The Collection of Casts of the University of Geneva has its origins at the end of the 18th century, when the Société des arts acquired its first cast in 1779. It is a Venus de Medici brought directly from Rome, an identical copy of its original counterpart. This acquisition, followed by many others, gave birth to the first collection of casts in Switzerland. The 20th century will mark a turning point, under the impetus of archeology professor J. Dörig and his successors, the collection will experience a revival and will continue to be enriched from time to time with new pieces.

Moved many times over the last decades, the collection has now taken up residence in the heart of the SIP complex. For teaching, as for research, stylistic comparison is important: it is for this purpose that casts of ancient statues are currently used by the classical archeology unit. It is accessible to the public on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., allowing everyone to discover these moldings that are exact copies of their antique originals. In addition, the Moldings Collection hosts two temporary exhibitions twice a year on various themes, enriching its collection.