European Collections Research Articles

Bryophyte specimen organization and storage systems: A comparative assessment of staff practices and user preferences

Discussions of curation practices for bryophyte collections have a long history in the literature dating back to the 19th and 20th centuries. This study aims to 1) document and synthesize the range of bryophyte storage and organization systems staff report using in European and North American herbaria, as well as the rationale behind these practices; 2) compare/contrast these practices and rationale with the curation preferences and rationale of active herbarium users; and 3) facilitate further discussion regarding practices for curating bryophyte collections. We collected survey data regarding staff curation practices at and user curation preferences for bryophyte collections in Europe and North America. We used regression models and thematic analysis to analyze our quantitative data and qualitative data, respectively. We found that institutional demographics, such as geographic location, institution type, and total herbarium size are significant predictors of bryophyte specimen storage and organization practices, and that user demographics, such as age, active bryology research agenda, and current primary title were significant predictors of the storage preferences of herbarium users. The most common theme that emerged in the practice/preference explanations of staff members and herbarium users was convenience/accessibility. Other prevalent themes in staff and user explanations for their bryophyte curation practices/preferences include physical factors, inherited tradition, lack of expertise, and phylogenetic/taxonomic concerns. Our findings also suggest the context in which members of the bryological community operate plays a significant role in shaping individuals' curation practices/preferences, including both institutional and user demographics. We conclude by offering a discussion of recommendations for bryophyte specimen storage and organization at herbaria.

When West Meets East: Towards an Educative Journey in Nineteenth-Century Western Children’s Fashion

Despite their abilities to talk, manipulate, and desire, children are socially immature (Quentel, 1997). Therefore, children’s education consisted of bringing them into history through a constant interdependence with adults and interaction with their material environment. Fashion, as a style, shaped social identities and created a sense of historical belonging. Being dressed in the style of a certain location, time, and environment diminished particularities between individuals to dress them according to their social role and rank (Balut, 2014). However, through the nineteenth century, sailor suits, hussar overalls and bohemian dresses were the norms of a playful, nostalgic and always specific children’s fashion. As illustrated through these examples, a fascination for Eastern European silhouettes and embellishments inspired unexpected styles for wealthy Western children. Far from playing dress-up, children in these outfits seemed to travel across Europe thanks to their clothing styles and experimented with alternative dress codes to possibly acquire alterity. How did adults play with children’s fashion to educate children in the concepts of space, time, and place as a way to define their social belonging? How did children use this interaction with their clothing not only to build their identity but also to feed their appetite for story-telling and therefore divert the educator’s and maker’s initial intention? Based on the study of nineteenth century European museum collections (garments, department store catalogues, and fashion and children’s magazines), this article analyzes the rationale behind the Eastern European trend in children’s nineteenth century fashion and the way this exotic fashion journey evidenced the specificities of an aspect of children’s material culture dedicated to the education and socialization of the child.

Continuities in State-Society Interactions across Broad Spatio-temporal Realms: Gong Tingxian as Both an Author of Popular Medical Texts and an Imperial Medical Secretary in Early Modern China.

Medical popularisation in late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth-century China has been understood within the context of the state’s retreat from medicine. This article points to ongoing state–societal continuities and thus suggests that the process was more complicated than it had been assumed to be. Analyses with more limited spatial or temporal frames tend to underestimate the extent of continuities forged by societal figures such as Gong Tingxian (fl. 1581–1616), an imperial medical doctor and author of popular medical texts. Gong’s self-fashioning illustrates state–society connections that are also apparent in the reception of his work and in his later legacy. These continuities crossed political, linguistic and cultural lines as Gong’s popular texts were translated to Manchu and housed in a state medical library of the ensuing dynasty. Moreover, Gong’s texts were not only transmitted in China, but reached Japan and Korea, and even found a place within a European collection by the early eighteenth century.

Macanas: the art of clubs from Amazonia.

Wooden clubs from Amazonia, called macanas, have been identified and valued by Europeans since the Conquest and quickly became essential additions to Wunderkammern. However surviving pieces often lack a detailed collection history, as they have been brought to Europe over a period of five hundred years by various kinds of visitors with different goals and sets of mind. The first section reviews the early reports and descriptions mentioning those pieces, whether in situ (e.g. chronicles of Columbus voyages or later travelers), or in European collections. We present in the second part a nonexhaustive selection of eleven types of clubs from Amazonia that belong to European (mostly public) collections, and we try to connect these types to the abovementioned historical sources. The aim of this paper is to show the diversity of shapes and also the historical depth of the club tradition in Amazonia.

Malý náhled do světa sběratelů kuriozit v 16.–18. století

The origins of collecting are as old as humanity itself, and practically anything can be collected. In the 16th century, it became fashionable to collect natural peculiarities with the aim to create so-called cabinets of curiosities. The owners were distinguished and wealthy people with high social status and scholars. The most important and largest collections were owned by Archduke Ferdinand II of Austria at Ambras Castle and Emperor Rudolf II in Prague. The cabinets of the Danish physician Ole Worm and the German Jesuit Athanasius Kircher were also prominent. The first comprehensive study of natural history collections in Europe is the richly illustrated work Museum Museorum by Michael Bernhard Valentini from the early 18th century.

Azerbaijan National Museum of Art: On the history of foundation

The article briefly gives the history of the creation of the Azerbaijan National Museum of Art, one of the largest museums in the country. The museum has a rich collection of Russian, Western European, Eastern and Azerbaijani art. The collection has been formed throughout the existence of the museum, but its foundation was laid back in the Azgosmusey. A certain part of the collection is made up of exhibits transferred to the museum during the USSR period, a cultural policy that relied on the education of the masses, regardless of nationality and region. A descriptive description of the exhibition activities of the museum is given, in which both collections of Russian and foreign museums were exhibited in different years. In various years, the museum hosted exhibitions of the fraternal republics, as well as China, India, Iran. After each exhibition, the museum’s collection was replenished with new exhibits. The museum constantly held and held personal exhibitions of representatives of various schools of painting in Azerbaijan. The country’s artists are proud that their paintings are exhibited and stored in one of the country’s major museums. In the context of the article, a special place is given to the work of the first theater artist R.Mustafayev, whose name the museum bore for many decades, and whose works are kept in his collection. Unfortunately, the name of this talented artist is little known to the younger generation, although his contribution to the development of national scenography and the protection of architectural monuments is invaluable. Thanks to his artistic flair, the performances “Koroglu” and “Arshin Mal Alan” designed by him have been successfully staged on the stage of various theaters. Тhe analysis of his work is an important thematic contribution to the history of the study of the Azerbaijan National Museum of Art.

NurturingThe Arts of Ghana, 1972–1977

<h3>ABSTRACT:</h3> My direct engagement with arts in Ghana occurred during four days in 1967, when I stayed with Roy and Sophie Sieber in Legon. In 1972, I spent six months researching festivals and arts of personal adornment, among other forms. In 1973, after my return to University of California, Santa-Barbara (UCSB), I held a seminar on Ghanaian art, which led to seven students traveling to Ghana for fieldwork in summer, 1974. Observing his exceptional research among the Fante, I invited one of the students, Doran Ross, to collaborate on what became a traveling exhibition and book, <i>The Arts of Ghana</i>, organized by the Museum of Cultural History, UCLA in 1977. Ross and I returned for more research the following two summers and one fall. We identified objects to display from European and American collections and divided up topics to write about for the book, which addressed the arts of the entire nation, a somewhat risky venture by two rather inexperienced scholars.

Contribution of Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) to the development of museum field

In May 2022, the 315th anniversary of the birth of Carl Linnaeus was celebrated. He was the famous Swedish naturalist and taxonomist of wildlife. During his life, he studied many natural sciences: botany, zoology, mineralogy, assay and others. He devoted several years to practical medicine. His significant role in the development of natural science is reflected in numerous publications. However, his contribution to the development of museum field is not mentioned at all or mentioned in passing. In fact his activity was closely connected with collections, the development of their storage and the creation of museums. There is no separate publication on this topic among Russian museological researches, so it seems necessary to fill this gap. The article is devoted to the role of Carl Linnaeus in the history of the development of museum field. The authors trace the life story of Carl Linnaeus, highlighting the important episodes that he devoted to museum activities. They included his work on the description and storage of famous European collections, the research of his own natural science collection and the publication of their results. Also he has constructed a building for manuscripts and collected natural materials. For many years Carl Linnaeus studied the flora and fauna of Sweden, as well as the way of life and customs of the peoples who inhabited its northern part. His trip to Lapland played an important role for the development of European local lore and ethnography. Other scientific works raise issues of terminology and principles of storage and description of natural science collections. The article reveals the history of the Uppsala Botanical Garden, the Linnaean Museum of Natural History and its collection, the contents of several scientific works and dissertations and the contribution of Linnaean Russian students to the development of domestic scientific knowledge and museum practice.

Rethinking dialogues in museum spaces : an Amerindian ethnographic collection in Italy

This paper presents some challenges for the reorganization of the ethnographic collection hosted at the Centro Studi Americanistici "Circolo Amerindiano" in Perugia, Italy. Since the collection will move to a new site, the possibility to reformulate curatorship and exhibitory narratives arises. Current claims for more inclusive, decolonized, dialogical and participative experiences of museums and exhibitions highlight the importance for contributions from the people that produced and live with the artefacts, images, and other elements constituting the collections. The aim of this paper is to describe some of the difficulties and possible solutions for making such participation effective in a European collection dedicated to Amerindian peoples.

Husbandry and captive reproduction of the giant Mexican leaf frog Agalychnis dacnicolor

The giant Mexican leaf frog, Agalychnis dacnicolor, is a large arboreal frog endemic to Mexico. This species was previously under-represented in European zoological collections and specific techniques for reproductive management under vivarium conditions little known. A group of four males and one female A. dacnicolor were maintained in captivity at Chester Zoo (Great Britain). To bring them into reproductive condition, they were subjected to three simulated environmental phases that differed in temperature, humidity and feeding regime. This proved successful so that two clutches of spawn, each containing 150-300 eggs, were deposited on leaves overhanging water. Tadpoles hatched from 4 days following oviposition with approximately 80 % success rate. They were reared at a water temperature of 27 °C to 29 °C and displayed no negative effects from living in high density. All tadpoles metamorphosed successfully and froglets with resorbing tails left water after about 32 days. Their tails were resorbed in a further 4 to 5 days at which time they began to feed; at least in the case of males, sexual maturity was reached after 10 months. This methodology will enable zoological collections in Europe to breed this species for potential conservation, research and educational purposes.

Creating the European Literary Text Collection (ELTeC): Challenges and Perspectives

The aim of this contribution is to reflect on the process of building the multilingual <em>European Literary Text Collection</em> (ELTeC) that is being created in the framework of the networking project <em>Distant Reading for European Literary History</em> funded by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). To provide some background, we briefly introduce the basic idea of ELTeC with a focus on the overall goals and intended usage scenarios. We then describe the collection composition principles that we have derived from the usage scenarios. In our discussion of the corpus-building process, we focus on collections of novels from four different literary traditions as components of ELTeC: French, Portuguese, Romanian, and Slovenian, selected from the more than twenty collections that are currently in preparation. For each collection, we describe some of the challenges we have encountered and the solutions developed while building ELTeC. In each case, the literary tradition, the history of the language, the current state of digitization of cultural heritage, the resources available locally, and the scholars’ training level with regard to digitization and corpus building have been vastly different. How can we, in this context, hope to build comparable collections of novels that can usefully be integrated into a multilingual resource such as ELTeC and used in Distant Reading research? Based on our individual and collective experience with contributing to ELTeC, we end this contribution with some lessons learned regarding collaborative, multilingual corpus building.

Exploring the legacy of Central European historical winter wheat landraces

Historical wheat landraces are rich sources of genetic diversity offering untapped reservoirs for broadening the genetic base of modern varieties. Using a 20K SNP array, we investigated the accessible genetic diversity in a Central European bread wheat landrace collection with great drought, heat stress tolerance and higher tillering capacity. We discovered distinct differences in the number of average polymorphisms between landraces and modern wheat cultivars, and identified a set of novel rare alleles present at low frequencies in the landrace collection. The detected polymorphisms were unevenly distributed along the wheat genome, and polymorphic markers co-localized with genes of great agronomic importance. The geographical distribution of the inferred Bayesian clustering revealed six genetically homogenous ancestral groups among the collection, where the Central European core bared an admixed background originating from four ancestral groups. We evaluated the effective population sizes (Ne) of the Central European collection and assessed changes in diversity over time, which revealed a dramatic ~ 97% genetic erosion between 1955 and 2015.

Nomenclatural notes on New South Wales flannel flowers (Actinotus spp., Umbelliferae/Apiaceae) and Leopold Trattinnick’s other Australian plant-names

After a thorough consideration of the history of the European collection and subsequent early cultivation of the commercial flannel flower, a lectotype is designated for Actinotus helianthi Labill. (Umbelliferae/Apiaceae) and the earliest publication (by Trattinnick in 1814) of A. minor (Sm.) Tratt. pinpointed. Other neglected names coined by Trattinnick, including generic ones, applied to Australian and other plants, and published on (generally) plagiarised plates, are discussed and disposed of. One such plate is a copy of the iconotype of Amaryllis × johnsoniana Ker Gawl., an earlier epithet for Hippeastrum × johnsonii (Gowen) Herb. (Amaryllidaceae), a bulbous plant long cultivated in Australia and whose name should be conserved with the later spelling. Attention is drawn to confusions in localities on labels attached to specimens of species (in various families) collected on both D’Entrecasteaux’s and Baudin’s voyages to Australia.

Microalgae and Cyanobacteria Strains as Producers of Lipids with Antibacterial and Antibiofilm Activity.

Lipids are one of the primary metabolites of microalgae and cyanobacteria, which enrich their utility in the pharmaceutical, feed, cosmetic, and chemistry sectors. This work describes the isolation, structural elucidation, and the antibiotic and antibiofilm activities of diverse lipids produced by different microalgae and cyanobacteria strains from two European collections (ACOI and LEGE-CC). Three microalgae strains and one cyanobacteria strain were selected for their antibacterial and/or antibiofilm activity after the screening of about 600 strains carried out under the NoMorFilm European project. The total organic extracts were firstly fractionated using solid phase extraction methods, and the minimum inhibitory concentration and minimal biofilm inhibitory concentration against an array of human pathogens were determined. The isolation was carried out by bioassay-guided HPLC-DAD purification, and the structure of the isolated molecules responsible for the observed activities was determined by HPLC-HRESIMS and NMR methods. Sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol, monogalactosylmonoacylglycerol, sulfoquinovosylmonoacylglycerol, α-linolenic acid, hexadeca-4,7,10,13-tetraenoic acid (HDTA), palmitoleic acid, and lysophosphatidylcholine were found among the different active sub-fractions selected. In conclusion, cyanobacteria and microalgae produce a great variety of lipids with antibiotic and antibiofilm activity against the most important pathogens causing severe infections in humans. The use of these lipids in clinical treatments alone or in combination with antibiotics may provide an alternative to the current treatments.

The Slavic, East European & Eurasian Collections of Columbia University @ 118: Vignettes Towards A History

ABSTRACT The Slavic, Eurasian & East European Collections of the Columbia University Libraries are among the largest in North America and have served a diverse faculty and student body for more than a century. Yet the developmental history of this resource is as yet little-known. This essay provides a series of brief historical vignettes of collections, collectors, and influencers that have shaped the collection. We bring developments down to the present day, including the decade-old partnership with the venerable Cornell University Library Slavic collection, with origins dating back to 1884.

Phylogeny and taxonomy of powdery mildew caused by Erysiphe species on Lupinus hosts

ABSTRACT The genus Lupinus (Fabaceae) consists of over 250 plant species located throughout the world. Powdery mildew, caused by Erysiphe species, is a common disease infecting these ecologically, ornamentally, and agriculturally important plants. In the present work, we conducted phylogenetic and taxonomic analyses on Erysiphe species colonizing hosts of the leguminous genus Lupinus, using sequences from the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and 28S genomic regions. Powdery mildews of the genus Erysiphe on Fabaceae are taxonomically intricate and challenging. Therefore, it is necessary to phylogenetically analyze the DNA retrieved from powdery mildew on lupines in a broad context that includes common and allied powdery mildew species that occur on a range of leguminous plants such as Erysiphe astragali, E. baeumleri, E. pisi, and E. trifoliorum. A new species Erysiphe lupini, found in the USA on Lupinus lepidus, L. polyphyllus, and Lupinus sp., is described. Additionally, Erysiphe intermedia (≡ Microsphaera trifolii var. intermedia) has been confirmed as a North American lupine powdery mildew that is a sister species to E. astragali on Astragalus spp. European Erysiphe collections on lupines were often referred to as E. intermedia, but our analyses have shown that they pertain to E. trifoliorum. The E. trifoliorum clade is composed of several species (i.e. E. baeumleri, E. euonymi, E. hyperici, and E. trifoliorum), that cannot be sufficiently resolved based solely on ITS+28S sequences. Morphological and biological differences between the species are discussed and provide evidence that the species concerned should be maintained. Finally, a sequence obtained from a powdery mildew collected in Portugal on the native Lupinus micranthus pertained to the Erysiphe guarinonii clade. This collection is tentatively treated as Erysiphe sp. To fix the application of the species names E. astragali, E. baeumleri (including its synonym E. marchica), and E. intermedia, epitypes have been designated with ex-epitype sequences.

Revisiting traditional Chinese materia medica from European historical collections and perspective for current use

Background and aimChinese Materia Medica (CMM) is subject to changes over time. Investigating changes in botanical ingredients, applications, plant parts used as well as name changes over time, contribute to the understanding of the history and development of CMM. Materials and methodsThis study compares four historic collections of CMM, located in Europe, compiled between 1700 and the late 19th century, with a list of contemporary CMM marketed in Europe. ResultsMore than 1700 specimens within these five collections. The dominant families are Fabaceae (5.3–7.2%) and Asteraceae (4.1–5.7%), while half of the medicinal parts are represented by roots or rhizomes and fruits and/or seeds. Their importance has been stable in a time span of 300 years. The proportion of animal and mineral drugs gradually decreased over time. 14 plant species appeared in all five collections. A total of 47 species are shared between the three more recent collections and the modern trade list. Among these common species, most medicinal parts remain unchanged, but for several species the used plant parts changed or new medicinal plant parts appeared. All common species have unanimously been used in ancient classical TCM formulae and/or Chinese patent medicines. ConclusionsOver more than 300 years, the main body of CMM has hardly changed, with regard to plant taxa and plant parts used. The most prominent changes are related to conservation issues of threatened species, health safety and the discovery of new pharmacological applications of well-known species. Analyzing physical specimens from historic CMM collections complements literature-based research.

Phylogeny and taxonomy of Podosphaera filipendulae (Erysiphaceae) revisited.

The phylogeny and taxonomy of Podosphaera filipendulae (including P. filipendulensis, syn. nov.) have been examined. Asian, European and North American collections were examined and the nucleotides sequences of their partial rDNA region were determined. In particular, the relationship between P. filipendulae and P. spiraeae was analysed. The results confirmed P. filipendulae and P. spiraeae as two separate, morphologically similar species. The phylogenetic analysis revealed a similar phylogeny to that of the host genera. Although ITS sequences retrieved from Asian, European and North American specimens of P. filipendulae on various Filipendula spp. are identical to sequences from P. macularis on hop, there is consistently one base substitution at the 5'-end of 28S rRNA gene between the species. This result provides evidence that the hop powdery mildew and P. filipendulae are biologically and morphologically clearly distinguished, and should be maintained as two separate species.

Comparison of selection methods for the establishment of a core collection using SSR markers for hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) accessions from European germplasm repositories

Hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) is one of the most important tree nut crops in Europe. Germplasm accessions are conserved in ex situ repositories, located in countries where hazelnut production occurs. In this work, we used ten simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers as the basis to establish a core collection representative of the hazelnut genetic diversity conserved in different European collections. A total of 480 accessions were used: 430 from ex situ collections and 50 landraces maintained on-farm. SSR analysis identified 181 genotypes, that represented our whole hazelnut germplasm collection (WHGC). Four approaches (utilizing MSTRAT, Power Core, and Core Hunter’s single- and multi-strategy) based on the maximization (M) strategy were used to determine the best sampling method. Core Hunter’s multi-strategy, optimizing both allele coverage (Cv) and Cavalli-Sforza and Edwards (Dce) distance with equal weight, outperformed the others and was selected as the best approach. The final core collection (Cv-Dce30) comprised 30 entries (16.6% of genotypes). It recovered all SSR alleles and preserved parameter variations when compared to WHGC. Entries represented all six gene pools obtained from the population structure analysis of WHGC, further confirming the representativeness of Cv-Dce30. Our findings contribute towards improving the conservation and management of European hazelnut genetic resources and could be used to optimize future research by identifying a minimum number of accessions on which to focus.

User eXperience (UX) Evaluation for MR Cultural Applications: The CEMEC Holographic Showcases in European Museums

Within the EU CEMEC project framework, a novel approach for using holographic showcases in museums has been conceived and experimented upon in different venues in the context of an itinerant exhibition dealing with Early Medieval European collections. The purpose of this holographic showcase, the so-called “box of stories”, is to improve the link and interaction between real and virtual contents in the museum’s context, making the exhibited object “alive” in the visitors’ perception. An Avar sword and a Byzantine treasure have been used as the main case studies, and they have been experienced in the museums of several European regions by audiences with different cultural backgrounds. This has been a great opportunity to carry out user experience (UX) evaluations in order to collect feedback (from about 600 museum visitors) regarding the attractiveness of such a mixed reality (MR) system, its usability, the comprehension of the contents, the efficacy of the logistics and environmental conditions, as well as the educational impact. The results of such inquiries helped the CNR ISPC team to identify the most meaningful User eXperience Analytics (UXA) able to support the work of UX evaluators and UX designers to assess the efficacy of digital cultural products. Indeed, this manuscript presents UXA and tries to draft a concrete and effective evaluation model for future digital projects for museum contexts.