The Pitt Rivers Museum in the Late 1990s
Outline of the Museum in the 1990s
More recent displays at the Pitt Rivers Museum
The Pitt Rivers Museum holds one of the finest ethnographic and archaeological collections in the world. A recent audit has identified 525,000 artefacts (275,000 objects, 250,000 historical photographs and 60 manuscript collections). In national terms, this puts the Museum second in size only to the ethnographic collections of the British Museum, which are estimated at 300,000 artefacts. In addition to its large collections of everyday artefacts from all over the world and virtually every era, there are also objects which are recognized as being some of the finest works of art in the world. It is recognized as being amongst the top six ethnographic collections worldwide. The Photograph collections are one of the best documented and most forward-thinking of their kind; accordingly, while being far from the largest, they are one of the most important collections for visual history and anthropological research in the world.
The collections attract some 210 research visitors a year, plus innumerable postal enquiries. The museum has limited public opening hours, but in 1997 nevertheless attracted 114,442 visitors; 115,863 children visited out of hours in school parties (1996-1997 academic year).
The quality of the Artefact and Photographic collections and their documentation is matched by an energetic research and interpretation programme. This has meant that over the years the Museum has attracted major donations, such as the Wilfred Thesiger collection of photographs and the Mills and Hutton co0llections of Naga artefacts.