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Why did Freud collect so many antiquities?

• Because of the death of his father. He was trying to connect to his ancestral Judaic roots in some way.
• It was a defiant gesture against the prohibition given by Moses not to worship graven images.
• Because it gave him a sense of control over the past, and made him feel important.
• Because the objects inspired him and filled him with ideas for his work.
• Because the objects calmed him down in some way. They were like pacifiers for a child.
• Because he had an 'addictive personality'
• Because he had an 'obsessional personality' or an 'anal character'
• The objects were mysterious and ancient. They gave him a sense of access to magical power.
• Because the objects represented his work of excavation of the layers of the mind.
• Because some of the special people he admired and wanted to emulate also collected antiquities.
• Because it was part of the general bourgeoise culture of the time.
• Because the antiquities (figures and various kinds of receptacles) externalized his inner conflict between male and female dimensions.
• Because by creating his own museum it made him feel that he, too, was immortal.
• Nobody really knows. Your guess is as good as mine!