The aim of this study is to shed more light on the Collection G.N.V. of the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities, in Leiden. To make this possible this thesis starts off with a global overview of...Show moreThe aim of this study is to shed more light on the Collection G.N.V. of the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities, in Leiden. To make this possible this thesis starts off with a global overview of the history of the collections of the Museum in Chapter 2. In Chapter 3 the Collection G.N.V. is briefly introduced to the reader, together with an overview of the people who played a main role within the formation of the Collection: the triangle Martinus Nijhoff, Johannes Verschoor and the Museum. One element the author wished to research is how this Collection came together between 1886 and 1896 and how it came into the hands of the museum, as is debated in Chapter 4. In this triangle the Museum bought the antiquities, through the guidance and mediations of Nijhoff, from the Dutchman Verschoor. Verschoor was a doctor who lived in Naples, where he purchased antiquities that came to his attention through individual collectors, art dealers and his customers. The antiques originate both from trade and direct from archaeological digs. Chapter 5 – in which the second element of the research will be accounted for – shows how the acquisition of the Collection G.N.V. would not be accepted into both the ethical framework, and the legislations, which Museums nowadays deal with. The biggest concern within the purchase of these objects, that would not be accepted today, is the lack of knowledge about the context and the ownership history of the objects. All of the above is considered in the last chapter, Chapter 6. An Appendix is added to illustrate the overview of the Collection G.N.V in a schematic way. Appendix I is a list of the 14 different acquisitions of the Collection, Appendix II serves to give a complete picture of the antiquities in the Collection G.N.V and Appendix III shows a list of the communication about the Collection in the Archive of the Museum.Show less
