История оптики на материалах коллекций Музея антропологии и этнографии им. Петра Великого (Кунсткамеры).

Abstract

Collections of Peter the Great’s Museum for Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) represent unique combination of ethnic collections from dif erent countries of the world and historical monuments of Russian science, early period of St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Expositions and funds of the museum permanently attract the attention of specialists in dif erent f elds. One of topics that can be learned on the basis of our museum is history of optics. The collections provide opportunities to study the simplest optical devices in Eastern traditional cultures. Collections provide the opportunity to study usage of mirrors, clear
 crystals (which were believed to possess magic power) in traditional cultures as well as the process of transformation of stored for ages celestial observations into a basis for further forming of scientif c knowledge. The interest of European scholars to Oriental countries in the 18th century was not just interest to exotic, but also interest to the stored experience of observations.
 The expositions «М.V. Lomonosov and Academy of Sciences in the 18th century» and «First Astronomical Observatory of the Academy of Sciences», as well as the funds of the department of the history of the Kunstlkamera and Russian sciences in the 18th century present scientif c instruments, which have become monuments of Russian and European optics — lenses, mirrors, spyglasses, telescopes, transit instruments and others. They are just f ne material both for enlightening work with visitors and for historical researches. One can see there instruments made by famous masters of the 18-19th centuries — E.W. Tschirnhaus, E. Nairne, J. Bird, J. Ramsden, J. Fraunhofer.
 There collections are also interesting from the cultural point of view. The period of forming Russian science is the same time as the process of refusing to perceive optical instruments as attributes of “elegant leisure”, devices for entertaining rich and enlighten public$ process of af rmance microscopes, telescopes, lenses etc. as scientif c instruments to be used by specialists at their observatories, laboratories and also for teaching purposes. Today we can see the revival of this fashion and high public interest to scientif c observations.