Antonio Vives Escudero e l'inizio del collezionismo di reperti fenicio-punici in Spagna

Abstract

Between 1927 and 1929, the Archaeological Museum of Madrid purchased Antonio Vives Escudero’s entire Punic collection over four different lots. The importance of this collection laid in its place of origin, i.e. the island of Ibiza (ancient Ebusus). It also contained an impressive number of terracotta figures showing clear Sicilian and Carthaginian influences. Thanks to the analysis of the documents preserved in Archaeological Museum’s archive, combined with a new reading of Vives’ published and unpublished works, we aim to underline the importance of this purchase for the Archaeological Museum of Madrid. We seek also to understand why the collection was purchased, where and how it was initially exhibited, and to what extent its study has influenced the development of Phoenicio-Punic archaeology in Spain.