Lawyer and collector César Snoeck (1832–1898) from Ronse assembled a collection of around 2,000 musical instruments. After his death, the collection was dispersed. By 1899, only the group of instruments from the Low Countries remained for sale, comprising 437 items.
The first curator of the MIM, Victor-Charles Mahillon, had shown little interest in the earlier lots, as they contained too many instruments similar to those already in his own collection. However, he was keen to ensure that the instruments from the Low Countries would not be sold abroad, since the museum then possessed no more...
Lawyer and collector César Snoeck (1832–1898) from Ronse assembled a collection of around 2,000 musical instruments. After his death, the collection was dispersed. By 1899, only the group of instruments from the Low Countries remained for sale, comprising 437 items.
The first curator of the MIM, Victor-Charles Mahillon, had shown little interest in the earlier lots, as they contained too many instruments similar to those already in his own collection. However, he was keen to ensure that the instruments from the Low Countries would not be sold abroad, since the museum then possessed no more than about a hundred such pieces. He therefore approached Louis Cavens (1850–1940), a benefactor with close ties to Belgium’s major scientific institutions.
Cavens purchased the remaining instruments from the Snoeck collection and donated them to the MIM. The string instruments are the most notable part of this varied and high-quality collection.
