Abstract

LOWE, Lynneth S.  and  SELLEN, Adam T.. A passion for antiquity: Don Florentino Gimeno's 19th Century archaeological collection in Campeche. Estud. cult. maya [online]. 2010, vol.36, pp.145-172. ISSN 0185-2574.

During the second half of the nineteenth century, Florentino Gimeno, a Spanish shopkeeper residing in the city of Campeche, amassed an impressive collection of over 12,000 archaeological artifacts, reflecting his profound passion for the pre-Hispanic past and its material evidence. His handwritten catalogs provide invaluable information regarding the provenience and characteristics of many of the objects that were found in the region, and the extensive lists also show how he developed a typological and functional classification for his collection that corresponded to the intellectual criteria of the day. The data registered in the diversity of documents we have discovered, indicate that his shop-museum was a point of reference for the many travelers and explorers that visited Campeche during the middle of the century, such as Brasseur de Bourbourg or Carl Hermann Berendt, among others. Gimeno was not only interested in acquiring archaeological artifacts, but also historical documents, an activity that was lauded by notable local personalities, such as the state governors, Pablo García and Joaquín Baranda. In this article we will explore the diverse facets of this energetic collector's life, and will attempt to shed light on his intelligent -and surprisingly objective- explanations of ancient material culture. In closing we will also explain what happened to his significant holding.

Keywords : collecting; Campeche; museums; figurines; ceramics.

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