Folia historica 21
I. Tanulmányok - Papp Júlia: ,,...a' mit magunkért nem akarnánk, akarjuk Hazánkért!"
Resume „... what we would not do for ourselves, we do for our country!" (Contributions to the history of the description and collection of local ancien relics in the mirror of the press releases related to the National Museum at the beginning of the 19 t h century) The tradition of being occupied with the local artistic and archaeological relics, which can be most prominently recognised in the systematisation and collection of ancient, carved stones from Pannónia and Dacia together with ancient and Medieval coins, had its root in the age of Renaissance. On the other hand, the attitude towards the relics of art and archaeology had greatly changed since the Renaissance as in the other countries of Europe. Earlier the inspection and collection of artistic and archaeological objects were primarily intended to represent the social status, wealth, the sophisticated and aristocratic taste of the collector, but in the 18 th century the appreciation of culture was becoming widespread with the strengthening of the scientific and critical attitude of the Enlightenment. The change in this attitude can be recognized in the fact that the heritage of the glorious past, the "national" relics dating back to the age of the Hungarian settlement and after were becoming more emphatic along with the increasing interest in the Medieval buildings, ruins, sepulchral monuments, and the collection of material remains, which was the result of the strengthening nation state idea and patriotic consciousness. At the same time, the earlier European consensus on the valuable nature of ancient relics remained unchanged. According to the tradition expoerts said that the local ancient relics belonged to the European spiritualcultural inheritance, and the appreciation of these objects strengthened the cultural legitimation of the nation. At the turn of the 18 t h and 19 t h century the increase in the number of press reports and writings on ancient relics reflects the growing social prestige of the intent to find and preserve ancient remains. These reports must have been the heralds of the coming enthusiastic patriotic movement at the beginning of the 19 t h century, which mobilized different layers of the society to enrich the collection of the National Museum. On the other hand, the press reported not only about financial support and donations of old coins and relics but also about the placement of some contemporary works of art in this museum. It reflects that this new cultural institute wanted to take part not only in the collection, presentation and scientific systematisation of the national heritage but aimed at helping prosper contemporary national art. Papp Júlia 65
