The trousseau tray, made from wheat straw, highlights the relationship between human communities and their natural environment. This piece represents ancestral knowledge of the sustainable use of local plant resources, as well as the artisanal techniques passed down through generations. Furthermore, it emphasizes the value of cultural heritage as an integral part of environmental heritage, underscoring the interconnectedness between nature and human expressions, while providing an educational perspective on the importance of preserving both ecosystems and the traditions that rely on them.
The herbarium of the Biblical Museum or 'Musée biblique' of KU Leuven consists of about ninety frames with dried flowers and plants, collected by Jozef Vandervorst (1884-1959) in Palestine. The identifying cards mention the scientific and vernacular name of the plants, their provenance and some biblical references. The herbarium further includes more than fifty unidentified dried plants, which have not yet been framed and a few small boxes with seed samples.
Vandervorst was a student at the renowned École biblique et archéologique française de Jérusalem and in 1910, he was charged by Rector Paulin Ladeuze (1870-1940) with building up the collection of the newly founded Musée biblique of the Leuven university. The main purpose of this museum was to introduce the students of theology to the material culture of the Holy Land at the time of Jesus.
