Museum of Antiquities in Vilnius
The Museum of Antiquities in Vilnius was a museum of archaeology and history established by Count Eustachy Tyszkiewicz in 1855 at the premises of the closed Vilnius University. It was the first public museum in the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania and is considered a predecessor of the National Museum of Lithuania even though only a handful of items from the Museum of Antiquities ended up at the National Museum. Together with the Archaeological Commission which functioned as a de facto learned society, the museum was the most prominent cultural and scientific institution in all of Lithuania and displayed many historical items that reminded of the old Grand Duchy and served romantic nationalism of Lithuanian nobles at the time when Lithuania was part of the Russian Empire. The museum collections rapidly grew to over 67,000 items in 1865 by absorbing large collections of minerals and zoological specimens from the closed Vilnius University, libraries of various closed Catholic churches and monasteries, and various donations from local nobles.
The museum was nationalized and reorganized after the failed Uprising of 1863, removing almost all items related to the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to the Rumyantsev Museum in Moscow. The museum became a division of the newly established Vilnius Public Library. The reformed library and museum served to support the official Russification policies and displayed many items related to the Russian Empire and the Eastern Orthodox Church. After losing the last significant cultural center that supported the culture of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vilnius was becoming a Russian provincial city and losing its leading role in Polish–Lithuanian cultural life. The museum continued to operate until World War I when its most significant holdings were evacuated to the Rumyantsev Museum. The handful of items that remained in Vilnius and were not lost during the wars are held by various museums, including the National Museum of Lithuania, the Lithuanian Art Museum, and the Geology and Zoology Museums of Vilnius University.
History
1855–1864: center of Polish–Lithuanian culture
, an avid collector and an archaeologist, decided to establish a history museum after his trip to Scandinavian countries in 1843. He opened a cabinet of antiquities in his own house in Antakalnis to the public in 1846. In February 1848, Tyszkiewicz petitioned the government proposing to establish a provincial museum and asking for premises and funds. He envisioned a museum with four main sections that would focus both on history and on progress: nature, antiquity, library, and economy. This plan was rejected. In 1851, Tyszkiewicz promised to donate his collection if the government approved the museum. This time, the proposal was received more favorably but Tsar Nicholas I of Russia demanded detailed plans and preparations. After long bureaucratic delays, new Tsar Alexander II of Russia approved the museum and the Vilnius Provisional Archaeological Commission on. The museum opened with a great ceremony on, the birth date of Tsar Alexander II.The museum opened with a much narrower focus on history and archaeology than originally planned by Tyszkiewicz. The museum was given premises in the former Vilnius University – the present-day Hall of Pranciškus Smuglevičius of Vilnius University Library. The former assembly hall was restored taking care to clean up and renew paintings and frescoes by Smuglewicz. The museum expanded to the 2nd and 3rd floors in 1856–1857. The second floor was tuned into a library and an ornithological museum. The third floor inherited more than 10,000 minerals and related items from the former university and became a mineralogy and natural history museum. Though the natural history section was large, it never became the focus of the museum. The museum rapidly increased its collections. Items were donated by history enthusiasts, various societies and organizations. The museum registered 195 donors in 1858 and 323 donors in 1862. The collection grew from initial 6,000 items donated by Eustachy Tyszkiewicz to over 67,000 items by 1865.
In 1858–1862, Jan Kazimierz Wilczyński printed an album Musée Archéologique à Wilno illustrating some of the holdings in the museum: scepter and seal of Vilnius University, portraits of Grand Dukes of Lithuania, medals, archaeological artifacts. In September 1858, the museum was visited by Tsar Alexander II who even agreed to designate his heir presumptive Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich as guardian and benefactor of the museum and the Provisional Archaeological Commission. It was financed via admission charges, membership fees, and donations. Only in 1861, the government allotted an annual sum of 1,000 rubles to the museum. The museum also organized lectures and courses. In 1862, the museum organized a special exhibition of items from Egypt, China, Japan, mostly donated by officers of the Imperial Russian Navy. The exhibition was open for about a month.
1865–1915: center of Russification
After the failed Uprising of 1863, the Tsarist regime enacted strict Russification policies. Already in November 1863, Governor General Mikhail Muravyov-Vilensky ordered a sculpture of King Władysław II Jagiełło and Jadwiga by sculptor to be removed as it inspired Polish patriotism. In February 1865, Muravyov organized a commission to reorganize the museum which included general Arkady Dmitrievich Stolypin,,. The commission sought to discredit the museum and targeted sentimental items related to Polish and romantic nationalism, often ridiculing their dubious value and authenticity. For example, the commission frequently mentioned "moth eaten" cloak of poet Adam Mickiewicz and the binoculars that allegedly used by Tadeusz Kościuszko in the Battle of Maciejowice but were proven to be of a later technology. Many of museum holdings even remotely related to the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth were taken to the Rumyantsev Museum in Moscow. For example, bust of Thomas Jefferson was removed fearing associations with Tadeusz Kościuszko or liberal democratic ideas. According to official protocols, the commission eliminated only 256 objects, but many more were moved to Moscow – estimated at 10,000 total items with perhaps as many as 6,029 numismatic items. Models of fortifications were removed to the Vilnius Military School. There were also reports of thefts and vandalism while the museum was closed. The thefts, particularly of numismatic items, continued. In 1902, the museum discovered long-term falsification of inventory books and more than 300 missing items.The museum was nationalized and the Provisional Archaeological Commission was disbanded. Museum library was turned into the Vilnius Public Library and the museum was attached to it. The main hall was given to the library while the museum moved to the third floor. The main hall was redecorated – painter Vasily Gryaznov replaced Neoclassicist murals of Smuglewicz's with Neo-Byzantine decor. Three ceiling paintings were removed and were lost; the Smuglewicz's interior was restored by Jerzy Hoppen in 1929. The library was officially opened on 24 May 1867 in a ceremony attended by Tsar Alexander II. The new museum served to support and promote the official Russification policies. It now included a number of Slavic items, for example portraits of Russian officials or items related to the Eastern Orthodox Church. The reorganized museum lost the support from local population; the museum continued to receive contributions but those were mostly coins or small items. The museum was visited mostly by schoolchildren and soldiers during mandatory trips. It was visited by 9,514 people in 1905 and by 12,180 people in 1907. Interest in collecting items related to Polish–Lithuanian history did not diminish; instead, it became a form of passive resistance and an expression national pride. Some institutions, such as Ossolineum in Wrocław or Polish Museum in Rapperswil, were established outside of the Russian Empire. As these new cultural centers were far outside of Lithuania, it contributed to Vilnius losing its leading role in Polish–Lithuanian cultural life.
Overall, the new library and museum suffered chronic shortages of premises, qualified staff, and funding. The museum showed little interest in studying history or archaeology until archaeologist became museum director in 1884. He studied tumuli, published museum guide with some photographs in 1892, and helped organizing the 9th congress of the in Vilnius in 1893. Due to his urging, the Imperial Russian Archaeological Society started sending coin hoards found in the Northwestern Krai to the museum. After the Russian Revolution of 1905, Russification policies were relaxed and various societies were able to function openly. The Polish Society of Friends of Science and the Lithuanian Scientific Society were particularly interested in history. The museum published two catalogs of its holdings as well as nine volumes of reports on its activities in 1902–1914. In 1907–1908, it also attempted to retrieve the removed exhibits from Moscow. During World War I, many more items were transported to Russia and the museum ceased operations when the city was occupied by the Germans. In 1915, 36 bags and 23 boxes of materials were moved to the Rumyantsev Museum. The description of these items only briefly mentioned that it consisted of numismatic collection, fabrics, old crosses, weapons, manuscripts. Many other items were looted. In particular, lost items included bronze archaeological artifacts and silver coins.
Archaeological and Archaeographic Commissions
The Provisional Archaeological Commission, established at the same time as the museum, was in charge of the museum and its upkeep. It was initially established as a temporary or provisional group, but quickly became a well respected learned society and an integral part of the museum. It was chaired by Eustachy Tyszkiewicz; it formally reported to the Governor-General of Vilna who approved its staff, membership, and budget. The commission grew from 15 true members to 75 true members. Members were divided into four categories: true, fellow, supporting, and honorary members. In total, it had about 200 members, including historians Józef Ignacy Kraszewski, Władysław Syrokomla, Teodor Narbut, Adam Honory Kirkor, Adam Alfred Plater. Lithuanian members included Laurynas Ivinskis, Mikalojus Akelaitis, bishop Motiejus Valančius. Members wrote and presented papers on archaeology and history. The commission held monthly meetings and organized archaeological excavations, excursions across Lithuania, and publications. It published two volumes of Pamiętniki Komisji Archeologicznej Wileńskiej and a collection of royal act and privileges from 1387 to 1711 compiled by. More volumes were prepared and planned, but not published. The commission had ambitious goals of establishing a protocol for proper archaeological excavations, compiling a catalog of archaeological and architectural monuments in Lithuania, collecting information on famous people and old archives, libraries, collections. In 1858, the commission petitioned to be officially reorganized into a learned society that would have four sections, but the project was not approved.After the Uprising of 1863, the commission was closed and replaced by the government-sponsored Vilnius Archaeographic Commission. It was chaired by Yakub Holovatsky in 1868–1888, in 1888–1902, and in 1902–1913. It was no longer in charge of the museum, which was subordinated to the. Instead, the commission focused on publishing historical material that would demonstrate that Lithuania was an ancient Russian and Eastern Orthodox land that needed to return to its roots. The commission published 14 books and 39 volumes of Acts of the Vilna Archeographic Commission, which published primary sources on the social and economic history. The documents included files from courts in Vilnius, Hrodna, Ukmergė, Upytė, Trakai, Minsk, Slonim, magistrates in Vilnius and Mogilev, Lithuanian Tribunal, inventories of Lithuanian manors, documents on Lithuanian nobility, Lipka Tatars and Lithuanian Jews, Eastern Orthodox Church, Union of Brest, Russo-Polish War and French invasion of Russia in 1812. Russian administration also established an archaeological commission, a local chapter of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, but it was largely inactive.