Collection: Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum

Collection-level records:

• Collection overview (Cornucopia)

  Fine Art Collection

  Oil paintings: The major strength is in British Victorian paintings. It includes a group by Edwin Long, the Pre-Raphaelites, Albert Moore, Edwin Landseer, William Etty and W P Frith. There are also 17th, 18th and 19th century European paintings and a small number of Italian Renaissance paintings. Collecting in the 1930s and 1940s focused on contemporary paintings including animals, children and portraits. Works by Nevinson and Lamb are included. There is a small number of local topographical views, paintings of local dignitaries and a small but important group of paintings of Maori chiefs by Charles Goldie. Works on paper: The largest category are Victorian by, for example, W Henry Hunt, Clarkson Stanfield, Miles Birket Foster, Lord Leighton and Helen Allingham with marine paintings by W L Wyllie and a group of street scenes by Louise Rayner. There is a small group of English watercolours by Paul Sandby, Munn, Prout and Westall. There are very few prints in the collection. Sculpture: A small collection, largely Victorian in content, containing British, Italian and French bronzes, marble and other stone sculpture. Miniatures: A small collection dating from the 17th century.

  Subjects

  Fine Art

  Decorative and Applied Art Collection

  Ceramics: A wide ranging collection, strongest in porcelain, with many of the 18th and the major 19th century British factories represented, especially Wedgwood, Derby and Worcester; and continental factories of Sevres, Meissen and Dresden. There is a small collection of Bournemouth crested and souvenir ware. There is an important group of Italian Maiolica, and 19th century art pottery, Staffordshire figures and Dutch and Bristol tin glazed earthenware. Glass: A small collection consisting of 18th century English drinking glasses, 19th century Bohemian, Venetian and English cut glass and small decorative items such as scent bottles. Furniture: This is used to furnish period room settings and comprises 19th century British and French, with some Venetian, Swiss and Dutch pieces. There is also some mid to late 17th century oak furniture. Jewellery, costume accessories and Victoriana: The jewellery is 19th century European, mainly British, but also French, Scandinavian and Italian in a variety of materials including bone, coral, cut-steel and hair); there are a few gold and silver pieces. The costume accessories are 18th and 19th century fans from India, China, France, Brazil, Holland and Belgium. There are also parasols, shoes, purses, collars, buckles, etc. and a few 17th century items such as coifs and caps. The Victoriana comprises a wide variety of small decorative objects such as carved ivory, cased butterflies, plaques and boxes. Metalwork: Chiefly silver and silver-gilt, although there are a small number of Limoges enamels. The silver is English and continental, mainly presentation pieces of the 19th century, with some earlier. There are some silver items of memorabilia connected with Sir Henry Irving and silver-gilt items presented to the Russell-Cotes. There is a small amount of civic regalia and Russian silver, silver-gilt and enamel. The Oriental art collection comprises about 6000 items from Japan, China, Tibet, Burma, Siam and India. It encompasses ceramics, metalwork, lacquer, carvings, silk hangings and theatrical masks.

  Subjects

  Decorative and Applied Arts

  Personalia Collection

  Among the personalia collection are objects relating to Sir Henry Irving, a friend of Sir Merton Russell-Cotes. Photographs, costume, stage props and personal possessions are included.

  Subjects

  Personalia

  Portraits

  The Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum is formed around the core of art and objects assembled by our founders and given to the Borough of Bournemouth in 1921. Around this are the collecting responses of subsequent curators. Within the core of Russell-Cotes’ collection of paintings are a number of family related portraits in oils connected to their families in both Staffordshire and Glasgow. We also have two fine portraits of the founders themselves by John Henry Lorimer that reveal their characters rather well. The Russell-Cotes is known for its 19th century art but the collections do also contain some earlier portraits. Leading this group are some attributed to Sir Peter Lely and Sir Godfrey Kneller. Whilst probably not by these artists they are interesting depictions in themselves. Within our 19th century painting collection are a number of portraits of local figures, for example the “founder” of Bournemouth Captain Lewis Dymoke Tregonwell, plus Mayors, Aldermen and other officials. Thanks to the interests of Sir Merton there is a strong theatrical theme to our collections and this is reflected in our portraits of Sir Henry Irving and his circle. The class consciousness of our founders is reflected in a number of portraits of both British and European royalty. The Russell-Cotes’ were also keen world travellers and this is reflected in a small but important collection of portraits of Maoris by Charles Frederick Goldie. After the death of Sir Merton in 1921 the museum’s first curators collected in response to his collection adding a number of fine painted portraits by 20th century artists. Within this group are a number works from the War Artist Advisory Committee. There is also a distinct group of self-portraits through this section of the collection. There are not many portrait drawings in the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum collection but we do hold some significant works and most of them fall into this 20th century section. Much of the sculpture in our collection is by 19th century European artists and most of our portrait busts are of eminent Victorians, often reflecting our founder’s political leanings and the sort of persons they admired. Writers, actors, royalty, military figures, artists, and political figures are all reflected in the collection.

  Subjects

  Artists; Air force; Actors; Boy scouts; Army; Parliamentarians; First English Civil War (1642-1646); Navy; Second World War (1939-1945); Royalists; Royal portraits; Royal family

  Ancient Egyptian Collection

  The museum holds 150 ancient Egyptian objects which are part of the Archaeology collection. Classes of objects represented in the collection include: amulets; faience figures; jewellery; animal remains (mummies); human remains (mummies); pottery; scarabs; shabtis; stelae; stone figures; stone vessels; textiles; wooden figures.

  Subjects

  Antiquities; Ancient civilizations; Antiquity; Archaeological sites; Archaeological objects; Egyptology; Archaeological excavations

  Biology Collection

  This collection includes shells from different continents; and Victorian taxidermy (mammals, birds and butterflies).

  Subjects

  Biology

  Theatrical Collection

  This collection contains a variety of theatrical artefacts including a small collection of material relating to Sir Henry Irving and his contemporaries Ellen Terry and Lewis Waller. There are also items from the Lyceum Theatre including prompt books, programmes, playbills, paintings, drawings, photographs, ephemera and some costume and personal items. The Art Gallery and Museum also includes a number of European puppets, Japanese Noh-theatre masks, Japanese musical instruments, Japanese and Chinese puppets, Indian and African dance accessories and musical instruments, South East Asian and Pacific dance accessories.; Summary of Henry Irving items on public display available on request. Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, Bournemouth County Council.

  Subjects

  19th century; Theatre history; Prompt books; Japanese Noh theatre; Theatre programs; Theatrical posters; Playbills; Costume; Puppets; Masks; Indian masks; Musical instruments

  Geology Collection

  The geology is composed of 202 large, cut slabs of sedimentary, igneous and conglomerate rock set into concrete – the ‘Geological Terrace’. There are also a small number of boxed fragments.

  Subjects

  Geology

  Numismatics Collection

  A collection of coins, medals, seals and tokens from Britain, Sweden, Russia, Spain, Austria, Greece, Japan, Thailand, China and Siam.

  Subjects

  Numismatics

  Archaeology Collection

  A substantial part of the material excavated from Hengistbury Head is held, together with small numbers of Palaeolithic hand axes, and Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman material found in the Bournemouth area. There is also a collection of 24 Pre-Columbian pottery vessels and figurines and Egyptian antiquities, mostly from the late period.

  Subjects

  Archaeology

  Costume and Textile Collection

  This comprises mainly female costumes of the mid to late 19th century and early 20th century. There are a small number of early 17th century items, also military uniforms, Chinese silk shirts and coats, and some garments worn by Sir Henry Irving, his family and associates.

  Subjects

  Costume and Textile

  Ethnography Collection

  This collection comprises artefacts from New Zealand and Polynesia, Melanesia (particularly Fiji, the Solomon Islands and New Guinea), Micronesia, Australia, the Americas, and West, North, South and Central Africa. The majority of the artefacts are weapons, cooking and eating utensils, jewellery and body ornament, masks and figures.

  Subjects

  Ethnography

  Maritime Collection

  This collection comprises coins from the wreck of HMS Association and 19th and 20th century oil paintings. There are some items of 19th century chandlery such as a sextant, compass and telescope, and various large wooden models of ships.

  Subjects

  Maritime

  Music Collection

  The collection is of 19th century musical instruments of Japanese, African, English and continental origin, with a few earlier and later pieces. It covers stringed instruments (most numerous), keyboard and wind. Mechanical instruments, drums and idiophones are African and Japanese; English examples are pianos, two flutes and a harp.

  Subjects

  Music

  Social History Collection

  Items of local significance include postcards, photographs, items relating to World War II, some civic regalia and a small amount of domestic equipment. An archive of the Bournemouth Orchestras is also kept consisting of concert programmes, posters, sheet music, photographs and other memorabilia.

  Subjects

  Social History

  Arms and Armour Collection

  The collection comprises English, Japanese and Indian edged weapons and firearms (mainly 19th century). The Sherrin bequest contains these and also weapons of Malaysian, Singalese, Nepalese, Turkish, North African, Chinese and Tibetan origin. The rest of the collection comprises Siamese swords, Indian and European armour (including mid to late 17th century Italian helmets), 20th century Samurai armour and weaponry.

  Subjects

  Arms and Armour

  Other

  Subjects

  Medals; Medicine; Photography; Science and Industry; Transport

  Source: Cornucopia

  Date: Not known, but before 2015

  Licence: CC BY-NC