H4 ROYAL BOROUGH OF KINGSTON UPON THAMES KINGSTON MUSEUM AND HERITAGE SERVICE ACQUISITIONS AND DISPOSAL POLICY Incorporating Mission and Aims 2005 H5 Acquisition and Disposal Policy Museum: Kingston Museum Governing Body: Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Date approved by governing body: Date at which policy due for review: 1. Existing collections, including the subjects or themes for collecting The collections comprise approximately 5150 objects covering most aspects of the local history of the Kingston area from prehistoric to the present. They include archaeology, social and working history, decorative arts and the collection of the photographer Eadweard Muybridge. Archaeology The archaeology collection covers the period from Prehistory to the medieval period. Prehistoric - The museum also holds a fine collection of Mesolithic flint tranchet axe heads, flint arrowheads and other flint tools and imported stone ground and polished Neolithic axe heads. There is a small collection of prehistoric pottery, particularly late Bronze Age domestic tableware. Other Bronze Age objects include axe heads, spears and arrowheads. The Iron Age collection is very small but includes a gold coin hoard. Roman - This period is predominantly represented by building material and pottery excavated. There is also a small collection of Romano-British pottery and metalwork. Saxon - The Saxon metalwork collection is nationally important and includes three swords, about 20 spearheads and four shield bosses from the Mitcham Pagan Saxon cemetery. The museum also holds a 10th century log boat and a collection of silver pennies representing the reigns of the seven kings thought to have been crowned at Kingston. Medieval - There is a collection of 14th century Kingston-type Surrey Whiteware. Much of it is waster material from the excavated kiln sites. There is also a small collection of other artefacts including tools, pottery, dress accessories and domestic objects. Social & Working History The social history collection mostly consists of 19th and 20th century domestic objects including cooking and washing equipment, costume and textiles, and household effects. The working history is represented by objects from trade and industry, including 17th century trading tokens, pipe maker’s equipment and models from British Aerospace of Hawker jets and monoplanes. There is a collection of civic objects including Thames Watermen’s coats, trophies, plaques, truncheons, rattles and handcuffs from a debtor’s prison. Items of military history relate to the local regiment, The East Surreys. H6 Decorative Arts Large and valuable collection of late 19th century-20th century salt-glazed stoneware made by the Martin Brothers of Southall that was bequeathed to the Museum by a wealthy local businessman in 1945. Heraldic pottery and other ceramics also constitute part of the ceramic collection. Eadweard Muybridge The Museum holds a large and internationally important collection of material bequeathed by the local 19th century photographer Eadweard Muybridge. These include his biunial lantern, zoopraxiscope, lantern slides and positives (several hundred), 71 plates from the 1884 work Human & Animal Locomotion, his newspaper cuttings book, 60 glass zoopraxiscope discs (12” and 16”) and an original panorama of San Francisco of 1878. This is a collection which attracts international visitors both in person and through web site visits. 2. Criteria governing future collecting policy, including the subjects or themes for collecting The museum’s future collecting policy draws on its mission statement and aims. These are as follows: Mission Statement The Museum and Heritage Service will tell and celebrate stories about people’s lives in Kingston, past and present, and engage tourists, visitors and people living or working locally with local heritage and culture. The Service will achieve this through preserving, conserving and exhibiting artefacts, art works and records and offering active learning experiences based on them. Aims • The Service will develop high quality learning experiences with schools and the community targeted to meet different audience needs. • The Service will offer high levels of customer service throughout its facilities and environments. It will reduce or remove all barriers to access and provide physical, sensory and intellectual access for all. • The Service will contribute to the economic regeneration of Kingston by increasing Kingston’s status as a visitor destination through marketing its collections and associated exhibitions to a national and international audience. • The Service values diversity and will represent, engage and work in partnership with the local community to develop collections and deliver exhibitions and events programmes. • The Service will contribute to widening the range of cultural opportunities in the Borough and ensure that they are available to everyone. H7 • The Service will develop its collections care programme to a high standard. • The Service will maintain accredited status. Therefore the criteria governing future acquisitions are: • The Museum will acquire objects originating from, used in, or with connections to the area now designated as the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. • Objects must have been either manufactured in the area or used by or related to people or other bodies who are/were connected with, reside or are located within the area. • The Museum has limited storage space that must be taken into account when accepting acquisitions, although space may become available in the future. Archaeology The museum will only collect casual and chance finds from the area and from all periods of human activity. The Museum will not acquire the archive from development controlled archaeological excavations. This material will be stored in the London Archaeological Archive Research Centre (LAARC) at the Museum of London. An arrangement for borrowing any material connected with Kingston is in place with the Museum of London. Therefore the local community can still access the archaeological material via loans for museum displays and exhibitions. The existing historic collections from earlier excavations held by the museum are subject to review and further consideration needs to be given to its suitability for transfer to LAARC. Social & Working History The Museum will seek to collect objects that reflect the life and work of the local community. The cultural diversity of Kingston’s current community is under-represented in the museum. Emphasis will be put on redressing this weakness with particular reference to the Korean and Asian communities. In addition, the museum will aim to collect objects relating to the second half of the twentieth century. • Costume & textiles – Costume and textiles made, worn or purchased locally and from the 18th century onwards. Weak areas in the collection include male, and 20th century costume and accessories. • Working history – Collect a representative sample of objects from the commercial and industrial businesses in Kingston. These include brewing, engineering, metalworking, pottery and the retail industries. • Leisure – Material to illustrate leisure and sporting activities. • Education – Material to illustrate the history of education in the area. • Local Government – Objects to illustrate the history and continued growth of local politics. • Commemoratives & Souvenirs – Mementoes of events and places within the area. • Domestic – Household and domestic objects particularly from the last half of the 20th century. H8 • Ceramics – Collect material relating to the existing collections of Martinware and the work of the local potter Denise Wren. Eadweard Muybridge The museum will continue to collect material relating to the life and work of Eadweard Muybridge. In particular the museum wishes to collect objects relating to his influence on photography and art in the 20th century. Ethnography The Museum will not collect any further ethnographic material unless it has special relevance to the local area. Natural History The Museum will not collect any further natural history material unless it is needed for use in the interpretation of the history of the local area. 3. Period of time and/or geographical area to which collecting relates The museum will collect objects related to the whole time span of the local area from Prehistory to the present. The local area is defined by the boundary of the modern Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. 4. Limitations on collecting The museum recognises its responsibility, in acquiring additions to its collections, to ensure that care of collections, documentation arrangements and use of collections will meet the requirements of the Accreditation Standard. It will take into account limitations on collecting imposed by such factors as inadequate staffing, storage and care of collection arrangements. 5. Collecting policies of other museums The museum will take account of the collecting policies of other museums and other organisations collecting in the same or related areas or subject fields. It will consult with these organisations where conflicts of interest may arise or to define areas of specialisms, in order to avoid unnecessary duplication and waste of resources. Specific reference is made to the following museums: • Museum of London for social history and archaeology relating to the Kingston area • Science Museum and National Museum of Photography, Film and Television for material relating to Eadweard Muybridge • Elmbridge Museum for material relating