In the quiet halls of the Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência (MUHNAC) in Lisbon, a capybara stands as a silent witness to a complex legacy of exploration and loss. This specimen is part of a larger, profound assembly of wildlife known as the Valentim dos Santos collection, which is now making its first major public debut. While the exhibition serves as a gateway to the collection, its broader purpose is to provoke a critical dialogue regarding the enduring influence of human activity on the planet’s biodiversity.
The arrival of these specimens represents more than just an addition to a gallery; for the museum, We see a critical recovery of biological data. Marta Lourenço, director of MUHNAC, notes that the archive provides the institution with specimens that are no longer possible to obtain through legal or ethical means today. This acquisition comes at a poignant time for the museum, which is still grappling with the void left by a previous fire. Lourenço emphasizes that while the collection offers a glimpse of what the institution might have looked like before the blaze, it “will never replace” what was lost, insisting that no single museum can truly substitute a lost collection.
The scale of the donation is unprecedented in recent Portuguese history. According to Lourenço, this is likely the largest donation of mammals to a public natural history museum in Portugal, possibly since the inception of such institutions in the country. To facilitate the integration and display of these animals, the University of Lisbon has invested approximately 500,000 euros over a ten-year period, utilizing a combination of internal funds and European grants.
The Precision of a Private Collector
What distinguishes the Valentim dos Santos collection from many private archives is the meticulous nature of its documentation. In the world of private collecting, taxidermy can often vary in quality and record-keeping, but Lourenço describes the care taken by Valentim as “exceptional.” The collector was extraordinarily disciplined, maintaining not only the necessary legal permits for each animal but also precise data regarding the collection sites and dates.
This rigorous approach transforms the collection from a series of trophies into a scientific resource. By crossing these records with current conservation data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the museum can provide visitors with a stark contrast between the era of the hunt and the current precarious status of these species.
Currently, the animals are in Lisbon under a loan agreement (comodato), though the long-term goal is for the entire collection to be permanently housed at MUHNAC. Negotiations regarding the contract duration are ongoing, with the museum seeking a broad timeframe that allows for the full collection to be exhibited, documented for research, and properly interpreted for the public.
A Family’s Legacy and the Weight of Nostalgia
For João dos Santos, the youngest son of Valentim, the exhibition is an emotional homecoming. Having fought extensively to ensure the preservation and maintenance of the animals, seeing them evoke “awe” and curiosity in school children is a moment of visible emotion. His primary request is simple: that MUHNAC maintains the collection in optimal condition and keeps it visible to the world.
The centerpiece of the exhibition is a striking cylinder—a vertical arrangement of mammals that resembles a biological tree. As visitors circle the display, the physical presence of the animals evokes the nostalgia of Valentim’s own writings. In a letter to a friend following a safari in Africa, Valentim described the tension between his professional life in Lisbon and his passion for the wild, writing: “Regresso à vida normal, na Lisboa distante, mas o meu espírito vai cheio das belezas do mato, das fugazes corridas dos antílopes, dos bons troféus em caçadas leais.”
This duality—the “distant Lisbon” and the “beauties of the bush”—is precisely what the museum intends to explore. By moving the collection into the public domain, the family has shifted the narrative from one of private ownership to one of collective scientific inquiry.
Scientific and Social Implications
The integration of the collection into MUHNAC, which already houses 1.6 million natural history specimens (increasing to 3 million when including archives and documents), opens several new avenues for academic study. In the coming years, Marta Lourenço plans to utilize the collection to bridge the gap between history and contemporary ethics.
The museum’s roadmap for the collection includes:
- Sociological Research: Examining the social dynamics of hunting and the culture of private collecting in the 20th century.
- Biological Study: Opening the specimens to researchers in biology to study morphology and historical distribution.
- Cataloging: A comprehensive effort to digitize and catalog the “exceptional” data collected by Valentim.
- Environmental Education: Using the IUCN status of the animals to teach visitors about the acceleration of species extinction.
The transition of these mammals from a private home to a public institution ensures that the “adventure” of Valentim dos Santos serves a purpose beyond the thrill of the hunt. It now serves as a benchmark for understanding what has been lost in the wild and how science can preserve the memory of those species.
The next phase of the project will involve the finalization of the long-term loan contract and the commencement of a full biological cataloging process to integrate these specimens into the broader University of Lisbon research network.
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