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Mystical Marriage of Christ

2 stained-glass windows

The MAS collection contains a number of beautiful stained-glass windows from the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. Two of the rare intact examples are listed as Flemish masterpieces: rather large stained-glass windows from around 1600 depicting the Mystical Marriage of Christ.

The Averbode altarpiece

In the centre of this altarpiece, those close to Christ are mourning his death, and above in miniature, we see Christ again, but alive and in the limbo of Hell. Below, each of the three women are depicting a virtue: Faith, Hope and Love. When the altarpiece is closed, you can see the tortured Christ being shown to the people on the left, and on the right, Jesus being offered a sweat cloth by Veronica.

20 years 'Flemish Masterpieces Decree'

What is valuable must be protected. That is the logic of the Flemish Masterpieces Decree. Since the creation of this decree in 2003, just about 1,000 objects and collections have been recognised and protected as masterpieces. Through decree, the government also strengthens public collections by acquiring important masterpieces.

Manned V1

Manned flying bomb at La Coupole, France

On June 12, 1945, American Brigadier General Clare H. Armstrong donated two V-bombs to Antwerp as a reminder of the bitter struggle: an intact V1 practice bomb and a slightly damaged manned flying bomb. This bomb, the ReIV, we loaned to the Musée La Coupole near Saint-Omer in northern France.

Actual loans

In the MAS, you can see the world. Or at least part of it, because the world also wants to see the MAS. After all, the extraordinary pieces in the MAS are often of great interest to other national and international museums. The MAS regularly receives requests for temporary loans of objects. And we are happy to do so. The pieces from the MAS collection can be found not only in Antwerp, but all over the world.

A remarkable collection

A glimpse of the collection

FREE ENTRANCE | The MAS collection numbers almost 600,000 pieces. Part of it can be admired in the exhibitions, the rest is carefully stored in various depots. In the free accessible Visible Storage, you can take a peek behind the scenes. Varied and surprising partial presentations provide a constantly changing view of the collection. 

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