Introduction

Oriente di Vitaliano Donati’s journal is examined because it contains detailed observations and activities that Donati recorded during his journey. Although Donati’s descriptions are relevant to many fields of study, such as Egyptology, archaeology, natural science and history, for this research, the journal is particularly valuable because it reveals the places where Donati collected the objects. Donati’s collection was originally housed in the Royal Museum of Antiquity at the University of Turin, where it was kept from the date of its arrival, recorded as 1763 in the university register. In addition, Donati’s collection arrival date in 1763, confirms that it is one of the first Egyptian collections to arrive at the Turin museum, preceding the arrival of the Drovetti collection in 1824. Information about Donati’s collection was missing in all the museum’s catalogues because they did not attribute any of the smaller objects which formed the majority of his collection.