39 keys from the collection of Emmanuel Vita Israël, 1100 - 1300

bronze (metal), l 7cm × w 2.7cm More details

The Amsterdam apothecary and art collector Emmanuel Vita Israël. He donated his collection, comprising keys dating from Roman antiquity to the 19th century, to the Koninklijk Oudheidkundig Genootschap (Royal Antiquarian Society) in 1937. Vita Israël claimed that his key collection had grown more or less by accident: being one of the few collectors of keys, dealers automatically made their way to him.