Luxury Souvenir or Precious Original : The Case of the Bronze Tripod from the Real Museo Borbonico

PETŘEKOVÁ, Eliška. Luxury Souvenir or Precious Original : The Case of the Bronze Tripod from the Real Museo Borbonico. In Kubala, Agata. Collecting Antiquities from the Middle Ages to the End of the Nineteenth Century. Wrocław: Księgarnia Akademicka Publishing, 2021, p. 331-346. ISBN 978-83-8138-585-5.

Basic information

• Original name: Luxury Souvenir or Precious Original : The Case of the Bronze Tripod from the Real Museo Borbonico
• Authors: PETŘEKOVÁ, Eliška (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution).
• Edition: Wrocław, Collecting Antiquities from the Middle Ages to the End of the Nineteenth Century, p. 331-346, 16 pp. 2021.
• Publisher: Księgarnia Akademicka Publishing

Other information

• Original language: English
• Type of outcome: Proceedings paper
• Field of Study: 60102 Archaeology
• Country of publisher: Poland
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• Publication form: printed version "print"
• RIV identification code: RIV/00216224:14210/21:00126035
• Organization unit: Faculty of Arts
• ISBN: 978-83-8138-585-5
• Keywords in English: collecting antiquities; bronze tripod; Franz von Koller; Royal Bourbon Museum
• Tags: rivok
• Tags: International impact, Reviewed

Abstract

A newly discovered and unique exchange of correspondence between Baron Franz von Koller and the competent Neapolitan authorities about making a copy of bronze tripod which is exhibited in the royal museum in Naples captures what exactly was necessary to build a collection of antiquities at the turn of two epochs, while abiding by the official protocols and observing royal decrees. Baron Koller served as a general intendant in Naples between 1815 and 1826 and in this time, this educated diplomat became an accomplished collector of antiques and an amateur archeologist. Although he did not obtain the required permission, the inventory of his collection actually includes two different copies of bronze tripods “created after the original from the Real Museo Borbonico”. Koller’s desire to own the most accurate copy of the exhibited piece proves that it was not supposed to be a mere showpiece that catches the general atmosphere but a serious collectable original item.