In the history of the formation of foreign Asian funds of the Ethnographic Department of the Russian Museum (now the Russian Ethnographic Museum), there are many fascinating pages that, for various reasons, were not awarded special research. Among them, without a doubt, one of the most interesting is the history of the receipt of South Persian collections associated with the name of Prince N. I. Amatuni, whose name is completely unknown to the scientific world. He was one of the so-called practical Orientalists who did not leave any special works in the field of Oriental studies. His activities developed in the bowels of the Ministry of Finance and the General Directorate of Merchant Shipping and Ports, and he did a lot to expand Russia's influence in the Middle East. Materials about his activities are kept in the Russian State Historical Archive in St. Petersburg. Keywords: Prince N. I. Amatuni, expedition to the Middle East, Persian Gulf countries, ethnographic collection, Russian Ethnographic Museum. According to the materials of the personal file covering the period 1903-1916 [RGIA, f. 95, op. 9, ed. xr. 4, l. 1 - 14 et seq.; VA GRM, l. 87 - 87ob.], Nikodim Isaevich Amatuni, an Armenian-Gregorian confessor, was born on May 3, 1862 in 1889 G. he graduated from the Faculty of Law of the Imperial Saint Petersburg University and received a PhD in Law. On January 30, 1890, he was appointed to serve in the Criminal Cassation Department of the Government Senate as a candidate for judicial positions, where he was confirmed with the rank of collegiate secretary. On February 16, 1893, Amatuni was appointed Acting judicial investigator of the Yekaterinoslav District Court district, and from April 30, 1896-Acting judicial investigator of the Vitebsk District Court District. Then, in the same position, he served in the Saratov District Court (order of May 26, 1898), and from April 17, 1903, he was appointed acting judicial investigator of the Kamyanets-Podilsky District Cour ... Read more