ENGLAND: THE OTHER WITHIN

Analysing the English Collections at the Pitt Rivers Museum

What percentage of the 2006 English objects by type were obtained by 1945

> Analysis 135

 

What percentage of the 2006 English objects by type were obtained by 1945?

Note that the following table shows that the following classes of object were disproportionally obtained before 1945:

More objects before 1945 than expected:Carvings, Food, Plant specimens, Pottery, Punishment and Torture related items, and tools or weapons.

Less objects before 1945 than expected: Body art related items, child related items, clothing, commemorative items, insignia, keys and locks, music, scientific apparatus, theatre related artefacts, and toys and games.

 

 

Class

Number of objects 1945 [English collections]

Number of objects 2006 [English collections]

% of 2006 collections obtained by end 1945

Agriculture

165

241

68.4

Animalia

319

557

57.2

Animal Gear

167

389

42.9

Bag

67

117

57.2

Basketry

27

60

45

Body Art

6

114

5.2

Box

860

2,352

36.5

Carving

5

5

100

Ceremonial

44

118

37.2

Children

57

1,483

3.8

Clothing

312

1,152

27

Commemoration

10

169

5.9

Cordage

14

36

38.8

Currency

65

255

25.4

Dance

24

37

64.8

Death

126

453

27.8

Dwelling

100

213

46.9

Fan

15

35

42.8

Figure

113

495

22.8

Fire

635

859

73.9

Fishing

73

223

32.7

Food

230

277

83

Geology

803

1,044

76.9

Hunting

22

30

73.3

Insignia

90

343

26.2

Lighting

531

735

72.2

Lock

80

918

8.7

Marriage

18

35

51.4

Mask

2

3

66

Measurement

224

454

49.3

Medicine

96

284

33.8

Metallurgy

16

63

25.3

Model

67

234

28.6

Music

310

1,925

16.1

Narcotic

116

165

70.3

Navigation

48

93

51.6

Ornament & bead

386

1,367

28.2

Physical Anthropology

104

249

41.7

Picture

358

593

60.3

Plant

153

163

93.8

Pottery

3,564

4,057

87.8

Punishment & Torture

22

27

81.4

Religion

295

625

47.2

Reproduction

717

1210

59.2

Scientific Apparatus

9

80

11.2

Specimen

909

1,386

65.5

Sport

21

49

42.8

Status

17

61

27.8

Technique

596

1,621

36.7

Textile

1,436

2,652

54.1

Theatre

8

57

14

Time

39

59

66.1

Toilet

88

251

35

Tool [definite]

11,756

18,433

63.7

Tool or weapon

1,209

1,522

79.4

Toy & Game

271

2,573

10.5

Trade

49

185

26.4

Transport

113

527

21.4

Vessel

705

1,113

63.3

Weapon [definite]

1,373

1,926

71.2

Writing

516

2,436

21.1

Total number of objects

22,544

39,978

56.3

 

Note that this omits the classes barkcloth and headhunting for which there are objects in the global collections but there are no objects in the English collections.

 

Assuming that there was a steady rate of donation to the museum there are 61 years between 1884 and 1945 and 61 years between 1945 and 2006, which means one would assume that roughly 50 per cent of the collections (or of any one class) had been accessioned by 1945. Obviously this is not true.