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A donation of more than 1,100 Brazilian fossils aims to intensify reconstruction efforts at the country’s National Museum, which was badly damaged by a fire in 2018.
By Michael Greshko
On the night of September 2, 2018, a fire ripped through the National Museum of Brazil, devastating the country’s oldest clinical facility and one of the largest and most vital museums in South America. On Tuesday, the museum announced that it had won a large donation. of ancient Brazilian fossils to reconstruct their collection ahead of a planned reopening in 2026.
Burkhard Pohl, a Swiss-German collector and businessman who owns one of the world’s largest personal collections of fossils, has donated around 1,100 specimens to the National Museum, all of them from Brazil. The donation is the largest and most scientifically significant contribution to the museum’s reconstruction efforts, following the loss of 85% of its nearly 20 million specimens and artifacts in the fire.
The resolution also returns a clinical treasure trove to a country that has noticed its herbal heritage disappear beyond its borders, and presents a forward-looking global style for the structure of a herbal history museum in the 21st century.
“The most important thing is to show the world, in Brazil and elsewhere, that we unite Americans and public institutions,” said Alexander Kellner, director of the National Museum. “We hope that others will follow this example, if possible, to help us in this really Herculean task. “
Much more than the public exhibitions they host, herbal history museums maintain the world’s clinical and cultural heritage for generations. The 2018 fire destroyed all of the National Museum’s collections of insects and spiders, as well as Egyptian mummies purchased through the ancient Brazilian imperial family.
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