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Jacob Reichel: Medallist, Collector, Scholar The new exhibition is dedicated to the acquisition by the Hermitage of the numismatic collection of J.J. Reichel, a major collector, medallist and designer of the St. Petersburg Mint (1760-1856). When the hereditary medallist (his father Johann Jacob Reichel was medallist at the Warsaw Mint under King Stanislaw August Poniatowski) came to St. Petersburg, he was in 1799 admitted to the Medal Class of the Academy of Arts. In 1802 he became student at the St. Petersburg Mint and in 1808 was appointed medallist of the Mint's Medal Chamber. Since 1819 till his death in 1856 Jacob Reichel also headed the Second Technical Section of the Department of Official Papers. In 1837-1845 he performed special missions for Finance Minister Ye.F. Kankrin. Reichel's career was rather successful, he was promoted to Councilor of State and conferred Order of St. Stanislaw 1st Class, Order of St. Anna 1st Class and other orders. In the 1820s, Jacob Reichel started to collect Russian and West European coins and medals which he purchased at international auctions and from famous Russian and West European numismatists with many of whom he corresponded. Reichel's collection became renowned due to its catalogue in nine volumes published by its owner. By the time when the New Hermitage was opened in 1851, the Muenzkabinett already possessed Reichel's excellent collection of Russian coins and medals (4,712 pieces) purchased by Nicholas I who had previously visited the collector's home several times to see it. The remaining part of the collection, 41,875 West European coins and medals and Oriental and Ancient coins, was purchased by the Hermitage from Reichel's heirs in 1856-1857. The exhibition also shows documents pertaining to J.J. Reichel's work as a medallist and designer at the St. Petersburg Mint and the Department of Official Papers, his collecting activities and contacts with Russian and European numismatists. Jacob Reichel played a leading role in the organization and work of the St. Petersburg Society for Archeology and Numismatics and took part in the preparation and publication by the Commission for Study of Early Texts of the Corpus of Russian Medals. |
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