Explorers and Collectors Case Contents

Trapezoid “spangle” made of white washed metal sheet, with punched dots around the edges. This may have been worn on a necklace, or it could have been mounted on another object as decoration.

These are practical tools made from local materials. The stones are fixed to the wooden handles with gum from trees.

Green glazed amulet with three row pearl border. Card for Egyptian IV states “Amulet in fused green enamel”.

Described by Lansdell as from ‘Chambar’, a place in Afghanistan. The colourful embroidery is typical of Afghan work. Lansdell bought them at a bazaar in Tashkent, a Russian trading city north of the Afghan border. He thought they would ‘be warm and both useful, when tied at the bottoms’ during his journeys on horseback across the continent.
Lansdell had his photograph taken wearing these trousers.

Small dagger in gold-covered scabbard collected in 1821-26.

Small dagger in gold-covered scabbard collected in 1821-26.

This hair pin has four long prongs and a spoon-shaped handle, which has been described as a snuff ladle.

The smaller headrest is typical of the Ashanti people in the former Gold Coast, now Ghana. It is decorated with a wash of blue pigment. The larger headrest follows the Ghanaian shape but has elements of southeast African decoration. Cross-cultural styles like this were used in South Africa. The original black paint has worn with use.
Headrests were used by African men of fairly high status and were significant personal objects, protecting the owner’s head and hairstyle.

Two of the Yoruba sculptures are ritual ‘deceased-twin substitute’ carvings. The third is a small figure with distinctive hairstyle. Such African sculptures, with bold abstract features, have had a huge influence on modern artists. The doll is Ashanti from Ghana and would be carried by a pregnant woman to promote beauty in her unborn child.
Ghana is a centre of gold mining and the Ashanti are best known for their intricate tiny brass sculptures used to weigh gold. Dried and decorated gourd rinds are from the Hausa people, northern Nigeria, as is the Qur’anic writing board of the Hausa people has been decorated to celebrate a pupil’s achievement at school, and the embroidered cap.

Captain J Graham brought back three spearheads and two spears described as ‘small’ but with shafts so long they had to be broken for transport. One spearhead was said to have belonged to the Khalifa, the Mahdi’s successor.

The weapon with double-balled handle and openwork decoration on the blade is from the Akan area of the Gold Coast and probably an Ashanti sword.

This is a Congo ceremonial sword used among the Ngombe, Ngbandi and Lokele peoples.

A souvenir with broken blade. It belonged to a fighter in the Islamic Mahdi army massacred by British troops.

The pot was formed by pressing clay into an earthen hollow, making two half-rounds then joining them together and smoothing by hand. It sits on a ring when carried on the head. The jug is used for washing before entering a mosque.

Framed relics from the battlefield of Albuhera presented to the 1st Battalion of the Buffs by the Mayor of Albuhera in 1926.
The number of musket balls collected for this gift gives some idea of the thousands that must have been fired during the battle. The flint pieces were part of the musket firing mechanism and would strike a spark that fired the gunpowder and propelled the musket ball.

Necklace of 12 amber beads, of various shapes and sizes. Amber was likely imported from the Baltic, and would have been expensive to purchase; these beads would have belonged to someone very wealthy.

String of 14 amethyst beads. Amethyst beads, mainly from trade routes that led through Germany, are more commonly found in Kent than elsewhere in the country.

Small ornament in red stone/sun disc amulet of carnelian.

Faience amulet of a pregnant woman / taweret. Hole for cord, broken at bottom.

Green amulet in the shape of an eye.

Glazed amulet in the shape of a collar or Bes.

Bes, grotesque amulet figure for suspension with blue glaze

Faience amulet, possible obscene. Hole for cord has broken off the back.

Large amulet in the shape of the cat goddess.

Small bird amulet.

Cat amulet.

Faience amulet in the shape of a djed pillar; the Egyptian symbol of stability. Hole for cord.

A green faience amulet depicting a Ram, an animal significant to more than one deity in Ancient Egypt. It possibly represents either Amun-Re, king of the Gods, or Khnum the potter.

Faience amulet in the shape of a lion. Hole for cord should be on the back but has been broken off.

Faience amulet in the shape of a ram-headed sphinx. Hole for cord above back.

Faience amulet in the shape of a standing goddess. Hole for cord above head.

Faience glazed bead in the shape of an eye.

Egyptian Sacred eye/Wadjet eye amulet.

Wedjat eye amulet.

Green bead in the shape of a dog-headed ape/standing baboon.

Faience green bead. Rabbit/hare.

Faience bead in the shape of Bes.

Anubis amulet made of stone. First two fingers from mummy’s stone placed on left side of pelvis inside the body to ward off evil.

Tagged with a green label, like most of Lansdell’s collection, describing where acquired.

Brooch. This type of brooch is sometimes called a ‘caterpillar’ brooch on account of their shape.

Orange stone bead with six indentations.

Faience bead.

Faience bead with a hole for cord.

Semi-precious stone bead with a hole for cord.

Glass bead.

A blue glazed bead.

A blue glass bead.

A green glazed bead.

A green glazed bead.

A blue faience bead.

An inscribed cylindrical green bead with a hole for cord.

White scarab bead.

Pink stone bead. Scarab.

A blue bead in the shape of a bull.

Green bead in the form of a cat.

Amulet. Bast green bead in the form of cat goddess.

Glass Bead.

Blue Egyptian beads strung on a modern string and clasp with a Roman lock.

Beads on modern string.

Brass wire strung with two opaque yellow ‘annular’ beads and one unpolished cobalt blue ‘annular’ bead. This may have been a breast ornament – it would have been pinned onto a piece of clothing.

String of beads.

String of 69 beads of various colours.

Necklace containing four cylindrical (bugle) beads and what were originally quadruple pearl-like beads, some of which have since separated into single, double and triple beads.

Carinated glass Bell-Beaker with fine white trials below the rim, and on the base. As this glass has no base, it has been suggested it was used for toasts at feasts; the drink would have had to be downed in one go.

Bird brooch, silver gilt, garnet inset in eye and tail, niello inlay.

Bird brooch, silver gilt, garnet inset in eye and tail, niello inlay.

Bird shaped brooch of a Frankish type, with traces of gilt on the exterior.

Cups for drinking wine or water, of a type called a skyphos.

This double-edged sword was used for cutting. The hilt (sword handle) has a bell-shaped pommel (end) and little protection for the knuckle.

Kentish bracteates. Bracteates, thin single-sided gold medals, were worn as pendants on a string around the neck. They may have been seen as a protective amulet.

This photograph shows soldiers of the Buffs in the Crimea with a Brigade commander: from left, an Officer, Major Maude, a Sergeant Major, Brigadier-General Charles Thomas Van Straubenzee (seated), a Corporal-Bugler and an Adjutant. Roger Fenton went to the Crimea as the first official war photographer. Cameras needed a long time to create a picture and he was only able to take posed group shots like this one, or landscapes. Despite the poor conditions he produced 350 photographs, which were published in the Illustrated London News.

Bronze Sekhet.

‘Coptic bowl’. Bowls of this type have been found in several other Anglo-Saxon cemetaries in Kent. They were made in Egypt, and probably were imported from Alexandria in the seventh century AD, arriving to Britain via the river Rhine.
Thought to be from Wickhambreaux (1886).

Equal arm brooch, set with garnets in gilt copper.

Rare Kentish silver brooch of cruciform shape.

Bronze gilt brooch of Jutish type without a pin.

Electroform copy of bronze gilt brooch - the original is at the British Museum. The earliest Saxons regularly used almost abstract animal designs on their jewellery.

Circular silver jewelled disc brooch of Kentish work set with garnets; cloisonee work and gold wire filigree.

Bronze brooch of foreign type, possibly from Belgium or the Lower Rhine region of Germany.

Silver-gilt brooch with garnet and greenstone.

Square brooch set with garnets at each corner.

Jeweled brooch of Jutish type, set with garnets.

Circular brooch set with garnets, one is missing.

Two radiate-headed brooches with five inlaid garnets.

Handmade, burnished, handled pottery mug with round base, brownish ware. Found close to the head of a child. Burnishing (rubbing a pot with a leather cloth) would make the mug watertight and also a lot smoother to the touch.

Bucket/vat with handle, fragments inside.

Oval copper alloy buckle with buckle plate and tongue complete.

Jewelled buckle of Frankish type.

Small bronze buckle complete with tongue. The buckle loop is decorated with groups of incised lines and part of the buckle plate remains.

Buckle, broken into two pieces, with triangular plate. Such buckles were normally found in graves of high status males and are often decorated with garnets. This is a slightly cheaper version, but would still have belonged to a rich man.

Bronze buckle and buckle plate inlaid with silver.

In Buddhism the elephant symbolises strength of mind, embodying calm majesty and noble gentleness. This Buddha has the hands arranged in ‘touching the earth’ pose.

The silver Buddhas are posed in the attitude of meditation. The carved alabaster Buddha, in ‘touching the earth’ pose, has small wings. All are probably from domestic shrines.

Marble canopic jar; human headed ape, wolf, owl.
During mummification, a dead person’s organs were embalmed separately from the body, and from about 2,000 BC were stored in stone or pottery containers called canopic jars. The organs in the jars were guarded by four gods known as the Sons of Horus who appear on the lids.

Unknown date, probably Roman

Decorated with a Russian Orthodox image of priests blessing a man.

Decorated with a Russian Orthodox image of Christ with incense burner at a deathbed.

This is a cast of the fossilised jaw found in South America and given to Canterbury Philosophical and Literary Institution Museum in 1841 by General William Miller. The original was lent to the British Museum in 1845, when it was used to help establish the new species of elephant ancestor Mastodon andium. Canterbury Curator John Brent allowed the British Museum to keep the original in exchange for a cast and various other fossil specimens.

Electroform copy of cover for an incense bowl. This is one of only three remaining from before the Norman Conquest. The original is in the British Museum. Cast in copper alloy, with applied silver plates engraved and filled with niello. It is also decorated with entwined animals and birds, and acanthus leaves.

One miniature, the other comprising two needles and thread with a storage tube and weight.

This building is modelled on a Shenist folk temple to nature gods and patron gods. The Chinese text on the pillars can be translated as ‘Fiction or reality, we revisit our ancestors with these figures’.

It was probably made at a workshop called Rui Yuan in Shiwan, Fo Shan City, Guangdong province, a well-known centre for ceramics production of this type. The ceramic used is known as stoneware because of its durability. Shiwan was famous for making architectural ceramics and ceramic figures during the Ming and Qing dynasties (14th to early 20th centuries).

Presented to Lansdell by a Chinese dignitary, possibly the Tchyan of General Chang, on 19 June 1888.

Pagodas are tiered buildings in Asia, originally with a religious function and often sited near temples. The word ‘pagoda’ comes from the Portuguese pagode, meaning ‘temple’.

The purse has a drawstring moneybag inside the eggshell-like segments, which are held together by tassels. The child’s shoe was given to the museum with a stone inside to keep its shape. Embroidered shoes displayed on the right have a raised sole to keep the embroidered fabric above dust and dirt on the ground.

Decorated with embroidery in traditional patterns.

For keeping away flies and carried as a mark of rank.

Chitral was a remote outpost on India’s Northwest Frontier. In 1895 it was besieged by Pathan tribesmen. The Buffs and the rest of the relief force reached the fort after 26 days clambering over snow and ice of the Himalayas.

Fragments of cloth in glass slide.
Found adhering to the remains of an Anglo-Saxon in a grave at Sarre, Kent in 1863.

The form and decoration of these clubs is unique to people from Nootka Sound. One has a serpent-head handle unlike any other clubs so far recorded. They were collected during Captain Cook’s voyages in 1776-79.

Portion of coarse cloth/mummy cloth.

The coconut cup would have been used for fermented drinks. It is a high status item with decorations linked to the Cook Islands.

Electroform copy of an Anglo-Saxon coin - the original is in the British Museum. This coin was minted in around 765AD for Ecgberht II, who ruled from 765 to 779. Not much is known about Ecgberht aside from his coins and the small number of charters in which he is mentioned; he was likely installed by Offa as a king. Offa then attempted to rule Kent more directly in 776, which prompted a rebellion under Ecgberht. Kent seems to have remained independent for several years afterwards, which suggests it was successful.

Coin minted for Archbishop Æthelheard, who was enthroned in 793. It bears the names of both the archbishop and the King. King Offa gave the Archbishops of Canterbury the right to mint their own coins, and this continued into the reign of King henry VIII.
Found by Mr David Hunt at Otford, Kent. Acquired by the Landowner with grant-aid from the MLA/V&A Purchase Grant fund, and generous contributions from Mr Hunt and from a Kent charitable trust through the friends of Canterbury Museums.

The decorative hair comb from Tonga is made of coir fibres.

Fragment of double-sided antler comb. The comb is decorated with a series of ring-and-dot motifs in a triangular arrangement at its end.

Single-sided comb with antler handle, iron nails and bone teeth.

Worked Bone single-sided comb.

Single sided composite comb. Though similar combs are known from across England, this comb is Scandinavian in design, and was produced at sites around the Baltic through the early medieval period. This particular comb may have been an import, or could be a locally made copy.

The Anglo-Saxons kept their combs in cases to stop the teeth from breaking.

Glass tumbler.

Conical glass vase.

Bronze bindings and handle of an Anglo-Saxon bucket mounted on a modern wooden copy by the London Institute of Archaeology.

Bronze buckle of Frankish type.

Donated to the museum by John Brent this relic box appears to have been found in the grave of an Anglo Saxon male. It would originally have had a lid and base and may have been used to hold oil, or ink.

Alabaster Kohl Jar, stone vessel.

Unknown date and source
The small round dishes inside this container had red iron oxide or ochre clays and charcoal mixed with olive oil for lip, cheek and eyebrow make-up.

Faience cowroid. Hole for cord (second from the left) and a selection of blue and green glazed beads.

A coptic cross.

Bronze gilt brooch of cruciform shape and foreign manufacture, probably from South West Germany. This type is very rarely found in England, and another example is known from Silton, Ash, Kent.

Crystal sphere in a silver sling. It is not known what these spheres were used for, but they are often found in the graves of women alongside silver spoons. It has been suggested that they may have been used to symbolically purify water.

Crystal ball suspended in silver sling, with silver wire ring through the top of the sling.

Large crystal ball without the suspender. The purpose of Anglo Saxon crystal balls is unclear: they may have been used as a magnifying glass, or perhaps even had a magical or ritual use. They are often found in the graves of women next to silver spoons.

Large crystal ball without the suspender. The purpose of Anglo Saxon crystal balls is unclear: they may have been used as a magnifying glass, or perhaps even had a magical or ritual use. They are often found in the graves of women next to silver spoons.

Ceramic mug in a brownish ware. This cup was handmade, and would have been burnished (rubbed at speed with a leather cloth) to made it more watertight.

There is a Russian Orthodox image inside the bowl and a rose underneath.

19th century; probably Mandalay, Burma Wood and gold leaf
This is one of several souvenirs brought back from Burma after British forces overthrew King Thibaw in 1885. His palace in Mandalay was ransacked and its decorations, including this panel, dismantled.

Copper alloy disc brooch decorated with a quincunx (group of five) of cup-and-dot decorations, a favoured decorative motif in this period.

Circular silver gilt disc brooch set with 3 square and 1 round garnet

Emblem of stability (connected with Osiris) with green glaze/faience.

“The Gilyaks believe in wooden idols or charms as antidotes to disease,” wrote Lansdell. Plague had been raging across Russia in 1879. The Gilyaks lived near the border with China. At Tyr, on the rivers Amur and Amaun, Lansdell “wished to buy some of the little amulets belonging to the head of the household” of a Gilyak family, including “those of his baby, one of them a doll in a sitting posture”. But the man was unwilling to sell until offered “a silver piece”. Then he “sent after me a fish rudely cut in wood, and meant for a sturgeon [the fish famous for its roe, known as caviar], with a little god seated
on his back. This had been used, apparently, not long before, on a fishing expedition.”

These two carved wooden dragons were looted from the personal railway carriage of the dowager Empress of China during the Boxer Rebellion in Peking (Beijing) in 1900. It is not known how they came into the possession of the Buffs, as the regiment did not take part in what was known as the 3rd China War.

Earlier than 3,000 BC.

Bronze Egyptian figure of Buto, the nurse of Horus.

Small faience Egyptian deity amulet perforated for suspension.

Bronze Egyptian figure of Isis or Hathor bearing a disc or moon on her head.

Enamelled disc, possibly from side of a hanging bowl and used to suspend it. Design is of celtic origin thrown up by red champleve enamel. It probably comes from Western England, or Wales.

Enamelled disc, similar to above.

Container for water or wine, a gift from the Emir of Bukhara.

Described by Lansdell as “for slapping naughty women’s faces”. It was used in one of the prisons he visited.

A necklace of small faience beads in blue and white with modern stringing.

Small green glazed scarab with seal/faience scarab, possibly fake.

Shabti worker figurine. Bluish colour Shabtin figure/ faience worker Shabti.

Bronze figurine of Osiris.

Bronze Egyptian Amun-re statuette with hook for suspension.

Stone statuette, possibly depicting Nilus.

Harpocrates (The child Horus); bronze Egyptian figure, minus legs.

A gold finger ring made of two strands of gold twisted together and flattened at the ends. Found in Canterbury during the late Victorian period, possibly in Dane John Gardens. Originally part of the Trimnell Collection.

Cast silver fish brooch with geometric decoration and garnet set eye, fins and tail.

Partial foot of a marble sculpture, with sandal thongs imitating creepers.

Probably formed part of architectural decoration. The drilled holes create lines of shadow.

Inscribed with a Greek dedication to local god Zeus Olbios.

This fragment probably relates to the labours of Hercules.

The marble with a woman holding a lyre or harp is inscribed ‘Farewell to grieve no more, loved young and worthy Zosime’, a Greek female name.

The fragment of votive stone with horse and rider is unidentified.

The family scene shows a seated man and woman with attendants or family, including children, and a horse visible through a window.

The gravestone with two figures reclining, a tripod table and servant in front of them, is inscribed ‘Farewell, worthy Nicotyche’.

Cone beaker, with vertical fluting and horizontal thread of opaque white glass below the rim. Cone beakers may have been used at feasts where, because they had no bases, the drinkers would have had to down the contents in one go, perhaps as a toast.

Buckle of tin girdle hook/wooden tyet (the buckle of Isis) emblem furniture fitting.

Emblem of stability. Assonan/Djed emblem wooden furniture.

Gilded copper alloy small-long brooch or mount in four pieces.

A highly ornamented, fine gilded, bronze pin.

A highly ornamented, fine gilded, bronze pin.

Bronze girdle-hanger. This type of object, often found in Anglo Saxon women’s graves, imitates a key. It has been suggested that girdle-hangers symbolise that women controlled access to the home.

Green glass vessel, repaired.

Pendant. The central swastika, or Tetraskele, was used on many items in the Early Anglo-Saxon period.
Found by a metal detectorist near Manston in Kent. Acquired for the museum through the Portable Antiquities scheme.

Small gold pendant set with cross in centre.

Small gold pendant set with garnets, may have been used as a sword bead.
Found in Anglo Saxon cemetery at Stouting, Faversham. Collected by Mr. J. Brent.

A tall gravestone inscribed ‘Farewell having received these delights, Pollothemis’. The deceased is shown sitting beside her husband, with servants, laid table, and oxen pulling a plough.

Hooked tags were used for a variety of functions, but primarily they were used to secure garments and purses. They would have been sewn to the cloth through the pierced lugs at the top of the tag (one of which is now broken). This tag is very ornately decorated, with each of the three areas containing a stylised depiction of an animal.

Green relates to paradise and is the traditional colour of Islam.

Lansdell visited a number of prisons on his travels across Asia.

Small stone jar.

Egyptian cosmetic container in stone, maybe a kohl pot (front row 3rd from left).

Small stone jar for eye paint.

Small stone jar for eye paint.

Circular red stone bead.

Hebrew text from the Book of Esther, sold to Lansdell by a Rabbi.

Kazakhs live in Turkestan, southern Asia, which was annexed by Russia in 1864.
Lansdell is wearing this girdle in the photograph of himself in Kokand armour and Afghan embroidered trousers.

Kazakhs live in Turkestan, southern Asia, which was annexed by Russia in 1864.
Lansdell is wearing this purse in the photograph of himself in Kokand armour and Afghan embroidered trousers.

Key with shepherd’s crook suspension loop. It was cast in bronze and finished by hand with deeply cut out carving.

Iron knife with worked bone handle carved with serpents. Each bone piece is decorated with a pattern in an oblong box, both ends of which end in stylised animal masks. The two sides have slightly different designs. This is typical of Northern English work of the 10th Century. It is likely that it was made in the Danish Kingdom of York, known as the Danelaw. The side with the knife point at the bottom has a chain-like design. This is a well known Scandinavian design known as Borre style.
The short, wide blade is unusual amongst knives discovered from this era. It is most likely a craftsman’s knife which would, rather like a modern craft knife, allow a lot of pressure to be exerted onto its point for carving. It may have been a bone carver’s tool.

Alabaster kohl jar (middle row 1st on left).

Alabaster Kohl Jar (back row 1st on left).

Alabaster kohl jar with lid/stone cosmetic container or Kohl pot.

Alabaster kohl jar card, stone jar containing piece of cloth.

Alabaster kohl jar with lid (back row last on right).

The round oil lamps were mass-produced in moulds with a variety of decoration. Oil was poured in through a central hole and wicks for light placed in the corner spouts.

Black figure with a four-horse chariot with a draped female figure

Red figure with Nike pouring at an altar [bits missng]

Design very worn

Charioteer driving a four-horse chariot

In November 1810, during the Peninsular War, Captain Joseph Fenwick was wounded in action with a French foraging party at Chamusca, Portugal. He had no ink with which to write a message so he wrote in his own blood: “I am shot through the body and arm for God sake send me a surgeon English if possible. If I do not recover God Bless you all.” Fenwick died of his wounds. In reporting his death the Duke of Wellington wrote: “he is lamented by all that had any knowledge of his gallantry.”

The gourd was used for burning coral to create lime, which was chewed with beetle leaves.

Specimen of linen cloth with wide purple border with pattern/Coptic textile.

Short length of linen cloth with edge of fringe/ mummy cloth.

Fragment of torn linen cloth with decanter shaped pattern, Coptic textile.

A weapon for close combat, with flanged head.

This mace is for close combat. The bottom part of it is hollow and conceals a second weapon: the shaft unscrews and becomes the grip of a slim, sharply pointed double-edged knife. The warrior using the mace thereby has a weapon for each hand.

At the top of the mace-head is a covered opening with a model cobra mounted on a spring. Removal of the cover releases the spring and the cobra pops up. It may have been intended as a decorative hook for hanging the mace.

A royal symbol of power with ‘chocolate orange’-style head, this mace may have been made for Khrshnaraja Wodeyar I (1714– 1732) or an earlier ruler of Mysore. The metal craftsmanship of the shaft is outstanding, with fine decoration of foliage and flowers in gold and silver koftgari inlay. The koftgari technique begins by incising or hatching pattern into the metal surface, then pressing gold or silver wire into the pattern.

The bottom section of the shaft unscrews to become the grip of a slim, sharply pointed double-edged knife concealed in the hollow shaft of the mace.

The Mahratta (Maratha) Empire was the most powerful in India until conquered by the British in the early 19th century. Mahratta warriors continued to fight the British. At the Battle of Punniar on 29 December 1843, during the British invasion of Gwalior, Mahratta fighters attacked the British forces but were driven off by the Buffs. During the fighting the Mahratta flag was defended bravely by a young warrior, like Lieutenant Latham at Albuhera, until he was killed. The flag was carried by the Buffs as a trophy until 1875, when it was place in this case at Fort William, Calcutta, India.

Bronze round mirror from Thebes.

The junk is a traditional South-East Asian boat. Each shipyard builds junks in a slightly different way so there are many varied types. Models like this were made for international exhibition.

This is a faithful model of a house built on stilts, near water or in areas subject to flooding. The roof tiles are of finely split wood planks.

Like the Chinese junk, this model of a canoe is made with care to detail of the oars, planks and construction of the full-size equivalent.

Fire-baskets were carried inside the Kashmiri Ph’aran or cloak for warmth.

Bronze mount, partly gilded, with an animal design.

Teardrop shaped decorated plaque. The piece is decorated with a pair of confronting and interfaced animals. The style of the decoration is closely paralleled in Canterbury manuscript illustrations of the period. It has been tentatively suggested that it may have been part of a book clasp.

String of 68 beads, of various colours.

Small libation altar.
It shows two libation vessels pouring an offering to the gods over two seeds which are beginning to bloom.

By the same maker as the Odysseus lamp (both stamped CIVNBIT). The helmeted head surrounded by stars may represent Night.

An oil lamp of unusual square shape, made by Caius Innius Bitus, who stamped his initials, CIVNBIT, on the back.
The image shows a scene from the Odyssey, the Greek epic poem by Homer. Odysseus (whom Romans called Ulysses) is sailing through dangerous waters off the coast of Ithaca, where Sirens lure mariners to their deaths on the rocks. He has put wax in the ears of his crew, so they don’t hear the Sirens, and has tied himself to the ship’s mast, to prevent the Sirens’ call from making him throw himself into the sea.

During the invasion of Zululand in 1879, the Buffs were in the right of three widely separated columns. They were attacked by Zulus but managed to beat off the attack and push on to their target, the missionary station at Eshowe. The central invasion column was wiped out at the Battle of Isandlwhana and the Buffs were besieged at Eshowe. The Zulus did not attack but surrounded the station and the Buffs were not relieved for 67 days.

One of the items taken from the Summer Palace at Peking (Beijing) was this ornamental screen. Its use in the palace, other than as decoration, is unknown.

Fragment with gilt front; chip carved decoration showing a stylised owl.

The 2nd Battalion of the Buffs was sent to South Africa in 1876. They sailed from Dublin for Capetown in the St Lawrence. At 3am one morning the ship hit rocks in Paternoster Bay on the west coast of South Africa and began to sink. There were only four lifeboats and all the passengers, soldiers and baggage had to be rowed ashore. An officer found a horse and rode to Capetown, 100 miles away, to fetch help. Three days after the wreck he returned with rescue ships. The watercolour shows the camp of the Buffs on the beach.

Triangular gold pendant.

Oval gold pendant.

Bracteate. Bracteates, thin single-sided gold medals, were worn as pendants on a string around the neck. They may have been seen as a protective amulet.

Coin. Minted in Canterbury for Archbishop Aethelheard during the reign of King Offa. We can date the coin to within just a few years, as Aethelheard became Archbishop in 793 and Offa died in 796.

Electroform copy of brooch. At the centre is the diademed head of King Eagar (reigned AD 959-975) the same as his portrait on coins. The inscription around the edge bears the name of the maker- Wydeman, a minter working in Shrewsbury in AD 970-980.This brooch was found in Canterbury, but the original is at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

A bone pin.

Copper Alloy pin with a garnet set into the head. There is a piece of gold foil behind the garnet to enhance the colour of the stone.

Five worked bone double-ended pinbeaters. Pinbeaters were used while weaving to adjust the placement of threads on the loom.

Three worked bone pins. These may have been used to hold a hair style, or perhaps to secure an item of clothing.

A bronze plaque possibly depicting the goddess Hathor.

Plaque with interlaced ‘Scandinavian style’ decoration. It may have been part of applique decoration on a chest or other piece of furniture.

Cut to show the interior

Electroform copy of portable sundial. The original is in the Canterbury Cathedral Archives. Abbreviated month names are written on each side of the sundial corresponding to the hole a peg should be placed into during that month. If dangled from its chain facing the sun, it would give an approximation of the time. Around its edges, an inscription reads ‘[SA]LVS FACTORI [PA]X POSSESSOR[I]’: ‘Health to my maker, peace to my owner.’

Building decoration fragment with Grecian honeysuckle and a face.

An Anglo French army invaded China in 1860 to enforce trade treaties on the Chinese Emperor. A landing was made at the Pei Ho river and the Taku forts, which guarded the river mouth, were captured.
John Moyse was a Private in the Buffs, having been demoted from Sergeant for insurbordination. He was captured by Tartar cavalry near the Taku forts on 12 August and after refusing to kow-tow (bow) to a Mandarin was executed. His defiant action was later immortalised by Sir Francis Hastings Doyle in his poem A Private of the Buffs.

Laurel leaves are symbolic of victory.

Radiate brooch, cast bronze.

Radiate brooch, cast bronze, ring and dot and chevron decoration on bow and foot.

After capturing the Taku forts the army moved on to Peking (Beijing), leaving the Buffs to garrison the forts. However, one officer of the Buffs, Colonel Mark Walker, was attached to the General’s staff and went to Peking, where the Emperor’s Summer Palace was looted and destroyed. Many beautiful items were lost, or destroyed, but some were auctioned and Colonel Walker bought this vase, and possibly the Arabic box also on display. The silver rim and stand were made in Calcutta in 1860.

During the Crimean War the Buffs took part in the siege of Sebastopol and were heavily involved in the assault on the largest of the city’s defences, the fort known as the Redan. During the attack Private John Connors rescued a wounded officer under heavy fire. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery. The men of the Buffs gave him a specially made medal in admiration of his actions, inscribed: ‘A token of admiration and esteem from his comrades to Pte J. Connors in recognition of his remarkable gallantry during the assault on the Redan Sept 8th 1855’.

Corporal Smith won this Victoria Cross during the Mohmand Campaign, an expedition against the Northwest Frontier tribes, in September 1897. One of a group answering a call for volunteers, he followed two Royal Engineers officers to the village of Bilot, Mamund Valley, in an attempt to dislodge the enemy. In a night lit by thunderstorms, and despite being wounded, Smith continued to fight and held the position until the return of an officer who had gone for help.

Major Maude was the commanding officer of the Buffs in the Crimea. He led the regiment in the attack on the Redan fort and was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery. The Buffs and other attackers managed to break into the fort, but were driven out under heavy fire losing 32 killed and 106 wounded from an original strength of 260 men. Despite having held the fort the Russian withdrew from Sevastapol that night. The Buffs were the only British Regiment to enter the ruined city.

A blue cartouche bearing the name ‘Amenhotep’ set in a modern ring.

A blue faience ring in the shape of the Wadjet Eye.

Rune stone. One of the only two surviving pagan grave markers from the period. (The other is to the left of the case). They may have been made by invading Scandinavian warriors to commemorate comrades who fell in battle.

Inscribed ‘At the taking of Sebastopol, on the 9th September, 1855, this was found Enshrined on the Altar of a large Church’, this religious painting was brought back to England by J. N. Sargent, an officer of the 95th rifle regiment, who transferred to the Buffs in 1860. In Russian Othodox churches the nave is generally separated from the sanctuary by a screen wall of icons with double doors in the centre. Icons usually

Given by a young Cossak schoolmistress when Lansdell ‘fell in love with it’ and asked to buy it.

This curved sword was used by Nair warriors from Travancore. It has a single-edged blade re-curving towards the end known as Yatagan-style. The hilt (handle) extensions onto the blade are decorated with lotus scrolls.

Rare gilded bronze saucer brooch of West Saxon type, one of a pair.

An un-inscribed faience scarab with a hole for cord.

A steatite stone scarab.
The scarab beetle was often carved on top of stamp seals. The underside could include names, titles, or other important information that the owner could stamp on clay or papyrus.

A faience scarab with a hole for cord.

A faience scarab with a hole for cord.

Scarab.

Scarab.

Faience scarab in the shape of Amun Re Cartouche.

Stone scarab in the shape of a jackal base. Hole for cord.

Stone with some turquoise patches scarab in the shape of a jackal base. Hole for cord.

Soapstone scarab with two cobras on cartouche. Hole for cord.

Faience scarab. Hole for cord.

Soapstone scarab with cartouche of god and goddess. Hole for cord.

Soapstone scarab - possibly fake. Hole for cord.

Faience scarab. Hole for cord.

Blue scarab bead.

Green glazed scarab bead.

Blue scarab bead.

Two scarab beads in the shape of Tutmosis III and Dyn. Stone and bone.

Green scarab bead.

Green double scarab bead.

Blue scarab bead.

Faience scarab with missing wings; would have been sewn on mummy netting.

Dark green scarab bead.

Flat blue faience scarab and wings and string of plain green beads.

Semi precious stone: amethyst - either a fake or middle intermediate period. Hole for cord.

Faience scaraboid with a hole for cord.

A soapstone scaraboid in the shape of ankh car.

Bone scaraboid with a hole for cord.

Faience scaraboid with inscription ‘the good god Tutmosis’ on base. Hole for cord.

Stone scaraboid with a hawk and cobra cartouche. Hole for cord.

Stone scaraboid in the shape of fish with Amun Re on base. Hole for cord.

Coin. Probably known as ‘pennies’ when they were in use, these coins were minted in Kent, Frisia and Jutland. The earliest sceatta in Britain were minted in Kent and the Thames estuary.

Coin. Probably known as ‘pennies’ when they were in use, these coins were minted in Kent, Frisia and Jutland. The earliest sceatta in Britain were minted in Kent and the Thames estuary.

Finely carved and probably from a discus-thrower sculpture.

Bronze ring with cartouche bearing a hieroglyphic inscription.

Blue faience Shabti.

Blue faience Shabti.

Shabti.

Blue faience uShabti.

Dark green glazed Shabtin figure/faience worker Shabti.

Faience Shabti.

Dark green faience Shabti

Shabtis were included in Egyptian burials to work for the tomb owner in the afterlife. They were believed by the Ancient Egyptians to spring to life and do all the hard work for the dead in their heaven, the Kingdom of Osiris. This particular Shabti has been finished with green faience.

Pattern inside of circular radiations including the branches of a palm or yew.

Pearl shells for the necklace have been carefully serrated round the edges and bound with pandanus (aromatic plant) leaves, hibiscus string and dyed black fibres.

Iron shield boss. Found 9” from the grave floor and 15” from the head of the grave, suggesting that the width of shield was not more than 30”.

A shield carved with an integral handle on the reverse from the same piece of wood. Split cane has been added during construction for strength.

Firangi means ‘foreigner’ and this type of sword originally incorporated European blades, or ones made locally in European style. It has a typical South Indian disc-shaped pommel (handle end).

Lansdell signed this book to Mrs James Hill on 24th July 1885. He was staying in Riga, Latvia at the time probably in preparation for another journey, this time through Russian Central Asia.
The donor bought the book in 2000 in a second hand bookshop in Riga.

Ritual object representing firmness of spirit – combining diamond (which cuts anything but can’t itself be cut) and thunderbolt (irresistible force).

Silver Penny of Edward the Confessor (1042-1066 AD). Edward was the last king of the House of Wessex, and the son of Æthelred the Unready. Traditionally thought to be unworldly and pious, Edward died without an heir. He promised William of Normandy the throne before his death, but then seemed to offer it to Harold Godwinson on his deathbed, asking him to protect Edward’s wife. This uncertainty and indecision caused the Norman conquest of England.

Penny depicting King Alfred the Great. The fifth son of the King Aelthelwulf, Alfred ruled from 871-899AD – the royal succession passed along the line of brothers rather than risk falling to a child in the face of Viking aggression. Alfred successfully fended off the Vikings from his kingdom and at the time of his death was known as King of the English.

Penny depicting Archbishop Plegmund. Plegmund was from Mercia, and possibly lived as a hermit in a Cheshire marsh until he was summoned by King Alfred first to his court and then to become the Archbishop of Canterbury. This coin was minted in Canterbury, where the Archbishop had the right to mint his own coins.

Coin depicting Æthelred II, also known as ‘Æthelred the Unready’. Æthelred was king twice. He came to the throne first at the age of ten in 978 and ruled until 1013, at which point a Viking invasion led him to flee to France. The Vikings retreated the next year, and Æthelred returned to the throne from 1014 to 1016. His title ‘Unready’ comes from an old English word which means ‘badly advised’. The moneyer Leofstan made this coin.

Silver Penny of Cnut, who ruled in England from 1016- 1035AD. Cnut was born in modern Denmark and was at by the end of his life, in his own words, “King of all England and Denmark and the Norwegians and of some of the Swedes”. After conquering England after a bloody 14 month campaign from 1015-1016, his reign restored the prosperity England had largely lost due to the threat of Viking raiders. The moneyer Wulstan made this coin.

Portion of silver twisted ring.

Silver gilt spoon with swastika in niello on junction of bowl and handle. Found between knees of skeleton.

With heads and birds on the bowl, and the faces of a man and woman across a swan.

Foliated pattern in red and black

Gladiator holding a shield

Small flasks and jugs used for toilet oil, perfume and condiments. The colours were achieved by covering parts of the clay pots with slip (diluted clay solution). The iron oxide naturally present in the clay turned from red to black, or back to red, depending on fi ring conditions. Further pigments could be added to the slip.

Copper alloy brooch with cup and dot decoration at head and foot. This type of brooch was generally worn in a pair.

Copper alloy brooch. This type of brooch was generally worn in a pair.

One of a pair of snowshoes used by animal trappers and made from local materials except for the cloth, which probably came from Stroud in Gloucestershire, which had trading links with Canadian trappers.

At first glance these look like British birds: partridges, cuckoo, woodpecker, pigeon and dove, all familiar in our cities and countryside. But the birds come from southern India.
The Canterbury Philosophical and Literary Institution reported in 1830 the gift from ‘Stephen Lushington of many birds from a mountainous region in Madras at an elevation of between eight and nine thousand feet from the level of the Sea’. Many were very similar to birds found in Britain and showed that high altitude in a warm southern climate provides similar conditions to lower altitude in a cooler northern climate. Among the birds were the sparrow hawk, henharrier, hoopoe and woodcock.

The cases of birds in the museum of Canterbury Philosophical and Literary Institution were ‘so peculiarly attractive to visitors’, according to the Institution’s annual report, that ‘the Curators … felt themselves bound to increase the Collection of Birds by every means in their power.’

In this original case are seven woodpeckers, two Indian ring necked parakeets, a plum-headed and a Malabar parakeet, two nightjars (birds that hunt at night, with pointed wings and long tails), a needle-tailed swift (the fastest bird in flapping flight), a hoopoe (with distinctive crown of feathers), three partridges, five cuckoos, four different plovers, various quail, a necklace dove and Indian green-winged dove, a black-winged stilt (long-legged wader), two pigeons, and various other birds.

The Canterbury Philosophical and Literary Institution reported in 1830 the ‘valuable presentations made by His Excellency the present Governor of Madras,’ Stephen Lushington, ‘which comprise specimens of several of the noble Mammalia of that Country, as the Bengal Tiger…, Leopard…, Panther…, Ounce…, Elk… &c, &c.; also a magnificent Skull of a large domesticated Elephant with tusks; as well as upwards of 150 species of the feathered race, some of which as the Vulture, Hornbill, Roller, Barbet, Nuthatch, and Ibis, have enabled the Curators to fill up Genera which were before wholly wanting in the [museum] cases.’

The largest of the birds in this original ‘Phil and Lit’ museum case is the giant hornbill. It can eat seeds as large as avocado stones but is omnivorous, like the three other hornbills, eating small animals as well as fruit.

The rest of the birds in this case are waders or shallow-water feeders, living where there is plentiful food along shorelines or on lakes. The ibis, to the right of the giant hornbill, is a wader with a long down-curved bill, which it prods in the mud to find shellfish. In ancient Egypt the African ibis was sacred and associated with the moon god Thoth. It can be found on several artefacts in the Ancient Egypt showcase to the right of this case.

A Maori stone club and a throwing club from Fiji, both of them for use, not decoration.

People living in the South Seas have created a large range of different fishhooks, each suited to catching a particular type of fish.

These paddles and scoop date from about 1815 to 1840. They are for decoration rather than practical use and were originally made for local trade. As the South Seas opened up to visitors from the west, the decorative paddles became much sought-after collectors’ items among Europeans.

They were made on one island, Ra’ivavae, but some were traded to Taluh, another island, and acquired from there. The carvings were made with sharks’ teeth or European tools. One paddle is decorated with heads and dancing girls. The scoop has an unusual squared handle.

These battle or ceremonial spears are made in two sections that screw together; one is displayed in two parts, unscrewed. The shafts are richly decorated and show elaborate workmanship; some of the gilding has worn away with use. The spearheads are also engraved with scrolling foliage and gilded.

Each spearhead has a velvet-covered wooden sheath, decorated with gilded mounts.

These long spears are particular to people living in the Torres Strait. They are richly decorated status symbols and have hollow bottoms.

Bone spindle whorl with incised decoration. Spindle whorls were used when spinning wool into yarn. Attached to the spindle, they helped maintain the speed of the spin used to twist the raw wool into a long thread. Using a spindle whorl helped maintain the same thickness of the wool as it was spun.

Two bone Spindle whorl.

Spindle whorl of very dark blue or green glass with inlaid white glass decoration. Anglo-Saxon Eastry appears to have been a place of some size and much importance. The Kings of Kent had a palace, and often held court there.

Two Ceramic spindle whorls.

May be a child’s feeding pot.

Square headed brooch decorated with the ring-and-dot motifs popular in the early Saxon period. This type of brooch is one of the most common worn by the Anglo-Saxons, and was used to secure clothing.

Square-headed brooch fragment with gilding

Small square headed brooch, silver gilt.

Small square headed brooch, silver gilt.

Silver-gilt square-headed brooch of a cruciform shape, jeweled and set with 9 garnets.

Square-headed silver-gilt brooch.

Square-headed silver-gilt brooch with an undivided foot and a motif decorating footplate which shows rampant animals either side of the foot reaching up to the bow.

Glass Vessel.

This head of a military standard was found during digging of docks for Nelson’s fleet at the Battle of the Nile in 1798. Standards identified particular branches of the Egyptian army and were readily visible to help rally troops.

Statuette head, depicting Osiris.
A small painted bronze head of Osiris wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt. This conical shaped headpiece was worn as early as 3000BC. The White Crown may actually have been green because it is believed to be have been made from reeds.

Bronze cobra’s head statuette, Uraeus Cobra.

Ganesh is the lord of success and destroyer of vanity, selfishness and pride. The god’s pot belly signifies the bounty of nature.

The Hindu idol of a woman was acquired by Lansdell at the same time as that of Ganesh.

Twenty years before this original of this engraved portrait was painted, the writer Jane Austen described meeting Lushington at Godmersham, near Canterbury, while visiting her niece, Fanny Knight: “I like him very much,” she wrote to her sister, Cassandra (October 1813). “I am sure he is clever, and a man of taste. He got a volume of Milton last night, and spoke of it with warmth. He is quite an MP, very smiling, with an exceeding good address and readiness of language. I am rather in love with him. I dare say he is ambitious and insincere. ... He has a wide smiling mouth, and very good teeth.”

Fanny Knight noted in her pocket book: “Mr Lushington sang. He has a lovely voice, and is quite delightful.”

Decorated stirrup. The foot tread has been repaired. Metal stirrups changed warfare because they allowed horsemen to fight standing up, with greater control of their weapons.
The 11th century was a period of Viking raids on Kent. Canterbury was besieged and ransacked by a Danish army in 1011-12. This is probably when the stirrup was introduced into England for the first time. Horses and equipment were expensive, so few people owned them. The repair to the foot tread shows that the stirrup was highly valued.

Stirrup strap mount depicting standing figure surrounded by snakes.
Mounts like these were used to join the stirrup to its leather strap. The strap was passed through the loop at the top of the stirrup, and was then held in place by one of these mounts fixed to it with rivets. The serpent decoration is characteristic of Viking art.

Stirrup strap mount depicting two rampant beasts. Decoration featuring animals is characteristic of Viking art.

Stirrup strap mount depicting a bird.

Small object in red stone/fruit amulet in carnelian or haematite.

A strap end would have been affixed to the end of a belt or strap of a harness as decoration. They would protect the leather end of the strap and make it easier to thread, but despite this very functional purpose they were still considered jewellery in their own right.

Strap end. A strap end would have been attached to the end of a belt or strap of a harness as decoration. They would protect the leather end of the strap and make it easier to thread, but despite this very functional purpose they were still considered jewellery in their own right.

Strap end.

Strap end.

“The Gilyaks believe in wooden idols or charms as antidotes to disease,” wrote Lansdell. Plague had been raging across Russia in 1879.
The Gilyaks lived near the border with China. At Tyr, on the rivers Amur and Amaun, Lansdell “wished to buy some of the little amulets belonging to the head of the household” of a Gilyak family, including “those of his baby, one of them a doll in a sitting posture”. But the man was unwilling to sell until offered “a silver piece”. Then he “sent after me a fish rudely cut in wood, and meant for a sturgeon [the fish famous for its roe, known as caviar], with a little god seated on his back. This had been used, apparently, not long before, on a fishing expedition.”
Lansdell had his photograph taken wearing Gilyak clothing and holding the sturgeon god.

Silver-gilt sword ring inlaid with niello.

A Maori weapon for fighting, decorated with a head, eyes and a tongue.

“We bought some embroidered purses of native workmanship, and cups and saucers. The saucers are of a lozenge-shape, and of metal, with an indentation fitted to receive the bottom of the cup, which has no handle. Hence, in drinking the tea, it was not necessary to finger the cup, but merely to hold the saucer and drink from the cup resting therein.” (Henry Lansdell, Through Siberia, 1882)

Maimatchin was a male-only Russo-Chinese trading town on the Mongolian.

Drummers of the Buffs would have carried drums like this one into battle during the Napoleonic Wars. These drums were particularly deep to produce a loud sound as drum signals were used to relay commands across noisy battlefields.
The badge of the Buffs had been a dragon since at least 1707 so it is odd that the drum should have a white horse badge on it. Drums were also used to attract a crowd during recruiting and as East Kent had been given to the regiment as its recruiting area in 1782 it may have been intended to increase the number of local men eager to join up.

There are traces of red paint on the terracotta.

Figures sculpted in baked clay – terracotta – were very popular. Some may have been used for funerary or religious ritual, others for decoration or amusement. The seated figure of Dionysus (Bacchus) is a wine pitcher, his headdress the spout. Other terracottas include a wolf’s head, a pomegranate, and a pig and bird, probably toys. The round terracotta tablet, of unknown purpose, is inscribed ‘Augustus and Caesar’, with the maker’s initials ‘SR’.
The partial foot of a marble sculpture, with sandal thongs imitating creepers, was found at Athens, the hand with scroll at Adrianople (modern Edirne), Turkey.
Presented by Viscount Strangford to Canterbury Philosophical and Literary Institution Museum, 1844, and acquired through purchase of the museum by Canterbury Corporation, 1846-47

A electroform copy of the Bishop Liudhard Medalet, now in the World Museum Liverpool. The Medalet honours Queen Bertha’s chaplain and was probably created prior to St Augustine’s arrival in 597 AD.

A fine example of an Anglo Saxon pendant made from a gold disc inlaid with garnets and glass. The empty central spaces would have been filled with white paste to form a cross.

An animal-head pendant. It is made from a sheet of gold decorated with gold filigree and granules. One of the eye sockets is now empty, but the other has a deeply sunken garnet set in it. The decoration and style are similar to other pendants that date from the Ninth century, but the suspension loop at the back of the head is unique among Anglo Saxon finds.
Purchased with grant-aid from Arts Council England/Victoria and Albert Museum Purchase Grant Fund and the Headley Trust

Circular stone objects, probably used in a game.

Lansdell travelled with a letter of introduction from the Archbishop of Canterbury, hoping to gain entry to the closed city of Lhasa, Tibet.

He was unable to cross from India to Tibet. Travelling to China he was again prevented from crossing: the British ambassador feared upsetting the Chinese. Lansdell had to be content with buying Tibetan items from a merchant, “Baltistan Leh”, who had visited Tibet.

Lansdell travelled with a letter of introduction from the Archbishop of Canterbury, hoping to gain entry to the closed city of Lhasa, Tibet.
He was unable to cross from India to Tibet. Travelling to China he was again prevented from crossing: the British ambassador feared upsetting the Chinese. Lansdell had to be content with buying Tibetan items from a merchant, “Baltistan Leh”, who had visited Tibet.

Lansdell travelled with a letter of introduction from the Archbishop of Canterbury, hoping to gain entry to the closed city of Lhasa, Tibet.
He was unable to cross from India to Tibet. Travelling to China he was again prevented from crossing: the British ambassador feared upsetting the Chinese. Lansdell had to be content with buying Tibetan items from a merchant, “Baltistan Leh”, who had visited Tibet.

Lansdell travelled with a letter of introduction from the Archbishop of Canterbury, hoping to gain entry to the closed city of Lhasa, Tibet.
He was unable to cross from India to Tibet. Travelling to China he was again prevented from crossing: the British ambassador feared upsetting the Chinese. Lansdell had to be content with buying Tibetan items from a merchant, “Baltistan Leh”, who had visited Tibet.

Lansdell travelled with a letter of introduction from the Archbishop of Canterbury, hoping to gain entry to the closed city of Lhasa, Tibet.

He was unable to cross from India to Tibet. Travelling to China he was again prevented from crossing: the British ambassador feared upsetting the Chinese. Lansdell had to be content with buying Tibetan items from a merchant, “Baltistan Leh”, who had visited Tibet.

Headrests were valued, high status items. This example has inlaid decoration including a flying bird. It is probably one of the objects collected during Captain Cook’s voyages and distributed among museums in Britain.

Hundreds of metres of linen were used to wrap a mummy. It didn’t just come in bandage-like strips, but shrouds, large sheets that covered the body like a cape. Bandages were wrapped very tight to maintain the mummies distinctive shape, and brushed with a sticky resin to stick them together.

Tweezers are often found in Anglo-Saxon graves. They may have been worn on a necklace or attached to a belt, but either way their inclusion in a grave shows how dedicated the Anglo-Saxons were to personal hygiene.

Two glass beakers of yellow-green glass.

Two glass beakers.

This square marble relief shows one of the labours of Hercules, who was tasked with stealing apples from the Garden of the Hesperides, guarded by a serpent. Hercules tricked Atlas into doing the task. The latter’s cloak is shown flowing behind to suggest speed.

With four figures, the two central ones fighting

Tagged, like most of Lansdell’s collection, with labels describing where and when acquired.

Stone lidded pots for storing kohl or galena eye-paint. Several found in an early New Kingdom shaft tomb of about 1550–1450 BC (Y66) near Abydos by William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853–1942).

Glass vessel.

Cast in bronze to resemble a bird. This shape has been found both in Kent and in Northern France, and it is one of the ways we know about the close links of the Anglo Saxons across the Channel.

This type of knife with heavy single-edged blade and no guard was used in Coorg, on the Western Ghat mountains, and Malabar, between the Western Ghats and Arabian Sea.

An arm guard fitted with English-style box-lock flintlock pistols and a triangular-shaped ‘flick’ bayonet. This gauntlet would probably have been a back-up weapon to a sword, or pata gauntlet sword, in the warrior’s other hand. However, whether it was a combat weapon is uncertain. Pistols were occasionally combined with swords in Indian arms. But this unusual piece is more likely a novelty weapon made for European visitors.

The arm guard is displayed to show the hinged underside, which fitted snugly round the forearm.

This shield was made for the European souvenir market. It is styled on the fighting shield, known as a dhal, but with rich inlaid decoration of foliage patterns.

Rajasthan was the centre for manufacture and decoration of the traditional Indian round dhal fighting shields, with shallow domed shape and four metal bosses (round knobs) on the front corresponding to handle fixings inside. Dhal varied in size and could be made of metal or animal hide.

Rhino hide was popular because it is translucent: a shield similar to the one here is displayed in the Materials and Masters gallery to show how light passes through the hide.

Indian long sword of the type known as a Firangi (from ‘Frank’, meaning ‘foreigner’) because such swords originally incorporated European or other foreign blades, or ones made locally in European style.

It has a basket-type hilt (sword-handle) with a hand-guard above the crossbar. The grip (hand-hold) ends in a pommel of round discs. A spike extends from the pommel, enabling the sword to be used two-handed, but also providing a second, close-combat weapon. Hilts like this with a spike are known as Khanda style. It is decorated with gold inlay and turquoises; there are also inscriptions in Persian and Hindi. From the 16th century onwards Mughal rule in India meant that Persian culture and crafts were adopted.

Firangi means ‘foreigner’ and this type of sword originally incorporated European blades, or ones made locally in European style.

These Jibbah or Jibbeh tunics belonged to officers in the Islamic Mahdi army. They are made from strips of hand-spun and woven cotton with appliqué of coloured woollen patches. The frugality of these garments and their clear re-use of textiles accord with the Islamic principles of humility and poverty adopted by the Mahdists. The patterned design of these tunics helped make Mahdi officers visible to their troops in battle.

A Hindu punch or thrust dagger for close combat, with characteristic ‘H’-shaped hand-grip and double-edged ‘knuckleduster’ blade. These were often made from broken sword blades.

The Kris is a traditional Malay knife. One or several of these may the Kris knives given to the museum after their seizure from the forces of Tipu Sultan, ruler of Mysore, at Seringapatam, South India, in 1799.

Short knives used by the Gurkhas of Nepal are called Kukri. They have an inward-curved cutting edge and are used as both weapons and tools, like a machete. One has a dog-head handle, the other a dragon-head.

Ancient Greek pottery is predominantly red and black. The colours were achieved by covering parts of the clay pots with slip (diluted clay solution) and firing at different temperatures. Early decoration was black-on-red, succeeded from about 500 BC by red-on-black. Several pots are made in the tall, slim Lekythos shape particular to Athens.
The decoration includes images of a charioteer driving quadriga (four-horse chariot) and a Nike (winged victory) pouring a libation (liquid offering) at an altar. The small black spouted vessel may be a child’s feeding pot.

The Lekythos is a type of tall vase particular to ancient Athens. It contained oil for funerary offerings.
The image shows a crucial moment in the story of mythological hero Agamemnon. He had returned from years of war in Troy to find his wife, Clytemnestra, was having an affair with his cousin Aigisthus. The adulterous pair murdered Agamemnon and neglected to observe correct funeral rites. Agamemnon’s daughter, Electra, sent her younger brother, Orestes, to safety. Years later he returned, and the two met and recognised one another at their father’s tomb (represented by the column). They planned how to avenge his death.

The Lekythos is a type of tall vase particular to ancient Athens. It contained oil for funerary offerings. The colours were achieved by covering parts of the clay pots with slip (diluted clay solution). Iron oxide naturally present in the clay turned from red to black, or back to red, depending on firing conditions. Further pigments could be added to the slip. This example has leaf patterns.

The Lekythos is a type of tall vase particular to ancient Athens. It contained oil for funerary offerings. The colours were achieved by covering parts of the clay pots with slip (diluted clay solution). Iron oxide naturally present in the clay turned from red to black, or back to red, depending on firing conditions. Further pigments could be added to the slip.
Black-on-red decoration was favoured initially, like this example with charioteer driving a quadriga (four-horse chariot).

The Lekythos is a type of tall vase particular to ancient Athens. It contained oil for funerary offerings. The colours were achieved by covering parts of the clay pots with slip (diluted clay solution). Iron oxide naturally present in the clay turned from red to black, or back to red, depending on firing conditions. Further pigments could be added to the slip.
Black-on-red decoration was favoured initially. From about 500 BC red-on-black predominated like this example depicting a woman holding a mirror.

The Pata, or gauntlet sword, was used by Maratha warriors during their long but eventually successful war against the Persian Mughal empire (1681-1707). Maratha warriors were trained to fight with two patas, one in each hand, or with a single pata in one hand and an axe or spear in the other. The snug-fitting steel gauntlet covers the fighter’s hand, wrist and part of their forearm. Inside the gauntlet is a metal crossbar, gripped by the fist. The sword becomes effectively an extension of the arm, for slash and thrust with a double-edged blade.

The steel arm-guard here is formed in the shape of an elephant being devoured by a Makara (demon). This ornate weapon may have been a royal sword.

A dagger with a re-curving blade of very finely forged steel, designed to penetrate chain mail and other armour. This type was introduced to India by the Persian Mughals and is also called an Afghan or Khyber knife.

This weapon used mainly by horsemen is decorated with bird motifs. Two concealed knives emerge from the hammer head of the axe.

A weapon used for close combat, with a crescent-shaped blade and pick.

Angled swords like this are known as Temple Swords and are associated with the Nair people of Malabar. They were used for religious and domestic ceremonies.

Used by cavalry or similar mounted soldiers, with a single-edged blade. Sabres are often called scimitars, from their Persian name Shamshir. The pommel (handle end) is disc-shaped.

Used by cavalry or similar mounted soldiers, with a single-edged blade. Sabres are often called scimitars, from their Persian name Shamshir. The pommel (handle end) is disc-shaped. This sabre has a Rajput basket-style hilt (sword-handles with knuckle guard).

The grooves on the blade (sometimes mistakenly called ‘blood grooves’) are known as fullers and help create a lighter blade whilst maintaining its strength.

Used by cavalry or similar mounted soldiers, with a single-edged blade. Sabres are often called scimitars, from their Persian name Shamshir. The pommel (handle end) is disc-shaped.

The grooves on the blade (sometimes mistakenly called ‘blood grooves’) are known as fullers and help create a lighter blade whilst maintaining its strength.

Used by cavalry or similar mounted soldiers, with a single-edged blade. Sabres are often called scimitars, from their Persian name Shamshir. The pommel (handle end) is disc-shaped. This sabre has a Rajput basket-style hilt (sword-handles with knuckle guard) and a Khanda style with spike on the pommel.

The grooves on the blade (sometimes mistakenly called ‘blood grooves’) are known as fullers and help create a lighter blade whilst maintaining its strength.

Yatagan short sabres are Ottoman Turkish in origin. They have a slightly re-curved blade and no guard on the hilt (handle).