Otokar Feistmantel (1848–1891) and the Indian Collection of the Náprstek Museum, Prague

The monograph deals with Prof. MUDr. Otokar Feistmantel (1848–1891), Czech geologist and palaeontologist, and his collecting activities in the period during which he worked for the Geological Survey of India in Kolkata (1875–1883). While there he assembled an important collection of Indian decorative art, fine arts and everyday arts that until now, however, had not been evaluated in the broader museological, ethnological and art historical context. The collection represents the foundation of the Indian collection in the Náprstek Museum and it was already significant in Feistmantel´s time. From Feistmantel´s correspondence with the Náprsteks we know how the collection arose and how much care and effort Feistmantel pul into collecting objects. It includes important examples of Indian pottery from various centres, Kalighat paintings, paintings on mica, textiles, various boxes made of different materials, metal vessels, jewelry, arms, toys, basketry and a few musical instruments. The monograph presents not only the life and work of an important 19th century researcher but also a collection that is comparable with the collections of the world´s museums and puts it in a wider context.