A glimpse inside the University’s gift cabinet

Uppsala University is part of a worldwide network and collaborates with many of the best universities in the world. Internationalisation is a conscious strategy that Uppsala University has adopted to improve the quality of its research and education. The flow of students, teachers and researchers between universities abroad and Uppsala University is crucial for the dissemination of knowledge, ideas and skills, not only within the University but also in community at large.

“Visits between universities have occurred frequently right down through the ages, but when universities were established in Eastern Europe and Asia during the 1990s and early 2000s, there was a particularly keen interest in inviting each other for visits. “Uppsala University had probably over one hundred official visits per year during that period,” says Mikael Norrby, visitors coordinator at Uppsala University. “For obvious reasons, the number of visits declined during the pandemic but is now slowly picking up again,” he adds.

During these visits, it is traditional to exchange gifts. A large number of such gifts from the 1600s onwards can be found in Uppsala University’s collections.

“These are often various forms of printed matter such as books or art prints, but also include art objects or gifts related to research,” says Mikael Norrby. “Many of these gifts are extraordinarily beautiful and special. One of my absolute favourites is a horn of plenty made from different kinds of minerals – a gift from the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union to Uppsala University on the occasion of the University’s 500th Jubilee in 1977,” he says.

The gifts that Uppsala University prefers to give are those that in some way symbolise the University, the city of Uppsala, or Sweden. An example of such a gift is the magnificent work that tells the history of the University’s art collection, which is one of the largest in Sweden. The University’s collection contains objects that use a great variety of techniques and materials from the Middle Ages right up to our own time – painting, portraits, sculptures, handicrafts, tapestries, and furniture. Other examples of gifts are various types of promotional products or art prints.

Of course, practical considerations also influence what gifts you can receive or give. Obviously, it’s helpful if the recipient of the gift can take it home with them in their hand luggage on a flight or at least in a package that is not too unwieldy.

A slightly impractical gift in this genre was the glass model of the Uppsala University seal, which is the size of an ice-hockey puck nestled in a small round wooden box. It caused problems because its shape often triggered security controls at airports around the world.

“An example of a magnificent, but somewhat cumbersome gift, is the 50 cm model of the French ship, the Saint Géran, which sank in 1737 off Mauritius, which (albeit rather unplanned) gave rise to the first French settlement on the island,” says Mikael Norrby. “The model was taken as a gift to Uppsala University by the President of Mauritius, Professor Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, in 2016. The highly detailed and delicate model of the ship was transported in a large box, and with considerable effort, by her accompanying adjutant,” he explains.