Personal archives

Besides the strictly institutional archives, the RMAH also keep numerous personal archives of individuals who were closely involved in the museum’s history. On the one hand, there are the archives of (assistant) curators and other staff members; on the other, there are the papers of important collectors who donated their collection(s) to the museum. Information on these individuals can also be found in the museum archives, but in addition we have a number of specific archive files:

Jean Capart (1877–1947) was appointed as assistant curator of the Egyptian collection of the museum in 1900. After several promotions, he finally rose to the position of chief curator of the RMAH in 1925. His archives contain work-related and personal documents that shed light on his career as an Egyptologist and director of the museum (Download the pdf). Recently, archival documents originating from the Capart family were also donated to the RMAH. (Download the pdf)
Joseph Destrée (1853–1932) became assistant curator in the museum in 1886. He co-managed the transfer of the collections from the Halle Gate to the site of the Cinquantenaire Parc and was promoted as curator. In 1887, he was at the cradle of the Société archéologique de Bruxelles, he was a member of the Académie Royale d’Archéologie d’Anvers and corresponding member of the Koninklijke Commissie voor Monumenten. (Download the pdf)
Gustave Hagemans (1830–1908) was a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, a rentier and archaeologist. In 1861, he sold a large part of his collection of antiquities to the museum. Apart from a large number of drawings, the Gustave Hagemans fund contains correspondence, travel notes and other documents. (Download the pdf)
Jacques Lefrancq (1897–1949) & Elsa Mounier-Leclercq (1905-1992) Elsa (call name Paulette) Leclercq Mounier started her career at the RMAH in 1924 as an assistant at the educational service. In 1929, she succeeded Edmond Rahir as scientific collaborator in the department of Old Belgium. Her colleague and friend, the philosopher Jacques Lefrancq was appointed by Jean Capart as the first director of the educational service of the museum in 1924. In 1940, he joined the Department of ethnography and became an assistant curator in 1942. (Download the pdf)
Georges Macoir (1878–1928) entered the museum in 1903 as scientific collaborator. A few years later, he was transferred to the Halle gate to assist the ailing curator Edgar Prelle de la Nieppe in managing the collection of weapons and armoury.. After the latter’s death, Macoir became in charge. The Georges Macoir fund sheds light on how the Halle Gate operated. (Download the pdf)
Arpag Mekhitarian (1911–2004) was an Egyptologist and Orientalist and supervised the museum's Egyptian collection. He later became curator of the Islamic art collections and secretary general of the Queen Elisabeth Egyptological Foundation. (Download the pdf)
Elizabeth Della Santa (1912–?) entered the museum in 1939 as an assistant. In 1945, she joined the scientific staff and was promoted in 1952 as assistant curator in the department of ethnography where she was in charge of the pre-Columbian collections. (Download the pdf)
Jules Vandenpeereboom (1843–1917) was a Catholic Party politician. From 1884 to 1899, he was a minister of Railways, Post and Telegraphs before serving as prime minister in 1899. Vandenpeereboom was also an avid collector whose interests included stained-glass windows, fireplace panels, weapons, and furniture. After his death, he bequeathed his collection to the RMAH. His archives shed light on his passion for collecting through correspondence, invoices, and receipts. (Download the pdf)
Maurice Vandenplas (1898–1964) was head of collections in the museum from 1933 until his retirement in 1964. He was succeeded by René Lefèvre (1914–?). These archives consist primarily of files regarding external loans that Vandenplas & Lefèvre monitored. (Download the pdf)