Four centuries of Neander

28 aprile 2026

This year marks four hundred years since Johannes Neander published his famous Tabacologia. This medical doctor from Bremen had his opus magnum about tobacco printed in Leiden at the famous Elsevier printing house in 1626. The book has a medical perspective, but also discusses how you can tell whether you have good tobacco in hands. Yet the book is more science than an anecdotal approach. To immortalize himself, Neander had his portrait depicted next to the title page, as we see in the copy from our museum library.

Famous Acrobat

6 aprile 2026

For some time, the temporary display case in our museum will be reserved for an old and intriguing object. This figure, in an acrobatic pose with his leg behind his neck, was made almost 2,000 years ago by a skilled potter in Mexico. The feather headdress, earplugs, and beaded necklace lead experts to associate it with the Totonac people. Only when you examine the back do you discover it's a pipe, with the extended leg serving as a stem and mouthpiece. For decades, this object was a crowd-pleaser at the Niemeyer Tobacco Museum, but since its closure in Groningen, the acrobat has been living in Amsterdam. On display until the beginning of June.