Sources of the National Museum of Lithuania

Nordisk Museologi 2001 • 1–2, s. 193–203 Sources of the 193 National Museum of Lithuania Zygintas Bucys ”Not all yet understand the true meaning of the Museum, thinking that it is something like Valhala, where morality and genius must be exalted. Not all yet understand that Archæology, trying to avoid empty inducements, today’s passions, is not obliged to flatter a nation’s pride. By collecting monuments of all that was alive and interesting in the past, history is given the right to evaluate, praise or condemn. In the faces of ancestors it is not looking for beauty, but likeness”.1 The first museum in Lithuania – the Vilnius Museum of Antiquities – was established almost a hundred and fifty years ago (1855) according to this statement of belief by of one of the most famous researchers of Lithuanian culture in mid-19th century, Adam Kirkor. Despite the difficult circumstances during the museum was named the National Museum occupation by Czarist Russia, the museum of Lithuania. was established as a national museum, and In 1855 when the Museum of Antiquities throughout its history it had to endure vari- was established the independent Lithuanian ous calamities: the removal of a major part of state was already only an episode from the its collections to Russia, the abolition of the past inscribed in the cultural memory. How- museum and the dissipation of its collections. ever it had not been completely deleted, rather Only in 1952 through the efforts of the fa- it was being continuously restored in prepa- mous historian of Lithuanian culture, Vincas ration for the realisation of the historical fact Zilenas, was the structure of the Museum of in a political life that was at least minimally Antiquities recreated on the basis of a part of independent. The exposition of the museum, the original collection and of collections from which contributed to keep historical con- the scientific communities of Vilinus. This sciousness and cultural identity alive, tried to restored collection reflected the history of the restore Lithuanian patriotism. The idea of es- Lithuanian state and the national culture. In tablishing a museum had matured long befo- this way the work begun by the mid-19th cen- re it became a fact, therefore I will look at the tury intelligentsia was continued. In 1992 the beginning of the historical collections in Lit- Zygintas Bucys 194 huania and the growth of an awareness of self balanced on the edge of temporality, amal- antiquities as representing historical and cul- gamating with others, passing from hand to tural values. hand or disappearing from the cultural hori- zon just at the time it had acquired some con- Madness for things tours and definition. The wave of collecting things that arose in ”This is really a madness for things” – said Kon- the first half of the 19th century was figurati- stanty Tyszkiewicz, a witness of these days and vely described by A.Kirkor in a letter to Józef an active participant, describing the outburst Ignacy Kraszewski, where he mentions a sil- of antiquities collecting in the first half of 19th ver statuette, owned by ”some small nobleman century.2 This was the reaction of a scientist Czechowicz, an ignorant person, but very fond and culture researcher to the random, chao- of antique things, who kept it under the key and tic collecting of objects, not defined by scien- didn’t show it even to his wife. This strange man tific categories or systems. Generally, it was dug into many barrows. Poor man, but ready to the attitude to a certain section of society risk everything in order to get antiquities. Peo- which did not value cultural heritage and did ple say, that he has coffers full of them.”3 not apprehend its meaning. K.Tyszkiewicz met many local collectors on A hitherto inexperienced passion for col- his scientific journeys on the Neris river. lecting things pierced the hearts of various P.Ordynec – collector of antiquities and old layers within society: beginning with the duke legends in Milcia.4 Priest Debinski who had and count but also affecting the small pro- a few finds he had himself dug out of sur- vincial nobleman. Of course, this desire to rounding barrows.5 In Kernavele manor he collect did not appear overnight; collecting saw an art collection comprising mostly of was known even earlier. However, if in the the works of Kanuty Rusiecki. The owner of 18th century only aristocrats like Radziwill, this collection was ”a real brother of our pain- Sapieha, Oginski, Chreptowicz, Tyzenhauz ter”.6 In Paparciai in the company of the pain- and other dignitaries could take pride in their ter Antoni Zaleski he visited a ”beautiful gal- collections, in the 19th century collecting lery of old paintings from the Italian school” be- became a universal phenomenon. Often a longing to the painter’s uncle and he was sur- private collection reflected fashion, pride or prised by his ”very rich collection of old Saxo- some sort of self-establishment in society; and nian porcelain unique in Lithuania.”7 In Mika- for the majority the contents had no impor- liskis Tyszkiewicz met with Doctor Minkow- tance: antiquities, archæological finds, numis- ski, who ”had a small collection of rarities – a matics or art works – all were equally desira- few items of old Saxonian porcelain, especially ble. Everything depended on the nobleman interesting was a cup with top. It had a bust of himself: his taste, inclination and of course Stanislaw August in the form of medallion pain- his fortune. It was rare for anyone to engage ted inside the cup, and written around it was: in purposeful, systematic collecting. There ”Stanislaus Augustus Rex”. On the bottom of were all kind of things in the private collec- the plate was an open book and the symbol of tions: family relics, objects from exotic righteousness with lifted finger, laurel crown and countries, local rarities, and the collection it- all attributes of the memorable event of 1791. Sources of the National Museum of Lithuania Today this cup is quite a rare antiquity, signify- 195 ing the country’s majestic act. (…) Minkowski selected a corresponding silver spoon for this cup, which I saw for the first time here. There was an embossed portrait of Duke Józef Poniatow- ski.”8 The scope of archeological research and collecting in Lithuania is also described in the writings and correspondence of the historian Teodor Narbutt, where we can find out about the collectors of that time: Józef Pomarnacki, Karol Kozakowski, Adam Zagiello, Jerzy Pla- ter, Franciszek Wilczynski, Oskierka, Marcin Ciepliniski, Józef Jaroszewicz.9 Narbutt himself had quite a big collection of Lithuanian antiquities. L.Jucevicius in his work ”Mokyti zemaiciai” (Educated Samogitians) also mentioned Michal Chlewinski, Jan Chry- zostom Gintyllo, Leopold and his son Albert Gorski, Dionizas Poska, Jan Prekier, Antony Rönne, Leon Uwojn and Edward Wolmer, as ”having rather big libraries”, ”rooms of numis- matics”, ”collecting antiquities” that were ”de- dicated to Lithuanian antiquity”10 Count Eustachy Tyszkiewicz (1814–1873), These were not all the collectors in Lithua- archæologist, collector, researcher in Lithuanian history nia at that time, since Narbutt and Jucevicius and culture. He was the founder of the first Lithuanian museum, The Museum of Antiquities in Vilnius, which first mentioned those collections that were opened in 1856. important for their own research and scientific interests. There were many such amateur antique collectors, such as the above mentio- net or library, expensive crockery, porcelain, ned Czechowicz – who collected in secret and furniture, a splendid collection of arms, and kept it quiet. Others sought evidence of their art work in the manors of most noblemen.11 noble origin by collecting family relics, and But in many cases the fact that these things adding various local rarities. This was not in- were not collected from the neighbourhood, teresting for historians of the time. that they were used for everyday purposes and It has to be remembered that the habit of were not understood as being of cultural va- collecting local antiquities as representatives lue prevents us from calling them collections. of cultural heritage was not yet properly estab- Even among collectors of that time antiqui- lished or clearly defined. As inventory books ties were sometimes apprehended in this way. from the end of the 18th and the beginning ”Priest Grosmani, one of the antique collectors of the19th centuries show, there was a cabi- of that time, had a few stone hammers in his Zygintas Bucys 196 The Museum of Antiquities. An exhibition in the P.Smuglevièius Hall of the University. In the period 1860–1865. scientific collection which consisted of various Peasants had a much more pragmatic view utensils arrayed in tasteful disorder, and laugh- of local antiques. ”1811 three brass statuettes ing with satisfaction (which showed his poor were found on the bottom of a drained lake in worldview) he demonstrated to everyone, how the Druja area. (…) Villagers sold them to Jews he cleverly found a purpose for this thing: he put in Druja.”14 ”In Svëksna in the garden of the candles into its hole and it served as candlehol- parsonage a servant took the treasure which he der.”12 found while replanting roses – it is supposed to At the same time there was a diametrically have been a few pounds of golden coins. This opposite appreciation of things – as being of man went abroad and the valuable finds disap- cultural value, as testimonies of various his- peared.”15 Only at the end of 19th century do torical periods. Narbutt demonstrated such we meet the first collector among the pea- an understanding: to him a wooden stick with sants.16 unreadable writings was an ”antique of anti- The clearest and most important feature ques of ancient Lithuanians” – ”sceptre of Ge- of collecting in the first half of 19th century diminas”.13 The absence of collecting tradi- was the nobility’s turning toward the past tions, the undefined concept of collections culture of their own country, trying to un- and the newly born inclusion of local anti- derstand it with the help of local antiquities.

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