Scholars, Travellers and Trade

The Pioneer Years of the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, 1818-1840

R. B. Halbertsma

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2004
• Print ISBN: 9780415276306
• eBook ISBN: 9781134475261
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Museum Administration
• Index: Business

Today, the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden is internationally known for its outstanding archaeological collections. Yet its origins lie in an insignificant assortment of artefacts used for study by Leiden University. How did this transformation come about?
Ruurd Halbertsma has delved into the archives to show that the appointment of Caspar Reuvens as Professor of Archaeology in 1818 was the crucial turning point. He tells the dramatic story of Reuvens' struggle to establish the museum, with battles against rival scholars, red tape and the Dutch attitude of neglect towards archaeological monuments. This book throws new light on the process of creating a national museum, and the difficulties of convincing society of the value of the past.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Figures
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Early collections of classical art in the Netherlands: the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
• 3 C.J.C. Reuvens and the archaeological cabinet in Leiden, 1818
• 4 Collections and conflicts
• 5 The Greek collections of B.E.A. Rottiers
• 6 Jean Emile Humbert: the quest for Carthage
• 7 Station Livorno: the Etruscan and Egyptian collections
• 8 Forum Hadriani: digging behind the dunes
• 9 The ideal museum: dreams and reality
• 10 End of the pioneer years, 1835–40
• Appendix 1 – Life of C.J.C. Reuvens
• Appendix 2 – The discorso preliminare of Raffaele Gargiulo: classifying Greek vases
• Appendix 3 – Earliest museum publications, 1818–40
• Appendix 4 – Le Voyageur: a wanderer’s song
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index