PREDYNASTIC PERIOD, NAQADA II-III, 3500-3000 B.C.

Josef Müller was a pivotal figure in 20th-century art. Although he was the heir to the Müller & Schweizer manufacturing company and trained as an engineer, his true passion lay in the arts. Müller ultimately dedicated his life to this pursuit, becoming an artist, curator, and collector. His interests encompassed a wide range of cultures and periods, including Modern art as well as African, Oceanic, Asian, and ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern works. Today, part of his collection is housed at the Kunstmuseum Solothurn, while many of his non-Western holdings are displayed at the Musée Barbier-Mueller in Geneva, an institution founded by his children.