Caspar Reuvens - Rijksmuseum Van Oudheden

Rijksmuseum Van Oudheden

With Reuvens' appointment came the directorship of the archaeological cabinet of Leiden University. This collection of antiquities consisted of the inheritance of the Papenbroek Collection which came into the university's possession in 1743.

Immediately upon starting his teachings in Leiden, Reuvens boldly requested a new building for the collection, the creation of an archaeological library and had several other demands for the trustees. Apart from a few elementary needs for his teachings, most of the requests were ignored and did not receive any response. When in 1819 Reuvens directly approached the minister of education for funding, he discovered that this straight line to the government was a much more fruitful way of gaining funds than through the trustees. The Ministry of Education paid for casts of the Elgin Marbles and their transportation to the Netherlands, without having the university involved.

Reuvens quickly added several other university collections of antiquities to the Papenbroek Collection, and thereby extended the variety to include Egyptian artefacts. With government support he began gathering various collections from outside Leiden as well, and occasionally he received personal gifts for the archaeological cabinet. Some organizations did not mind parting with their antiquities, since they were often an alien group of objects among larger collections of for example biological or geological specimens. Other organizations fought academic and political battles with Reuvens. (Also see Rijksmuseum van Oudheden).

With the help of the Department of Education, Arts and Sciences, Reuvens added other collections to the museum during the 1820s. This includes the three Rottiers Collections. Reuvens would later discover that Colonel Rottiers would not hesitate to sell forgeries, and the two had a fall out. During the same period a long friendship with Major Jean Emile Humbert began, and the two worked together on the research and publication of ancient Carthage. This co-operation would prove to be of major importance to the collection of the museum and the careers of both Reuvens and Humbert. Humbert went on two archaeological expeditions, one to Carthage and one to Italy, as an agent for the Dutch government. Sending his reports and catalogs of collections on sale directly to Reuvens, the co-operation of the two men would bring important additions to the National Museum.

In 1830 Reuvens published parts of a papyrus in the Leiden collection, and for that is credited with beginning the scholarly study of papyri.

On his way back from England in 1835 Reuvens became severely ill and probably suffered a stroke. He died young, leaving the National Museum of Antiquities with a considerable collection as his legacy.