The Faras Gallery, opened in 1972, is the largest exhibit of artefacts of the Nubian art and culture from the Christian period in all Europe. All the objects presented here came from Sudan, where Polish archaeological missions have conducted research for many years.

The artefacts from Faras and a small body of objects (usually pottery) from Old Dongola are presented in two rows of gallery rooms. Arranged chronologically, the exposition shows the development of religious painting in Northern Nubia over the space of more than 700 years, from the earliest paintings dated to the 8th century to the latest ones from the 13th and 14th centuries. The dominating works of art are single, frontal images of divine figures and saints, painted on the white background of the walls, sometimes framed. In the first room there are the oldest paintings which remained on the first layer of plaster with which the walls of the church had been covered in the 8th century. The most precious are the images of Saint Anne, Saint John the Evangelist   and Saint Peter, and the portrait of Amone, the hermit who lived near Tuna el-Gebel (Ashmunein) in Southern Egypt. On the second layer of plaster, applied at the beginning of the 10th century, was a beautiful portrait of Petros, the Bishop of Faras, with Saint Peter. There is also the splendid composition referred to as Maiestas Crucis, presenting a gold, jewel-incrusted cross with the bust of Christ at the intersection of its arms and the figures of Four Living Creatures. On a dais towards the end of the room, an apse of the  cathedral with a synthronon has been reconstructed. The synthronon is a small stepped dais where clergy sit during the liturgy. A wall painting decorating the     apse  presenting the twelve Apostles and the Mother of God, had been repainted several times. In the side row of the Gallery rooms are later paintings dated from the 11th to 14th centuries. Very interesting is the monumental representation of Christ sitting on a throne, holding the Gospel Book  and a cross-spear, dressed in a robe decorated with a motif of human eyes. Under the throne there were originally angels lifting a cross; these angels were replaced in the 12th or 13th century with the image of three identical figures of the Saviour.

In the same room there is another monumental painting showing Saint Mercury on horseback running the Roman emperor Julian the Apostate through with a spear. Further on, viewers can admire two splendid portraits of Nubian dignitaries - a young ruler in the care of Christ who stands behind a dark-skinned dignitary  and of and Marianos, the Bishop of Faras, dressed in a rich  liturgical robe, accompanied by the Virgin  with  Child. The exposition of Nubian  murals has been complemented with elements of architectural décor (from various buildings in Faras) placed by the walls of both rooms and with pottery , epitaphs and minor artefacts from Faras and Old Dongola, presented in showcases. A 1:25 model of the cathedral discovered  by the archaeologists makes viewers familiar with the structure in all its aspects. Miniatures of the paintings which are in the Museum have been placed on the walls of this model.

A selection of Ethiopian crosses from Wacław Korabiewicz’s collection is presented behind the apse in showcases.

Polish archaeologists have been interested in Sudan since 1960, when the first Polish research expedition went to Nubia. Professor Kazimierz Michałowski, an outstanding  explorer, the Deputy Director of the National Museum in Warsaw and the Head of the Warsaw University’s Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology in Cairo , was in charge of the expedition. The Polish experts soon joined the group of archaeologists who were taking part in the so-called Nubian campaign. It was a rescue project carried on under the patronage of UNESCO, launched in order to salvage  the monuments  of ancient Nubia. The remains of old cultures which had developed in the Nile Valley to the south of the first cataract were in danger of being flooded by the waters of an artificial reservoir due to the fact that a dam had been built in Egyptian Aswan and water of the Nile had been dammed up. The main task of the Polish mission was to  investigate  the ruins of the urban area in Faras, especially the large artificial mound  hiding the ruins of an unknown structure. During the three excavation campaigns, well preserved ruins of an 8th century cathedral were uncovered.  The walls of the building were covered with religious wall paintings dating from the 8th to the 14th century. The priceless murals  were removed from the walls by specialists from the National Museum, secured and prepared for transportation. Thanks to the agreement between the Polish and Sudanese authorities, a complex of over 60 paintings came to the National Museum in Warsaw. A group of Christian epitaphs, elements of architectural décor from the Meroic and Christian periods, ceramics, and minor objects also found their way to the Museum. Most of the Nubian relics, after being subjected to the necessary conservation treatment, have been made accessible to the public in the form of a permanent exposition. The exposition has been regularly enriched by more Nubian relics from the Christian period arriving from the Polish excavations in Old Dongola in Sudan.