Lijst van mineralen in de collectie Burtin (blad 2) 1800 - 1814

This is page 2 of François Xavier de Burtin’s handwritten list of minerals, part of his collection. He was writing during the 18th century in Brussels, a period defined by the Enlightenment’s drive to classify and understand the natural world. As a member of the Imperial Academy of Brussels, Burtin embodied the era’s intellectual pursuits. His mineral collection, meticulously documented here, reflects a desire to impose order on the vast array of geological specimens he collected. The act of listing – detailing each mineral’s characteristics and origin – speaks to a broader societal impulse to categorize knowledge. What does it mean to list, and to name? How does this relate to power and identity? These detailed descriptions are more than just scientific observations; they represent a personal engagement with the earth’s hidden treasures, inviting us to consider our own relationship with the material world. There is something very moving about this list, its small scale and the feeling of a personal project to create order.