Durham
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The Oriental Museum
Elvet Hill
Durham
DH1 3TH
United Kingdom
Telephone/Fax +44-(0)191 3345694
E-mail oriental.museum@durham.ac.uk
Web pages http://www.dur.ac.uk/oriental.museum/
ORIENTAL MUSEUM
Durham University’s Oriental Museum is dedicated to the art and archaeology of the continent of Asia and the Levant region, with collections being drawn from the Near East, Far East and the Indian sub-continent. The collections comprise in excess of 23,500 objects and range in date from prehistoric artefacts to contemporary arts. Many exhibits are of recognised national and international significance. The Museum, which opened in its present form in 1960, today boasts one of the most important oriental collections to be found outside London and holds the most extensive collections in this field in the North East of England. The museum is generously supported by an AHRC Core Funding grant and was granted Accredited Status in 2006.
EGYPTOLOGY
The museum’s collection of Egyptology is built around a core collection made by the Fourth Duke of Northumberland in the mid-nineteenth century. The Duke had developed a fascination for Egypt following his visit to the country as a naval officer in 1826. In later years he developed large collections of both British and Egyptian antiquities, which he proudly displayed at the family seat of Alnwick Castle.
The Duke of Northumberland’s collection of over 2,500 objects was largely acquired via English auctions rather than during his travels in Egypt and included material originally collected by the James Burton and by the British
Consul Henry Salt. It was fully published in 1880 in a lavish volume written by Samuel Birch and illustrated by Joseph Bonomi and remained on display at Alnwick well into the twentieth century, prior to be removed to the British Museum for conservation shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War.
In 1947 the decision was taken to offer sell the collection. Both the British Museum and the Brooklyn Museum expressed an interest in acquiring all or part of the collection, but the Duke’s successors were keen that the collection should remain intact and – if possible- in the North East of England. Happily, Durham University had also indicated its desire to obtain the collection and, thanks to the generous assistance of MR H.N. Spalding, was able to raise the £12,000 asking price. In 1971 the University’s collection of Egyptian artefacts was substantially enlarged by the acquisition of part of the Sir Henry Wellcome Collection.
The collection today comprises over 6,700 individual objects, including a substantial red granite obelisk of Amenhopis II presented to Lord Prudhoe (later the Fourth Duke of Northumberland) by Mohammed Ali in 1838, a substantial collection of inscribed stellae and an exquisite naturalistic boxwood statuette of a servant girl carrying a large jar. Excavated material comes from Qasr Ibrim and Saqqara . The museum continues to support the teaching of Egyptology within the University of Durham and in the broader academic community. The collections are also used to inspire thousands of school students each year and remain popular both with local people and with tourists visiting the historic city of Durham.
STAFF
The curatorial team working for Durham University Museums comprises a Keeper, Deputy Keeper, Documentation Officer and part-time Conservator. Support is provided by Secretary, part-time photographer and a dedicated front-of house team, several of whom hold or are working towards formal qualifications in museum studies or Egyptology. The service employs two education officers, one of whom is based at the Oriental Museum on a full-time basis.
ARTWORLD PROJECT
The ArtWorld Project is a resource for the enhancement of teaching and learning in world art studies. It provides access to primary visual source materials in England, from art collections held at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of East Anglia, Norwich and the Oriental Museum at the Durham University. At its heart is a database of images from these two important collections. Objects, many of which are seldom on display, may be studied through multiple pictures and substantial new texts. There are also interactive facilities for making new contributions. Many key items of Egyptology from the Oriental Museum’s collection can be accessed online at http://artworld.uea.ac.uk
GALLERY CLOSURE
The Egyptology gallery in currently closed as a result of our packing objects for a forthcoming tour of Japan. New displays are due to open to the public in early 2008.
