The National Museum, of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), has just received Russian donations of two rare minerals: an example of uvarovite and one of charoite. The donations were made by the collector Sergey Mironov and result from conversations held since last year with the museum by the consul of the Russian Federation in Rio de Janeiro, Mikhail Gruzdev. The information was given this Friday (10) to Agência Brasil by the director of the National Museum, Alexander Kellner. On the visit to the museum, Gruzdev took copies of historical documents about correspondence from Russian researchers about Brazil, exchanged between scientists and the Brazilian emperor himself, Dom Pedro II. “They were copies of documents that are deposited in archives of public institutions. It’s interesting, but we’re looking for original parts. You can’t make a natural museum of the scale of the National Museum in Rio with copies and replicas”, said Kellner. In this context, Kellner spoke as consul about the possibility of donating ethnographic material from Russia, including minerals and biodiversity materials. Gruzdev asked, at the time, why they would not start the partnership for rare minerals, which only exist in the Russian Federation. The National Museum then ordered a few different minerals. “And they got us examples of uvarovite and charoita”. Charoite, for example, is only found in Siberia, in the Russian steppes. Uvarovite is a rare variety of garnet, green in color, with crystals too small to be faceted into a gem, although in some cases it is incorporated into jewelry. Charoite was discovered in Russia around the 1940s, in the Chara River, and entered the market just 50 years ago. The stone draws attention because it is purple and has black, brown, white and lilac colors inside, a pattern generated by inclusions of other minerals. “These are two minerals that will enrich the exhibitions at the National Museum and mark the beginning of a partnership that we intend to extend.” The charoite and uvarovite were donated to the museum by the Russian consul in Rio, Mikhail Gruzdev (2nd E) – Press Release/National Museum Cantinho da Russia The idea is to receive more material from Russia, which has shown sensitivity to the difficult time facing the National Museum . In September 2018, the institution had 85% of its collection destroyed – documents, objects, fossils, mummies, furniture, art collections and scientific studies. Kellner said he “has been thinking about maybe having a little corner of Russia” in the museum, including minerals, ethnographic material and fossils. “I even joked with the consul that I would like to have a mammoth. What matters is that contact was established, which is very important for the National Museum institution. We are very happy.” In the future, when there is a greater volume of donations, the National Museum will be able to organize an exhibition on Russian scientific actions in the New World during the Empire. “But for this to be something more substantial, you need to have more material”, said Kellner. England, Portugal, France and Austria. Meetings Earlier this month, the National Museum was visited by a delegation from the new management of the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute (IPHAN), who went to see the institution’s reconstruction works. For Kellner, the visit demonstrates a very important change in relation to the previous administration. “The new president of IPHAN [Leandro Grass] just took over and already went to visit the museum. [Isso] demonstrates a very important change in relation to what it was formerly. We have great positive prospects and we are excited about it.” “As the year went by, the visits began to intensify, nationally and internationally”, said Kellner. He informed that the president of the International Council of Museums, Emma Nardi, will visit the museum on Monday (13) afternoon and that he will talk to her about different partnership possibilities and about the need for a new exhibition collection at the institution. The idea is to hold quality exhibitions with intense international support, as the International Council of Museums brings together hundreds of institutions around the world. According to Kellner, an action by this entity could help the National Museum a lot, especially in terms of the collection. He also intends to maintain contacts with foreign foundations, in search of financial help for the reconstruction of the National Museum.
Agência Brasil
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