Collecting Activities for the National Museum
In 2016, the central acquisition advisory committee of the National Museum discussed 33 proposals for the acquisition of collection pieces or sets of collection items to a total amount of CZK 4.5 million. Proposals were submitted by all collection sections of the National Museum, with the greatest number of proposals coming from the Historical and Natural History Museums.
Although all 33 suggested acquisitions were approved, only 25 items and collection sets were purchased due to the National Museum’s limited funds. The ISO/C subsidy programme of the
Ministry of Culture funded the purchase of a set of items from the estate of the first republic diplomat Miroslav Plesinger-Božinov for the Historical Museum, together with two autographs of Vítězslav Novák's music, a letter of 1882 by Antonín Dvořák to Eduard Hanslick, and an 1821 quittance for Christian Clam Gallase from Josefína Dušková for the Museum of Music.
In 2016, the purchase of two sets of items was funded from the same programme. However, as this purchase was approved by the Central advisory committee in previous years, it is listed separately in the table. The purchase included a set of 268 Japanese-themed items for the Náprstek Museum of Asian, African and American Cultures (approved by the Central Advisory Committee in autumn 2015, with a total value of CZK 499,500) and a collection of specimens of the Ichneumonidae family for the Natural History Museum (approved in summer 2012, with total value CZK 206,814).
In 2016, the Josef, Marie and Zdeňka Hlávková Foundation funded the purchase of two old prints for the collection of the National Museum Library, one of which was originally the property of Václav Budovec of Budov and the other of Adam Trajan Benešovský; together with one pair of French horns of Czech provenance for the collection of the Czech Museum of Music, and a pearl necklace with gold and garnet ornamentation and a three-row cord of river pearls for the Historical Museum. Only the purchases for the Natural History Museum were funded by projects and other sources, being acquisitions of entomologic and paleontological collections.
In 2016 the collections of the Historical Museum were expanded due to the pre-emption right of the state to objects of historical significance under § 13 Act No. 20/1987 Coll., on Heritage Conservation, and their subsequent assignment to the care of the National Museum. Thanks to this right, the Historical Museum acquired a statue of Infant Jesus of Prague (late 18th century), a nativity scene Cabinet of the Nativity and Epiphany of our Lord (second half of the 19th century) and a statue of Archangel Michael. Further, an archaeological find of coins in Bělčice u Ostředka was transferred to the collections of the numismatic department of the Historical Museum under §23a, paragraph 4, Act No. 20/1987 Coll.
In parallel with the above described acquisitions, the National Museum’s collections have also been enriched via purchases of items to the value of CZK 20,000 and donations. These acquisitions are described in detail in the acquisition list of the individual collection sections of the National Museum.
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