HENCKEL'S MINERAL CABINET AT THE MOSCOW STATE UNIVERSITY: A BRIEF HISTORY

The article is devoted to the history of the mineralogical collection which played a special role in the history of museums of Russian universities. Assembled in Saxony by a chemist and mineralogist Johann Friedrich Henckel and then bought by the owner of several steel factories Akinfy Nikitich Demidov, it was later presented to the Moscow university and then served as the basis of the first Russian university museum. This article reviews the history of the mineral collection before it was sold and explores newly opened archival sources which reveal the history of the collection after it has been moved to Russia. Demidovs owned at least three similar collections - two of European origin and one collected in Russia. The article considers the route of movement of these collections and the corresponding reasons. Previously it was believed that the collection entered the University lacking any description. The article proves that it existed and examines its documentary traces. The article also reveals the connection between Henckel's collection and the collection made by the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences.