Collection: Grosvenor Museum

Collection-level records:

• Collection overview (Cornucopia)

  Fine Art Collection

  The collection comprises around 100 easel paintings (mainly oils) including a small group of Old Masters such as ‘Diana the Huntress’ by Jacob van Oost the Elder, topographical works of Chester, local portraiture and local sporting art. There are collections also of watercolours, drawings and prints mainly depicting topography of Cheshire, Chester and North Wales. Local artists are represented such as Moses Griffith, George Cuitt and George Pickering, together with notable watercolourists including Joseph Nash, John ‘Warwick’ Smith and Francis Nicholson. A small amount of contemporary art has also been acquired, including commissioned works featuring Chester townscapes. Fine art also includes 20 pieces of sculpture, mainly comprising 19th century portrait busts.

  Subjects

  Fine Art

  Decorative and Applied Art Collection

  A strength of the decorative art collection is the Chester hallmarked silver, which has been actively acquired in recent years to develop a representative range of items, supplemented heavily by loans from organisations such as the Chester Goldsmith’s Company. Silver and silver plate on display includes Cheshire church plate and Chester race cups. The furniture collection of c.102 items ranges mainly from the 17th-19th centuries and is of British provenance. The few Chester-made pieces include a pair of 1824 card tables by John Crewe McKay and a Victorian chest of drawers by Brown and Lamont. The ceramic collection of over 1,150 items (500 on loan) comprises 17th-19th century British pieces, including a large collection of local Buckley Pottery and a 1671 Toft slipware dish. The small glass collection dates mainly from the 19th century and is mainly of British origin. It features notable pieces such as a drinking glass engraved with the arms of the City of Chester and dated c.1720. Another small collection of clocks and watches from the 17th-19th also features many local examples. Finally, a new area of collecting involves architectural models of key buildings or areas of Chester.

  Subjects

  Decorative and Applied Arts

  Archaeology Collection

  Archaeology material includes significant amounts of both excavation material from Cheshire, Chester and North Wales and also casual finds from the area, including pottery sherds, bone, plaster, building materials, stone, clay pipes and other material. Roman stonework in the collection numbers around 300 pieces, ranging from complete tombstones to small, decorated fragments. There are smaller amounts of Roman and Medieval metalwork, including important inscribed pieces, and complete and restored pottery (including 18 rare prehistoric vessels) and also a small collection of glassware with some complete Roman items. Precious metal items also feature in the collection such as fragments of the Mold Gold Cape, Aberwheeler torc and gold rings from Huntington. There are also 70 Greek/Hellenistic coins, 5,000 Roman/Byzantine coins, 1,750 coins of the Anglo-Saxon and Medieval periods and the Castle Esplanade Hoard of silver bullion (200 coins). The inscribed and sculptured stonework is an important collection that has been published and provided a valuable insight into Roman Chester and the daily life of its inhabitants.

  Subjects

  Archaeology (ceremonial); Archaeology (cemeteries); Archaeology; Archaeology (settlement); Roman Empire

  Ancient Egyptian Collection

  The museum holds 3 ancient Egyptian objects. Classes of objects represented in the collection include: coffin; animal remains (mummies, one only); scarab. The coffin is a child’s, but x-rays reveal that the mummy is in fact a large cat whose front legs are missing and wrapped in a way that makes it look like a child. At the bottom of the mummy case is a bag of assorted bones – added to make the mummy up to the right length. The scarab commemorates the slaying of 102 lions in the first decade of the reign of Amenhotep III.

  Subjects

  Antiquities; Ancient civilizations; Antiquity; Archaeology; Egyptology

  Social History Collection

  Local history comprises a miscellaneous collection of domestic life objects including sewing machines, typewriters and laundry equipment, cameras, domestic lighting, childcare and home entertainment, primarily representing middleclass Victorian households and mainly pre-1900. The toy collection consists mainly of late 19th-early 20th century dolls and accessories.

  Subjects

  Social History

  Agriculture Collection

  Cheesemaking and dairy equipment.

  Subjects

  Agriculture

  Medals Collection

  A small collection of medals and medallions associated with the area.

  Subjects

  Medals

  Music Collection

  A small collection of musical instruments including 17th Century Brassan Records of international importance.

  Subjects

  Music

  Biology Collection

  Much of the natural history material from the original museum has subsequently been loaned-out to other institutions. A small collection of c.2000 specimens has been retained including local plant specimens collected in the 19th century and some local fungi, mosses, lichens, ferns and seaweed, medicinal plants, wood and peat samples. The important herbaria are on loan to the Liverpool Museum. There are also local and British vertebrate specimens including mounted birds, mammals, skins, bones, birds eggs, reptiles, amphibians and fish. Manchester Museum holds the main British egg collections on loan. Invertebrate collections include around 6,500 shells and 19,000 insects (butterflies, moths and beetles) – many on loan to the Liverpool Museum and Horniman Museum respectively.

  Subjects

  Biology

  Geology Collection

  A miscellaneous collection of rocks, fossils and minerals, generally lacking data but with material from North Wales and Scotland. Over half the collections are on loan to other museums, including a large collection of Welsh cave bones (National Museum of Wales) and the Osmund Jeffs collection of Triassic footprints (Liverpool Museum).

  Subjects

  Geology

  Arms and Armour Collection

  Armour, swords, other edged weapons, firearms and accessories are featured in the small collection that ranges from the 16th to 20th centuries.

  Subjects

  Arms and Armour

  Decorative and Applied Art Collection

  Costume includes male, female and children’s costume of the 18th-20th centuries but primarily features women’s dresses of the 19th century.

  Subjects

  Decorative and Applied Arts

  Numismatics Collection

  There are c.600 British coins, 500 world coins and a small amount of banknotes and c. 300 trade tokens (see also archaeology and medals).

  Subjects

  Numismatics

  Archives Collection

  Archives relate to the history of the museum service and the collection, including an extensive and developing reference collection covering subjects from archaeology to natural history and local/social history.

  Subjects

  Archives

  Source: Cornucopia

  Date: Not known, but before 2015

  Licence: CC BY-NC