Contaminazioni nel collezionismo d'arte e d'antichità in Italia: il Vicino Oriente nel mercato antiquario del XVIII-XIX secolo

The phenomenon of collecting as a systematic activity is traditionally taken to originate in the middle of the 15th century, when the collections of the Medecis and the first cabinets of curiosities were formulated as a result of the Renaissance humanism. The presence of Near Eastern antiquities is very old, but the first collections were formed in the 19th century. This article is an attempt to clarify the trade of Near Eastern antiquities and their presence in provate collections during the 18th-19th centuries, before or just after the beginning of the excavations in Assyria.