Pitt-Rovers knew and worked closely with many people who worked at the British Museum, including Augustus Wollaston Franks and various member of the Ready family. Pitt-Rivers has another relationship with the British Museum as well; he donated or exchanged several objects from the 1860s until the late 1880s with the Museum. Unfortunately we do not know what he exchanged the objects for, but it is likely that the founding collection of the Pitt Rivers Museum might contain some objects that were originally part of the British Museum’s collections. It is possible that he exchanged them for the few objects he has in the founding collection that are facsimiles or replicas of items in the British Museum, many made for him by the Ready family, though this is conjecture only.

There follows a list of items which are known to have come from Pitt-Rivers and which are listed in the British Museum's on-line Database. Unfortunately it is difficult to search the BM's database with sufficient depth to be certain of ensuring you get a full response to a complex enquiry like this. The Museum is divided into departments which catalogue their objects slightly differently; this makes cross-departmental enquiries like this extremely difficult. The British Museum have been asked to confirm whether there are other items from Pitt-Rivers in the collections, but to date an answer has not been received.

All the data on the objects below has been taken from the British Museum's online database. The photographs on this site have also been taken from the British Museum database. To get further information about these objects please contact the British Museum direct.

1866,0511.1
BM Department: Prehistory and Europe
Description Ogham standing sandstone incised, Stone pillar of squarish section inscribed along 2 angles with ogham letters Roovesmore Rath Ireland 5th-7th century Celtic. Height 225 centimetres
Acquired: 1866
Associated numbers: AN803098001
Bibliographic details: Report on the Examination of Stone Objects for the Medieval Celtic Catalogue. Unpublished scientific report. The British Museum., Humphrey, Sylvia, 1997 Table 1, Lab No 6912-67-K (unpublished scientific research [probably refers to BM research for medieval Celtic catalogue]).
Displayed: No
Photographed: Yes

1866,0511.2
BM Department: Prehistory and Europe
Description Ogham standing sandstone incised, Stone slab rectangular inscribed along sides with ogham letters Roovesmore Rath Ireland 5th-7th century Celtic. Height 225 centimetres
Acquired: 1866
Associated numbers: AN803353001
Bibliographic details: Report on the Examination of Stone Objects for the Medieval Celtic Catalogue. Unpublished scientific report. The British Museum., Humphrey, Sylvia, 1997 Table 1, Lab No 6912-67-K (unpublished scientific research [probably refers to BM research for medieval Celtic catalogue]).
Displayed: No
Photographed: Yes

1866,0511.3
BM Department: Prehistory and Europe
Description Ogham standing sandstone incised, Roovesmore Rath Ireland 5th-7th century Celtic. Height 191 centimetres
Acquired: 1866
Associated numbers: AN37373001
Bibliographic details: Report on the Examination of Stone Objects for the Medieval Celtic Catalogue. Unpublished scientific report. The British Museum., Humphrey, Sylvia, 1997 Table 1, Lab No 6912-67-K (unpublished scientific research [probably refers to BM research for medieval Celtic catalogue]).
Displayed: Great Court
Photographed: Yes

Af.4641
BM Department: Africa, Oceania & Americas
Description Woman’s iron knife ?Central African Republic ?Sudan ?Democratic Republic of Congo Made by Azande
Acquired: 1867
Associated numbers: Af1867C1.4641
Bibliographic details: Unknown
Displayed: Unknown
Photographed: No

Af.4811
BM Department: Africa, Oceania & Americas
Description Blade currency, wide flat iron blade with pointing ends and handle. Sudan, made by Dor / Bongo. Collected by John Petherick Length 33.8 cms Width 22.5 cm Curator’s comments Blades were extensively used as currency in many parts of Africa
Exchanged: 1868 [No note of what BM gave in exchange]
Associated numbers: Af1868C1.4811, Af1974Q1.894
Bibliographic details: Unknown
Displayed: Unknown
Photographed: No

Af.4812
BM Department: Africa, Oceania & Americas
Description Spear head made of iron, acquired Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo or Sudan, Azande. Collected by John Petherick
Exchanged: 1868 [No note of what BM gave in exchange]
Associated numbers: Af1868C1.4812, Af1974Q1.449
Bibliographic details: Unknown
Displayed: Unknown
Photographed: No

As.4813
BM Department: Asia
Description Double whistle made of wood and snake skin, acquired from River Sutlej, Himalayas
Exchanged: 1868 [No note of what BM gave in exchange]
Associated numbers: As1868C1.4813
Bibliographic details: Unknown
Displayed: Unknown
Photographed: No

As.4815
BM Department: Asia
Description Angami Naga War chopper, Dao made of wood, iron hair and bark Assam, India
Acquired: 1868
Associated numbers: As1868C1.4815
Bibliographic details: Unknown
Displayed: Unknown
Photographed: No

As.4816
BM Department: Asia
Description Bamboo bow with fibre string Made by Digaru [Arunachal Pradesh, one of three groups of Mishmi] / Idu [Valley of Dibang, Aranachal Pradesh, India: considered to be Mishmi group]
Exchanged: 1868 [No note of what BM gave in exchange]
Associated numbers: As1868C1.4816
Bibliographic details: Unknown
Displayed: Unknown
Photographed: No

Af.4817a
BM Department: Africa, Oceania & Americas
Description Sword made of metal, metal curved blade with four ridges running length of blade, hilt carved with wood with knob at either end, twisted fibre cord wrapped around sword where it meets hilt. Length 59 cms, Width 26 cms Depth 6 cms (sword and sheath). Calabar, ?Liberia ?Sierra Leone. Curator’s comment: Bill Hart [personal correspondence, June 2010]: 'a matchet (sword) and sheath of exactly this form was collected by Henry MacCormac in Sierra Leone before 1832. It is now in the Ulster Museum. However, a similar matchet can also be documented from Liberia in the 1880s.'
Exchanged: 1868 [No note of what BM gave in exchange]
Associated numbers: Af1868C1.4817a
Bibliographic details: Unknown
Displayed: Unknown
Photographed: Yes

Af.4817b
BM Department: Africa, Oceania & Americas
Description Sword sheath made of skin, piece of leather sewn together to make wide, flat sheath with knob woven from sinew at closed end, “Old Calabar” written in ink near open end. Length 59 cms, Width 26 cms Depth 6 cms (sword and sheath). Calabar, ?Liberia
Exchanged: 1868 [No note of what BM gave in exchange]
Associated numbers: Af1868C1.4817b
Bibliographic details: Unknown
Displayed: Unknown
Photographed: Yes

Af.4818
BM Department: Africa, Oceania & Americas
Description Rattle, musical instrument made of wood, bamboo, grass, seeds Made by Yao (Thailand) Shire Highlands Africa (South East) [sic, it is unclear whether this is African or Asian!]
Exchanged: 1868 [No note of what BM gave in exchange]
Associated numbers: Af1868C1.4818
Bibliographic details: Unknown
Displayed: Unknown
Photographed: No

Am.4819
BM Department: Africa, Oceania & Americas
Description Trumpet made of wood, grass, rattan, ?cotton cord and ?hemp cord Amazon River, Brazil, South America
Exchanged: 1868 [No note of what BM gave in exchange]
Associated numbers: Am1868C1.4819
Bibliographic details: Unknown
Displayed: Unknown
Photographed: No

Am.6732
BM Department: Africa, Oceania & Americas
Description Club made of wood from North America.
Exchanged: 1870 [No note of what BM gave in exchange]
Associated numbers: Am1870C1.6732
Bibliographic details: King, Jonathan C H (ed.); Feest, Christian F (ed.), Three Centuries of Woodlands Indian Art, 3, Altenstadt, ZKF Publishers, 2007
Displayed: Long list of exhibitions it has been loaned to on website
Photographed: Yes

Oc.8278
BM Department: Africa, Oceania & Americas
Description Arrow (or arrows) made of coconut leaf stem New Guinea collected by Sir Edward Belcher
Acquired: 1873
Associated numbers: Oc1873C1.8278
Bibliographic details: Unknown
Displayed: Unknown
Photographed: No

Af.8809
BM Department: Africa, Oceania & Americas
Description Woman’s head ornament made of fibre Asaba Made by Yoruba / Igbo?
Acquired: 1873
Associated numbers: Af1873C1.8809
Bibliographic details: Unknown
Displayed: Unknown
Photographed: No

Af.8810-8811
BM Department: Africa, Oceania & Americas
Description Woman’s lip ornament made of wood Sudan Made by Dor/ Bongo Collected by John Petherick [It is unclear why there are 2 numbers, perhaps there are two objects though the entry is written in the singular]
Acquired: 1873
Associated numbers: Af1873C1.8810-8811
Bibliographic details: Unknown
Displayed: Unknown
Photographed: No

1887,0409.1
BM Department: Coins and Medals
Description Bronze medal made by John Pinches (Medallists) Limited 1880. Diameter 38 millimetres associated with Queen Victoria
Acquired: 1887
Associated numbers: MB4p324.3079
Bibliographic details: Brown, Laurence, A catalogue of British historical medals 1837-1901: the reign of Queen Victoria, London, Seaby, 1987
Displayed: In store
Photographed: No

1887,1006.1
BM Department: Prehistory and Europe
Description Romano-British pottery urn from Rotherley
Acquired: ?1887 [record doesn’t say, I have assumed this from accession number]
Associated numbers: None
Bibliographic details: Unknown
Displayed: In store
Photographed: No

1868 .4813
BM Dept: Asia
Description: Flageolet (double). Made of wood, bronze. India, Kashmire, Ladakh. Exchanged with Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt-Rivers
Acquired: 1868
Bibliographic details: Unknown
Displayed: In store
Photographed: No

AP, February 2011

The PDF attachment below details other collections received at the British Museum with which Pitt-Rivers (or as he was probably then) Lane Fox was associated. My thanks to Ben Roberts, Curator European Bronze Age, British Museum, for this information.

See also here, for items that ended up in the British Museum via the Henry Christy collection

Items in the British Museum which came from Lane Fox / Pitt-Rivers before 1884