Bolton Museum and Art Gallery
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Bolton Museum and Art Gallery
Le Mans Crescent
Bolton BL1 1SE
tel. (01204) 332211
fax (01204) 332241
email museum@bolton.gov.uk
Collection
Bolton Museum houses an important collection of Ancient Egyptian material consisting of approximately 10,000 objects from 68 sites; of these, almost 1,000 objects are on display in a dedicated Egyptian gallery. The majority of objects have been acquired through the museum’s sponsorship of excavating bodies such as the Egypt Exploration Society and the Egyptian Research 
Account, and have an archaeological provenance; Bolton’s involvement with the EES dates back to 1884, and continues to the present day.
Bolton’s wealth in the 19th century was founded on the textile trade. William and Thomas Midgley, the first curators of the museum, were specialists in the study of ancient fibres and weaving, and contributed studies of textiles to excavation reports in return for a selection of pieces. As a result, Bolton’s archaeological textile collection spans over 6,000 years, and is one of the most important in the world.
Staff
Bolton Museum employs a specialist curator and an archaeological
Faience plaque depicting a wild cat, from the temple of the goddess Hathor at Serabit el-Khadim, Sinai, Dynasty 18, c. 1400BC. Bolton Museum 1905.68.37. © Bolton Museum and Archive Service.
conservator.
Research
Bolton Museum welcomes researchers by appointment. The Museum is especially keen to see researchers making use of the textile collection.
Future plans
Bolton Museum hopes to redisplay its Egyptian gallery, last re-furbished in the 1980s, in the near future.
“From a Modern Land”, an exhibition of Coptic textiles and modern paintings, will be held in the Egyptian gallery from March to mid-May 2007.
Fragment of a tapestry-woven wool and linen garment, probably a wrap for a child. From a Roman cemetery at Matmar, c. 400AD. Bolton Museum 1931.4.6. © Bolton Museum and Archive Service.
