This chapter depicts the history of the formative years of the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, during the eighteenth century. While the museum had been founded by the famous archeology professor Caspar Reuvens, after his dead in 1835 the trustees of the museums undergone a major reorganization, which ended up in 1838, when the museum finally open its doors to the public, under the direction of Reuvens’ former student, Conrad Leemans. Actually, it could be said that the “national” character of the museum can be found only since the end of the pioneer years between 1835 and 1840.
