Kunstsammlung der Universität Leipzig

Description

The Antikenmuseum der Universität Leipzig houses an extensive university collection of ancient small-scale artworks and thus occupies an important position among academic collections in Germany. The exhibited holdings are located in the Alte Nikolaischule in Leipzig, where the collection has been on public display since 1994.

Its origins date back to the 18th century; as early as 1734 ancient objects were used at the university for teaching purposes. Over the course of the 19th century the collection developed into the „Kabinetts für Archäologie und Kunst“ and was significantly expanded through purchases and donations, including substantial groups of Greek and Etruscan vases and items acquired on a trip to Italy. Towards the end of the 19th century plaster casts predominated for an extended period, before further major acquisitions of original objects in 1897 again enriched the holdings. At the beginning of the 20th century several important gifts added around 800 high-quality exhibits, among them a marble head of Alexander the Great.

Today the collection comprises more than 16,000 objects; particularly notable are numerous black- and red-figure vases. Since 1844 the collection has not only served as a teaching resource for students but has also been made accessible to the interested public. Institutionally, the museum is affiliated with the Institut für Klassische Archäologie am Historischen Seminar der Universität Leipzig; this affiliation took place in 2017 as part of a reorganization of the institute’s structures. The museum is supported by a Leipzig-based Freundes- und Förderkreis that promotes the use of originals and casts for teaching, research and museum education programmes. In Sachsen the collection remains the only one of its kind at a university.