Article Index

Second collection acquisition by year

2010-06-03T08:27:28+00:00

The first items listed in the catalogue of the second collection are dated to 1881, thereafter items are recorded as being acquired on a particular date in most instances (there are 2284 objects with an acquisition date in the catalogue, or 11.1 per cent of the collection). This date is the one given in the 'Date given' field on the research database, and this has been used in the following calculations.

1881 = 36 objects

1882 = 1397

1883 = 1238

1884 = 1246

1885 = 600

1886 = 1182

1887 = 353

1888 = 1255

1889 = 1546

1890 = 498

1891 = 542

1892 = 810

1893 = 705

1894 = 353

1895 = 627

1896 = 534

1897 = 1101

1898 = 2736

1899 = 1692

There are no items listed dated 1900. There are three distinctive peaks in activities, from 1882 to 1884, 1888-1889 and 1897-1899. The first peak is probably even larger if you think that, in addition, Pitt-Rivers obtained 1138 objects in 1882 , and a further 70 in 1883-4 for the founding collection. Presumably the high number of items in the first wave is due to early enthusiasm as he now had more funding to devote to collections. He seems to have bought a large number of the items from auction in this period. This period also covers the period when he was collecting during his summer holidays in Austria etc. In 1888-9 he obtained a large collection of Swiss ethnography from Cecil Goddard, many items from the Lawrence-Cesnola sales at Sotheby's, and many other sale purchases, in the latter year he seems to have bought a lot of objets d'art and coins and tokens. The last peak seems mostly to reflect the purchase of large quantities of Benin material and other sale material.

AP, 3 June 2010

Acquisition of both collections by decade

2010-06-03T07:42:09+00:00

When were objects from the second collection acquired by Pitt-Rivers?

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Pitt-Rivers began acquiring items for the second collection (that are listed in the catalogue now held by Cambridge University Library) shortly after he inherited a large estate in Cranborne Chase and a healthy income in 1880. The first item listed is dated 1881. The first item listed with a full date is Add.9455vol1_p2 /2, a coin issued by the London Corresponding Society, dated 11 February 1882. Pitt-Rivers continued to add to this collection until his death on 4 May 1900.

Here is the pattern of how his items were acquired in each decade, a separate page gives the acquisitions by year. Note that this information has been compiled using the 'Date Given' field in the research project database, based upon the dates given for each entry. In some cases these are misleading and do not refer to the actual date of acquisition but for the most part that is what they seem to indicate.

1850-1880 (founding collection) = 17758*

Artefacts known to have been acquired by Pitt-Rivers 1880-1884 but part of the founding collection = 1848**

1880s = 8810 ***

1890s = 9296 ***

No items are clearly dated to 1900.

If you assume that Pitt-Rivers acquired objects principally in the 1860s and 1870s (looking at the items acquired before 1880), as we know he did, and split the total figure for 1850-1879 between the three decades as

1850s estimate of 3758

1860s estimate of 7000

1870s estimate of 7000

then it makes the larger acquisitions post 1880 much clearer. Unfortunately most items in the founding collection do not have a given acquisition date, and most do not contain sufficient information to be able to work out when it was so that is why this figure has to be estimated. It is known that the majority of the items were acquired by 1878.

AP, 3 June 2010

Notes

* Note that the first figure is calculated by taking away the number of objects thought to have been acquired for the founding collection from 1880-1884 from the total number of objects known to be in that collection now. This cannot be an accurate figure, but it gives an order of magnitude.

** This figure has been found by searching for items that are definitely dated as being acquired by Pitt-Rivers from 1880 to 1884. However, many objects are confusingly dated, or not dated at all so this figure can only be regarded as an estimate. The breakdown per year is estimated to be 1880 629 + 1881 1138 + 1882 50 + 1883 20 + 1884 (or 1880=1884 but not dated) 11. The most dubious numbers are those for 1880 and 1881.

*** These figures are obtained by searching for the decade in the 'Date Given' field of the research database

Farnham Museum

2010-06-02T15:14:44+00:00

Items known to have been displayed at Farnham Museum, Pitt-Rivers private museum on his estate

Pitt-Rivers first started transferring objects to museum then known as the "Peasant's Museum, Farnham" in 1881 (the very first item in the very first volume is listed as being located there). There were nine display rooms and some ancillary accommodation. 16539 objects were known to have been located at Farnham and almost all have at least one location noted in the museum; only 451 objects (2.7 per cent) have an unknown location within the museum. The largest proportion of Pitt-Rivers' second collection was displayed at the museum at some point. Note that most items ended up there, possibly after some time elsewhere at Rushmore or Grosvenor Gardens but occasionally an object was transferred from Farnham Museum to Rushmore.

Of the known locations within the museum, the following total number of objects are known to have been located there at some point:

Front Hall = 1

Office = 36

Room 1 = 466

Room 2 = 82

Room 3 = 257

Room 4 = 666

Room 5 = 325

Room 6 = 6672

Room 7 = 4146

Room 8 = 456

Room 9 = 3734

It is not known why some of the rooms have so many more objects than others but it is likely to be something to do with the size of the objects, or the subject matter. A more detailed account of the Farnham Museum rooms will be provided later in the project. The three most densely displayed rooms were Rooms 6, 7 and 9 (in numerical order). An overview of the contents as listed in the catalogue of the second collection held by Cambridge University Library is given here. A short account of what was in each room in 1929 is given here.

AP, 2 June 2010 updated August 2010.

Rushmore

2010-06-02T14:34:55+00:00

Objects that were noted as being located at Rushmore, Pitt-Rivers' residence in Cranborne Chase

A large number of items (9730) are noted as having been located at Rushmore at one time (though many were later moved to Farnham Museum). Of these 5074 (52.1 per cent) were stored or displayed in unknown locations within the house. There are a number of standard locations within the house that are noted in the catalogue held by the Cambridge University Library, and the number of objects stored in each one at some point are noted below. Please note that items were moved around Rushmore, so one object might have two or more locations within the house:

Bathroom = 4
Bedroom (unspecified) = 2 (see other specified bedrooms below)
Bedroom on second landing = 33
Billiard Room = 14
Blue Room = 15
Boudoir = 58
Breakfast room = 2
Butler's Pantry = 189 (this room is called a number of different things, but appears to be only one destination)
Chintz Dressing Room = 1
Coin Cabinets = 132
Corridors = 664
Dining Room = 49
Draughtsman's Office = 9
Drawing Room = 265
Front Yard = 2
Galleries = 1535 (this appears to be a number of different galleries, but they are not very clearly identified)
Garden = 2
General's Room = 484
Gold case (also known as pedestal case) = 166
Ground floor bedroom = 129
Guard's Room = 7
Halls = 85 (see also vestibule and porch, there was an inner and outer hall)
Housekeeper's Room = 2
Housemaids Room = 2
Landings = 42 (there appears to have been more than one landing)
Library = 5
Lord Rivers' bedroom = 2
Mrs Rivers' bedroom = 4
Nursery = 1
Oak Gallery = 26 (see also galleries above)
Office = 421
Pink bedroom = 5
Plate Room = 6
Porch = 6 (see also Halls and vestibule)
Rope room = 7
Servants Bedroom = 1
Servants Hall = 37
Smoking Room = 635
Stables = 1
Staircase = 135
Study = 4
Lord Rivers' study = 1
Vestibule = 59

Note that the detailed ramifications of these locations will be discussed elsewhere. A further 5070 objects are noted as being located at Rushmore but without a specific room being identified.

By size of objects located there:

Galleries = 1535

Corridors = 664

Smoking Room = 635

General's Room = 484

Office = 421

Drawing Room = 265

Butler's Pantry = 189

All Bedrooms (except servants) = 175 ( 129 in Ground floor bedroom)

Gold case = 166

Staircase = 135

Coin Cabinets = 132

Halls = 85

Vestibule = 59

Boudoir = 58

Dining Room = 49

Landings = 42

Servants Hall = 37

Blue Room = 15

Billiard Room = 14

Draughtsman's Office = 9

Guard's Room = 7

Rope room = 7

Plate Room = 6

Porch = 6

Library = 5

Bathroom = 4

Study = 4

Breakfast room = 2

Front Yard = 2

Garden = 2

Housekeeper's Room = 2

Housemaids Room = 2

Chintz Dressing Room = 1

Nursery = 1

Servants Bedroom = 1

Stables = 1

It is notable that the largest number of items were displayed in the galleries. Other areas are the gold case (situated on a corridor), and the coin cabinets. Some other areas appear to have been used for display like the halls and vestibule, the staircases and landings, the smoking room (which each have a very high number of objects).

The drawing room and dining room were used to house objets d'art and dining related artefacts respectively. The butler stored the items of plate, including gold and silver plate. There are surprisingly few items stored in the Library, and study. But perhaps these were family rooms and Pitt-Rivers preferred to store or work on objects in his own room, in a ground floor bedroom and in the office and draughtsman's office. Mrs Pitt-Rivers' accommodation features surprisingly strongly including her boudoir and bedroom.

AP, June 2010

Bethnal Green & South Kensington Museums

2010-06-02T14:14:05+00:00

Most of the items listed in the catalogue of Pitt-Rivers' second collection held by Cambridge University Library which had been exhibited at Bethnal Green and South Kensington Museums were removed in the period 1882-1884. 12 objects listed in that catalogue are known to have been displayed at Bethnal Green Museum at some point between 1874 and 1878, 182 objects are known to have been displayed at South Kensington Museum for some time from 1878-1884. That is, before the bulk of the exhibits displayed at South Kensington Museum were relocated to the University of Oxford in 1884-6.

Bethnal Green Museum

Pitt-Rivers first loaned items to Bethnal Green Museum in 1874. This museum is now known as the Museum of Childhood. It was then a branch of the South Kensington Museum. In 1878, the museum authorities decided to transfer the displays to South Kensington Museum.

The items known to have been displayed in Bethnal Green Museum have been identified through primary sources held by the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford. The two principal sources are the so-called Green book ('day book' for South Kensington Museum) and the delivery catalogues.

South Kensington Museum

This museum is now known as the Victoria & Albert Museum. Loaned items from the Pitt-Rivers private collection were displayed at South Kensington between 1878 and 1884 when the transfer to the University of Oxford was agreed. The items known to have been displayed in South Kensington Museum were transferred back to Pitt-Rivers between 1882 and 1884. It is not known why Pitt-Rivers decided to withdraw these items from South Kensington Museum and keep them in his private collection, rather than transferring them to Oxford.

They have been identified through primary sources held by the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford. The two principal sources are the so-called Green book ('day book' for South Kensington Museum) and the delivery catalogues. Other sources are documentation made by SKM staff (the so-called Black, Red and Blue books). These sources have also been useful for backing up the data given in the CUL catalogue which often states that the object in the entry was 'removed from South Kensington Museum'.

Most of these items were later put on display at Farnham Museum, once that had been opened. The gold items which were withdrawn in 1884 were displayed at Rushmore with other gold artefacts.

AP, 2 June 2010

Larmer, King John's House

2010-06-01T15:07:21+00:00

Items located at Larmer Gardens and King John's House on Pitt-Rivers' estate

Larmer Gardens:

These pleasure gardens were established on Pitt-Rivers estate and were very popular. They are still open today. Pitt-Rivers arranged for a small number of decorative items to be placed in the grounds for his visitors' education and amusement. Others seemed to have been stored there for a short time. 27 objects in total are listed as being placed at the Larmer Gardens. These were:

Two vases from Cyprus, obtained from the Cesnola-Lawrence collection and acquired via Sothebys in 1883 [Add.9455vol1_p242 /2-3]
Three necklaces from Africa (held in the 'green room store', later moved to Rushmore) [Add.9455vol1_p264 /4-6]
Three necklaces from Tasmania, Australia (held in the 'green room store', later moved to Rushmore) [Add.9455vol1_p265 /1-3]
Ornaments from many places (held in the 'store room', later moved to Rushmore) [Add.9455vol1_p265 /4-7]
A pair of circular tables with 'slabs of antique Egyptian porphyry on metal gilt tripods chased with satyr’s masks' purchased at Christie's in 1885 (located in 'stone room') [Add.9455vol2_p115 /4]
'Picture Subject a Lady writing...' purchased from Christie's, located in 'Larmer dining room' [Add.9455vol2_p125 /4]
A pair of Square Scagliola Porphry Columns with rams’ heads and festoons of flowers in relief, and statuary marble slabs at the top purchased at Christie's in 1887 [Add.9455vol2_p330 /5]
Persian plate obtained at Sasson in 1892 (located in the 'Oriental room') [Add.9455vol3_p871 /3]
Two teak carvings of Burmese animals (located in the 'General's room') [Add.9455vol3_p1001 /3-3]
A pair of Kashmiri silver candlesticks (located in the 'top golf room') [Add.9455vol3_p1187 /1
Two carved wooden ends of houses from Burma 'used for building purposes' and bought from Fenton & Sons [Add.9455vol4_p1283 /1-2]
An 'old spinet' made in 1778 which was located in the 'golf room' [Add.9455vol4_p1297 /1]

In addition there was an embroidered table-cloth bought from Lady Blackett which had been exhibited at Larmer Exhibition in September 1895 which was actually located at Rushmore after purchase. [Add.9455vol3_p1225 /2]

To find out more about Larmer Grounds go here.

King John's House

174 objects were listed as being located at King John's House. It was set up to show some of his fine art collection and Far Eastern collections. He seems to have divided his second collection more or less as a museum such as the British, Ashmolean or Fitzwilliam museum of today might. Ethnographic or social history items are not considered in the same galleries as items of Oriental art such as Japanese ceramics, or European oil paintings or watercolours. So proud was Pitt-Rivers of this collection that one of his privately printed catalogues was devoted to its objects. These will be considered in detail elsewhere on this website. To find out more about King John's House go here.

AP, 1 June 2010

Grosvenor Gardens

2010-06-01T14:39:55+00:00

Pitt-Rivers' objects known to have been located in 4 Grosvenor Gardens, London

Pitt-Rivers is known to have lived at 4 Grosvenor Gardens after 1880, it was his London residence until his death in 1900. However, not many objects are listed as being held there: 2400 in total, of which 2290 also have a second or subsequent different locations also noted. It is likely that Pitt-Rivers had other objects at this property, but it is not known what these were. He must, for example, have had more paintings and drawings.

Of the 2424 objects known to have been located at Grosvenor Gardens at some point, 1445 do not have a specific room identified for them within the property. For the remaining objects the following locations have been identified:

Breakfast Room = 7 objects

Coin Cabinets = 22 objects

Dining Room = 3 objects

Drawing Room = 169 objects

Hall = 3 objects

Library = 59 objects

Lift Room = 442 objects

Office = 262 objects

Study = 7 objects

By far the largest number of objects were located in the Lift room. Most of these are listed as being placed in drawers of cabinets in that room. The name of the room is unusual; it is not clear what the 'lift' refers to though it probably was some form of elevator or lift used for moving people or possibly goods from one floor of the house to another. It seems to have functioned as a holding room for objects because all of them are moved to another location eventually. The same seems to have been true for the items placed in the office.

Items placed in the drawing room are interesting. Some are objects of macabre or academic interest, for example the 'Human or animal vertebrae with part of arrowhead embedded' from Peru [Add.9455vol1_p2 /9] Others have more conventional decorative qualities, for example 'Fan Design attributed to Angelica Kauffman - “Telemachus with the Nymphs & Cupid on the Island of Calypso “In the meantime Telemachus who saw the boy playing with the Nymphs was surprised at his sweetness and beauty, he sometimes pressed him to his bosom, some times set him on his knee and frequently took him in his arms.”', obtained from a Sotheby's sale in 1882 and transferred to Rushmore (though a less prestigious location, the bedroom 'second landing') and finally to Hinton St Mary with Mrs Pitt-Rivers after 1900. [Add.9455vol1_p32 /2]

For a detailed look at the objects listed in the catalogue of the second collection as being located at some point at Grosvenor Gardens, see here.

AP, 1 June 2010, updated August 2010.

Penywern Road

2010-06-01T14:31:21+00:00

Pitt-Rivers lived at 19 Penywern Road until 1880 when he moved to Grosvenor Gardens. A small number of objects (6) are noted as having been transferred from that residence, to Grosvenor Gardens. They include:

a small Etruscan bronze head moved to Rushmore on 25 October 1887 [Add.9455vol1_p15 /12]
a bronze Roman axe moved to Rushmore on 25 October 1887 [Add.9455vol1_p15 /13]
a bronze dagger and bracelet from Florence moved to Rushmore on 25 October 1887 Add.9455vol1_p15 /14-15]
a bronze sword from Paris moved to Rushmore on 25 October 1887 [Add.9455vol1_p15 /16]
and a hafted axe, moved to the drawing room in Grosvenor Gardens and later to a case in the drawing room at Rushmore [Add.9455vol1_p15 /17]

All these items are listed in a paper loosely enclosed in volume 2 of the Cambridge University Library. The date does suggest that perhaps Pitt-Rivers retained ownership of Penywern Road after he moved (assuming he owned it in the first place, which is not known)

AP, 1 June 2010

Moving objects

2010-06-01T14:22:45+00:00

Objects which had more than one recorded location in the second collection of Pitt-Rivers

In some cases an item was acquired, catalogued and moved to a single location (say, for example, the 'gold case' at Rushmore) and then no further location was recorded in the Cambridge University Library catalogue. Other objects seem to have been moved quite frequently.

766 objects have no location at all identified for them (3.8 per cent)

12078 objects (59.1 per cent of total second collection) have only one recorded location after acquisition

7575 objects (37.1 per cent) have more than one recorded location after acquisition (that is, they were moved from one location to another, for unknown reasons)

In addition to being moved between geographical locations, items in the second collection were also moved within locations with pieces either being moved between Rooms at Farnham or (more commonly) being moved around Rushmore. In general these moves at Rushmore are from more prestigious locations (the drawing room, the gallery cases) to less prestigious ones (corridors, bedrooms).

AP, 1 June 2010

Bethnal Green Museum

2010-06-01T12:23:14+00:00

Bethnal Green Museum and the items from there that did not transfer to the University of Oxford

In 1874 Pitt-Rivers (then Augustus Henry Lane Fox) decided that he wished to display part of his collection publicly. The Bethnal Green branch of the South Kensington Museum displayed this collection from 1874 to 1878 when it was moved to South Kensington Museum. This collection was eventually transferred almost in entirety to the University of Oxford in 1884. However, it is not known whether all items were displayed at Bethnal Green / South Kensington Museums or whether some were also transferred from his private, undisplayed collection. It is known that 53.8 per cent (10543 objects) were displayed at some point in Bethnal Green Museum. It is known that 81.3 per cent (15934 objects) were displayed at some point in South Kensington Museum.

Some items which had been displayed at Bethnal Green and South Kensington Museums were obviously transferred back to Pitt Rivers and retained by him. Not many of these are listed in the Cambridge University Library. It is known that Pitt-Rivers' objects were still being removed from South Kensington in January and February 1886, but these were sent to Pitt Rivers’ home address in London, rather than to Oxford:

Letter from G.F. Duncombe, South Kensington Museum to Pitt-Rivers dated 22 January 1886:

I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 17 instant and in reply to inform you that the printed book and a box of minerals have been returned to 4 Grosvenor Gardens in accordance with your request.
I am to enquire whether it is your wish that the residue of your Collection which the Oxford authorities left behind shall also be returned to you at the same address.”

Note on side by Pitt-Rivers, ‘Answered 30.1.1886 The objects to be sent to 4 Grosvenor Gardens'

List on back on South Kensington Museum headed paper which seems to list the residue sent on 5.2.1886 :

4 packing cases containing human or other bones, flint implements, fragments of pottery, chalk, plaster casts of brain and spear heads, plaster medallions etc etc
1 packing case containing Chinese fireworks various
1 packing case containing fragments of red sandstone conglomerate, and stone bored by ...
1 packing case containing 21 cocoa nut shells and 9 stuffed birds (moth eaten)
1 large piece of matting
1 folding box used for personal ornaments of savage races
1 plaster cast Human head
3 plaster casts human heads
1 fragment of plaster cast human head
1 map of world (torn)
2 boxes iron bound
1 case containing 2 preparations for skeletons of monkeys
1 tail of sting ray
1 straw dress
1 specimen of coarse bark rope
2 sticks for weaving
1 bag woven from sennit
2 fur hats canework frames
1 tent or chair cover, yellow work with fringe
1 straw petticoat
1 straw cloak [Japanese]
1 box with lock
1 black leather trunk studded with nails
1 box containing 2 large pieces of chalk
½ pod of monkey nut
1 gun case containing bullet mould, key for nipple and turnscrew and ramrod
1 straw or wicker basket containing fragments of shell and pottery
1 small case covered with bookbinders cloth
1 leather portmanteau containing hammer, screwdriver and 2 sets of pulleys
1 pair top boots (much torn
1 plaster cast of head (broken)
1 plaster cast mask (broken
3 empty cases and 2 hampers

"Returned loans” [Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum, Pitt Rivers Papers, P133]

AP, 1 June 2010