Collections and museums in the field of humanities at the University of Leipzig

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The humanities collections and museums at the University of Leipzig include an important university teaching and display collection. In total, the individual collections of the University of Leipzig combine over 900,000 objects. In the field of humanities, the university has six collections with a volume of around 50,000 objects. In addition, the Leipzig University Library has important special collections, including the papyrus and ostraka collection and the coin collection .

In their dual function as study and display collections, these take on the role of a museum open to the public, but primarily serve teaching (training of students) and research.

history

The history of the individual collections was very different from one another. The collections arose on the one hand from the historically grown holdings since the university was founded in 1409 (e.g. custody / art collection with epitaphs and portraits of Leipzig scholars) and on the other hand from the acquisition or donation of civil private collections (e.g. acquisition of the musical instrument collection of the Cologne paper manufacturer Wilhelm Heyer (1849–1913) in 1926) and the successive purchase of individual objects by university scientists.

The foundation for many of the collections that exist today, some of which are of national and international importance, was laid in the 19th century. The Egyptian collection originated in 1842 with the purchase of a cedar wood coffin by Gustav Seyffarth (1792-1885). Today the Egyptian Museum is the most important university collection of its kind in Germany. The antiquities museum, which emerged from a “cabinet for archeology and art”, has been gradually expanded since 1840 and today, along with the Albertinum in Dresden, is one of the most important archaeological museums in Saxony.

The conscious integration of the collections into teaching and research looks back on a long tradition at the University of Leipzig: the plaster cast collection and the collection for prehistory and early history have been understood as a teaching collection for students since their foundation in 1834 and 1934 respectively. This concept has proven itself to this day and, as an indispensable part of the course, guarantees methodologically sound, practice-related training for students.

The collections

Egyptian Museum

The teaching display collection of the Egyptian Museum houses archaeological finds from the four thousand year history of ancient Egypt. The approximately 7000 objects of various types are statues, reliefs, small bronzes, coffins, statuettes of the dead (ushabti), stone and clay vessels as well as ostraka (written or painted clay and limestone shards), which are primarily used for targeted research projects and the training of students who, in addition to working on the object, also learn how to deal with the public. The regular opening times and guided tours in the museum are supplemented by monthly lectures, readings or musical evenings, which enable the general public to gain in-depth knowledge of ancient Egyptian culture.

Antique Museum

The Antikenmuseum der Universität Leipzig is one of the largest university collections of ancient cabaret in Germany. The foundation of the collection was laid in the first half of the 18th century when the first antique objects came to the university. In total, the collection now includes more than 16,000 exhibits, the most important of which include numerous black and red-figure vases. Since 1844, the collection has not been limited to being a study collection for students, but has also shown excellent exhibits from its holdings to the general public. Since 1994 the collection has been presented in the Alte Nikolaischule in Leipzig. Civic engagement is essential to the creation of the collection, which can be seen particularly in the sponsors.

Plaster cast collection

Before the Second World War, the plaster cast collection of the University of Leipzig was one of the most complete and important collections of its kind in Germany and is still one of the largest university cast collections today, despite considerable losses during the war. It comprises around 600 casts of Greek and Roman antiquities from all major archaeological collections in Europe and from all historical periods of antiquity. A large part of the holdings make up casts of small sculptures and portrait heads, but the collection also includes around 100–115 large sculptures and groups of figures. The focus here is on works of Hellenism or Roman copies based on Hellenistic models. This preponderance can be explained by the fact that during the bombing raids on Leipzig only the so-called "Hellenistic Hall" of the university's collection of antiquities was largely spared from war damage.

Custody / art collection

The art collection of the University of Leipzig has an extensive inventory of works of art from different eras and genres. The custody keeps, among other things, sculptures and paintings from the Middle Ages, works from the Reformation period, epitaphs from three centuries, important portrait collections, prints and a large number of works by well-known artists from the GDR. In an effort to continue the centuries-old collection tradition (since the university was founded in 1409), during which the collection grew to around 10,000 objects, works of art are still being acquired today.

Museum of Musical Instruments

The Museum for Musical Instruments of the University of Leipzig is a museum belonging to the University of Leipzig. With over 5500 inventory units, around 10,000 objects, including valuable European and non-European instruments, in particular valuable pieces from the Renaissance and Baroque periods as well as the Leipzig Bach period, it occupies one of the top positions of high rank worldwide. Today it is the second largest musical instrument museum in Europe after the museum in Brussels (7,000 instruments) and before the one in Paris (4,000 instruments).

Collection of prehistory and early history

The collection includes around 6,500 exhibits from all time stages from the Paleolithic Age to the New Stone Age (Neolithic) and a geographical area from Germany to South America. However, the focus of the collection is on regional prehistory. The main part of the collection consists of stone tools from all Stone Age epochs. In addition, there are settlement finds of the linear ceramics (Neolithic) as well as urns and grave goods from the Bronze and Iron Ages from Central Germany (Lusatian and Billendorfer culture).

Literature (selection)

  • Detlef Döring (ed.): Enlightenment of the world. Saxony and the beginning of modern science. 600 years of Leipzig University. Published on the occasion of the anniversary exhibition of the University of Leipzig. 2 vols. Dresden 2009.
  • Senate commission for research into the history of universities and science in Leipzig (ed.): History of the University of Leipzig. 1409-2009. 5 vols. Leipzig 2009.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Eberhard Paul (ed.): Sponsors of the Antiken Museum: yesterday and today. [Antikenmuseum der Universität Leipzig, Alte Nikolaischule.] The catalog texts by Hans-Peter Müller , Leipzig 1998. ISBN 3-932019-06-7