documents the new buildings and conversions of churches in the competition of the various monasteries and convents. A unique court ensembles are the silverware of the Prince-Bishop of Hildesheim and the service and figurative centrepieces of Nymphenburg and Meissen porcelain manufacturers. Rare furnitures testify to the high rank of the most famous German cabinetmaker manufactories of the 18th Century. The collection of Neo-classical art of the 19th Century is also strongly influenced by works that once belonged to the Wittelsbach family. Thus, from the estate of Maximilian's father King Ludwig I are magnificent presents of Napoleon Bonaparte which arrived at the Museum, a result of the strong connection between France and Bavaria. Of special importance is for example a splendid table with precious wood with a rich porcelain decor, a gift Napoleon gave in 1806 to the Crown Prince Ludwig. The Art Nouveau Department shows, for example, the floral art direction, an expression of Art Nouveau inspired by the plants and animals, first developed in France. The collection of fine glass and porcelain and ceramics includes many objects of high artistic and technical quality of the most important centers of this epoch in Europe and the United States. The museum displays a major collection of Art Nouveau objects, including the work of Louis Comfort Tiffany, René Lalique, Émile Gallé and several Bavarian artists. Period rooms Many of the museum's treasures are displayed in antique rooms moved to the museum. For example, the armor is in one of several rooms featuring gothic ribbed vaulting form medieval buildings, magnificent renaissance furnishings are displayed in rooms roofed with decorative wood-beamed and mullioned ceilings form the 14th and 15th centuries, and the baroque objects in rooms with 16th century wood paneling and decorative ceilings. Folklore collection The folklore collection houses for example traditional Bavarian furnitures, rural pottery, crockery and religious folklore including an outstanding collection of Neapolitan, Sicilian, Tyrolian and Bavarian wood carvings including street scenes and Nativity Scenes. Nativity scenes The museum holds an extensive collection of Nativity scene from the fifteenth through early nineteenth centuries, dramatically and imaginatively displayed. Many of the scenes display wonderful craftsmanship and detailed workmanship, some are worked in precious materials, others show exotic elements, like a Flight into Egypt intended to astonish 18th century viewers with the monkeys, crocodiles and hippopotamuses Mary and Joseph encounter on the Nile. Gallery External links Bavarian National Museum Bavarian State Archaeological