Permanent Galleries

Levi Mengel was a noted explorer, scientist, renowned collector, and naturalist. After graduating from Reading High School in 1886, he went on to pursue a degree from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and received his degree in 1891. He then worked as an entomologist on the expedition of Admiral Robert E. Peary, which began his collection. From insects to fine art, Mengel collected it all.

The Museum’s fine art galleries—European, American, and Modern & Contemporary—feature over 1,000 paintings, 12,000 works on paper, and 200 sculptures from the 15th century to today. Notable artists include Edgar Degas, John Singer Sargent, N.C. Wyeth, and Milton Avery. The Museum also boasts a strong collection of American Impressionist paintings with works by Childe Hassam, Edward Redfield, and Daniel Garber, among others.

This gallery displays armor and weapons from Europe, Oceania, Africa, Asia, and the Persian Empire. Highlights include a 16th-century German Maximilian armor, a 17th-century horse muzzle, pole arms, swords, samurai armor, a cuirassier suit, a German close helmet, and Persian arm guards and jewel-encrusted daggers.

The centerpiece of this gallery is Nefrina, a Ptolemaic mummy with her original sarcophagus and trappings. Highlights include over a dozen Greek vessels, such as hydrias and amphorae depicting heroes and gods, dating back to the 8th century BC; Egyptian stele fragments with gods and hieroglyphs; Classical marble heads; and ancient glassware, jewelry, and everyday items.

This gallery showcases rotating 18th- and 19th-century fraktur, including birth, baptismal, and marriage certificates, from a collection of over 200 pieces. Highlights include a John Rasmussen painting on zinc, painted dower chests, one with a black unicorn motif, toleware, clocks, longrifles, reverse glass paintings, and Pennsylvania redware from Berks and surrounding counties.

Explore ancient Mesoamerican, Central, and South American cultures in this gallery, featuring anthropomorphic pottery from the 3rd century BC to the 15th century AD by the Chimú, Aztec, Maya, and more. Highlights include Pre-Columbian gold from Veraguas, a carved Maya yoke, a Veracruz figure, and a Paracas-Nazca hummingbird textile.

Permanent displays feature items by the Delaware, Montagnais, and Inuit, including carved ivory, masks, instruments, tools, and clothing. Rotating collections include 19th-century Plains textiles, southwest pottery from Acoma, Hopi, and Zuni, Hopi kachina dolls, Montagnais baskets, Plains attire, and a pre-1850 Crow or Mandan buffalo robe.

The natural history collection began with Founder Levi W. Mengel’s Lepidoptera study collection. Science remains key to The Museum’s mission, with the Animal Habitats gallery showcasing over 75 taxidermy animals from five continents. The gallery covers landscapes, climates, and conservation, meeting core school standards. The collection also includes herbarium specimens, rocks, minerals, and fossils.