Victor Emmanuel collection
The most spectacular part of the collection is a set of nearly 400 brick-shaped stones and an Italian ornamental collection donated by Victor Emmanuel II, King of Italy, in the 1870s. The specimens labelled “Kingdom of Italy, Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce, mineral products used in construction and decoration” are typical products of the era when the newly formed state geological services around Europe surveyed mineral resources of their respective countries. The results of these explorations were frequently presented to the public by sample collections put together from fashioned specimens of the discovered raw materials.
Collection of polished rock slabs
Polished paving, tiling and ornamental rocks have been popular and “fashionable” items for centuries. We strive to develop this part of the collection, primarily through donations such as the one received in 2002 from Antolini Luigi & C. S.p.a.,,a renowned Italian company that specialized in the stone industry, via Renaissance Stone Masonry plc. Many specimens of this sample collection can be seen in the petrological section of our permanent exhibition. A small collection of representative samples from Hungarian building and ornamental stones were donated by the Central Transdanubian Regional Office of the Hungarian Geological Survey in 2002 (by the courtesy of Ferenc Kneifel).
Paving stones and wall tiles from metro stations of Budapest
We possess several pieces of flat rock specimens, donated by the BKV (Budapest Transport Company Ltd) with the help of first engineer, Károly Kerekes. These polished rocks were used for covering the walls or flooring of the platforms at the stations of the M2 metro line; they were removed during reconstruction work in 2005.
