New Touring Exhibition featuring Artefacts from the British Museum Opens at Down County Museum

A new British Museum Touring Exhibition For the curious and interested was launched at Down County Museum by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Deputy Chairperson, Councillor Gareth Sharvin on Friday 19 January with representatives of the British Museum and the Natural History Museum. 

This touring exhibition will, for the first time, reunite a selection of objects from the collection of Killyleagh native Sir Hans Sloane, including books and prints, cultural objects, and natural history rarities, that are now cared for by the British Museum, the British Library, and the Natural History Museum. The physician and naturalist Sir Hans Sloane (1660−1753) left his collection to the nation on his death in 1753, intending for it to be preserved and used for the purpose of ‘satisfying the desire of the curious.’ 

Down County Museum is aptly the first destination for this new touring exhibition, just a few miles from Sloane’s Killyleagh birthplace. Audiences will be invited to engage with the history and legacy of his collection in new ways. A dedicated co-curation group was developed from the County Down community to bring local perspectives and new insights to the objects and artefacts featured in the exhibition. The group also worked to select pieces from the Down County Museum collection for an additional display which will run concurrently to the exhibition.  

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Deputy Chairperson, Councillor Gareth Sharvin said, “This exhibition represents a unique opportunity for people from County Down to see how global and local histories are intertwined. The exhibition does not shy away from the difficult issues raised.”

Confronting the complex history behind Sloane’s vast collection, which was financed in part by profits from transatlantic enslavement, the touring exhibition will reveal how and why objects from across the world were brought together. It will also explore some of the stories of those Sloane worked with and relied upon for their knowledge and skills, including indigenous and enslaved people, and other collectors, explorers and naturalists around the world. 

Amongst the breadth and diversity of the collection that Sloane assembled are items such as a copy of Sloane’s ‘A Voyage to Jamaica’ (1725), Sloane’s personal copy of his book about the natural history of Jamaica, based on his time there in 1687–89, while he was physician to the Governor of the island. Other objects include silk embroidered flowers (17th century) loaned by the British Library. 

For the curious and interested is part of a wider project entitled ‘Sloane Lab: Looking back to build future shared collections’ that aims to develop pioneering ways for people to search across digital collections from different museums and libraries, using the reunited collection of Sir Hans Sloane as a case study. It is a ‘Towards a National Collection’ (TaNC) Discovery Project, led by University College London, and is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. 

Alicia Hughes, Project Curator for Sloane Lab: Looking back to build future shared collections at the British Museum, said, “Hans Sloane bestowed his collection to Britain in 1753 on condition that it be used to create a free museum for ‘satisfying the desire of the curious.’ Now, for the first time, we are reuniting objects from Sloane’s original collection, revealing new connections and meanings that speak to the ‘curiosity’ and interests of contemporary audiences. Working with different communities around the UK, the collaborative process of curating this display has prompted thoughtful discussions about Sloane’s legacy, his involvement with transatlantic enslavement, and how we present this collection for future audiences.”

For the curious and interested will be on display at Down County Museum, Downpatrick from Saturday 20 January – Saturday 13 April 2024. Entrance to the museum is free of charge, and open from 10am-4.30pm Tuesday to Saturday. For information on events, upcoming exhibitions and other services please telephone 0330 137 4049.