be charmed by the numerous stories and anecdotes that Antwerp is rich in. A must for every Antwerp citizen so that he could become even prouder of his city, a must for every non-Antwerpian so that he finally understood the fuss around this world city.

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.

Call for books

Help us fill a bookshelf in the expo "We are here"

Painting by Van Bree on the list of Top Pieces

The painting 'Entry of Bonaparte, as First Consul, into Antwerp on 18th July 1803' by Mathieu Ignatius Van Bree was added to the list of Top Pieces by the Flemish Government. The large oil painting hangs in the Palace of Versailles, an identical work in a small format belongs to the MAS collection.

City at war

Antwerp, 1940 - 1945

On May 10, 1940, Nazi Germany invaded Belgium. Just days later, the Nazi flag flew from Antwerp’s cathedral. This permanent exhibition brings to life the impact of World War II on the city and its residents. Through powerful personal stories and objects that once belonged to Antwerp inhabitants, visitors discover experiences of fear and violence, but also of courage and hope. So that we never forget. 

Le Corbusier. Linkeroever - Chandigarh

Saturday 06 April 2019 - Sunday 18 August 2019

Le Corbusier (1887-1965) was an architect who believed that the way a city is built can improve the lives of its residents. He drew up plans for Antwerp-Linkeroever that were never completed and he built an entirely new city in India called Chandigarh. This exhibition immerses you the ideas of Le Corbusier, but also lets you saunter through the streets of Chandigarh and take a look behind Linkeroever’s façades.