Abstract
In 19th century, archaeology becomes a scientific discipline and appears in higher education. Then, the professors form plaster casts collections for educational value. Strasbourg collection, which is now the largest French university gypsotheque, is created by the German university professor Adolf Michaelis between 1872 and 1910. It reflects the methods of the German education and concept of Altertumswissenschaft which spread throughout Europe. The Strasbourg plaster casts collection was also a laboratory of experiments, in which Adolf Michaelis works on questions of restitution, parentage, lighting and polychromy. Today, we can see most of these theories directly on the plaster casts.
The present study about these casts can restore and put this double function forward, in a particular historical and geographical context, largely europeanized.
Keywords: Michaelis Adolf, Antiquity / Ancient times, Archaeology, Records, Plaster Cast Workshop, Collection, Higher Education, Plaster Cast, Experimental Research, Sculpture, University.