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COLLECTIONSWe are currently experiencing technical difficulties with our searchable database. We are working to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.
The Horniman has three main collections, Anthropology (Ethnography [80,000 objects] and Archaeology [10,000]) comprising 90,000 objects, Natural History with 250,000 specimens, and Musical Instruments with over 7,000 instruments plus 1,000 archive documents. There is also a parallel education handling collection which has over 3,700 objects drawn from all three main disciplines and a library collection with texts and related items covering the main collection areas. The collections have been recognised as being of national importance with the Ethnography and Musical Instruments collections having Designated status. The Museum also has an active collecting policy with regular fieldwork to acquire new objects and to find out more about existing ones carried out by curators. Over 90 per cent of the collections of Anthropology and Musical Instruments have been acquired since the original bequest by Frederick Horniman in 1901. Most objects not currently on display are held in storage at the Museum's Study Collection Centre, while the Museum also loans objects to other institutions for exhibitions. More about current displays can be found at current exhibitions. |
This section focuses on the Horniman collections and related areas. The Museum holds in total some 350,000 objects and related items.