- Wikidata identifier:
- Q15268337
- Also known as:
- Powell-Cotton Museum
- Instance of:
- museum; independent museum
- Museum/collection status:
- Accredited museum
- Accreditation number:
- 87
- Persistent shareable link for this record:
- https://museumdata.uk/museums/q15268337/
Collection-level records:
-
Collection overview (Wikipedia)
Collections on display
Gallery 1 (1947)
Houses 3 natural history dioramas, most notably a collection of African monkeys and apes can be found directly opposite the entrance to the gallery. In reference to the primate diorama, it is yet to be equalled in Europe in regard to size and natural diversity. The total number of specimens nearly reaches 2000 in entirety.
Gallery 2 (1896)
The original pavilion, contains a vast collection of mounted big game heads from Africa and Asia. On the other side of the room, is another large diorama, which depicts the mammals of the Himalayas. To obtain the specific specimens in winter coats, Powell-Cotton had to brave the bitterest of the cold weather season in camp. This is known to be the oldest, unchanged, room-sized Natural History Diorama.
Gallery 3 (1908)
Dominated by the centre piece in the room depicting the fight between a lion and a buffalo. The lion is the actual animal that attacked and nearly killed Powell-Cotton in 1906, whereas the buffalo is the type specimen of a subspecies named after the hunter/explorer. Additionally in Gallery 3, is another large diorama, this time depicting a scene from Sub-Saharan Africa in which the animals appear to be venturing down to drink at a pool.
Gallery 4 (1955)
A predominantly media-orientated gallery, including footage shot by the Powell-Cotton sisters showing a typical day in the life of a Kwanyama family. In fact, the museum houses an extensive filmography shot by Percy Powell-Cotton and his two daughters Diana and Antoinette.
Gallery 5 (1970)
Along with Gallery 6, Gallery 5 contains the ethnographical collections from Africa, focussing on tribal craft such as stools and combs, and items for dress and body decoration. Gallery 6 also displays many field photographs that illustrate the utilisation of the artefacts on show.
Gallery 6 (1970)
With direct links to Gallery 5, Gallery 6 houses more ethnographical artefacts and includes a model of a farmstead of the Kuanyama people of Angola, along with items of recreation and carefully crafted weaponry.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article “Powell-Cotton Museum”, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Source: Wikipedia
Date: 2025
Licence: CC-BY-SA