The Alexander the First collection of the Lausanne Museum

Study of written sources in archives sometimes allows to restore the history of collections. A good example is the Alexander the First collection. In 1819, de la Harpe had sent an Etruscan vase to Alexander I as a gift, and had received a collection of Russian minerals in return. Alexander’s collection, totaling 1031 samplesaccording to the catalogue of 1874, consists of five sections: salts, stones, metals, combustible minerals, and rocks. The collection of Russian minerals presented by Alexander the First in 1820 to La Harpe is completely preserved to the present day and is exhibited at the Lausanne Natural History Museum.