Welcome from our Chair of Trustees
The Powell Cotton Trust (PCT) which consists of a museum, gardens and Grade II listed house, based in Thanet, Kent, is now actively recruiting for new trustees to strengthen its Board and help lead the PCT charity during an exciting time of change and growth.
We are actively seeking three/four additional trustees with experience in Marketing; Income Generation & Fundraising; Property Management and/or Digital/Online Services.
The Museum was established at Quex Park in 1896 by Percy Powell-Cotton (1866-1940) to house natural history museum specimens, cultural objects and photographs collected on expeditions to Asia and Africa. Powell-Cotton was a pioneer in the use of the diorama to display mounted mammals in representations of their natural habitats. The museum dioramas are outstanding examples, unique to the UK, stunning for their size, quality and imagery.
The Museum’s collection includes over 20,000 ethnographic objects; 6,500 mammal specimens; fine and decorative arts from across Asia; approximately 8,000 archaeological finds from the Thanet coastline and an archive of supportive material including over 30,000 photographs and 40,000 documents.
We welcome many different audiences to enjoy and view our museum through volunteering, visiting, academic research and co-collaboration. In turn, we support and encourage the study and understanding of the zoological, ecological and cultural diversity unique to the many countries and communities represented through our collections.
We’ve provided a comprehensive information pack for you below.
If you wish to apply for the role of trustee, please submit an up-to-date CV (including names and contact details of two referees) and a covering letter of no more than two pages explaining why you are interested in this role and the contribution you think you would make to the PCT as a Trustee.
Please return your application by post and mark it ‘Confidential’ for the attention of CEO, The Powell-Cotton Museum, House & Gardens, Quex Park, Birchington, CT7 0BH or by email to nigel.lewis@powell-cottontrust.org.
Information pack
Please read this attachment to understand our current work, commitments and intentions that underpin our forward plan.
Information Pack
A new year brings a new series of #WhatsInStoreWednesday!
Today's stored objects are linked by their weight. The brass neck rings and bracelets were collected in 1927 by Percy Powell-Cotton in present day Cameroon (then French Cameroon). Percy collected approximately 100 such objects during this trip. We don't know why he collected so many, but they are many different shapes, sizes and weights. These items represented wealth. Owning and wearing them showed your wealth and allowed you to carry your wealth with you. They would have been very heavy to wear.
The other three items are also from Cameroon, but were collected between 1933-1935 by Fred Merfield, an associate of Percy's who was better known as a naturalist. These interestingly shaped iron objects are bride wealth, essentially a type of dowry. They are extremely heavy, weighing between 10-15lbs.
Objects that are both fragile and very heavy face a challenge for museum storage. Today we've been repacking them from large crates in to small boxes so that they can be stored safely, but also moved safely by staff if needed. Remember folks - bend from the knees!
#ObjectInfocus #BehindTheScenes
This doll was given to Diana Powell-Cotton while she was travelling in the Bajuni Islands, off the south coast of Somalia. We don’t know who made it – Diana didn’t record that – but she did record that it was meant to be a likeness of her!
Find out more here: https://bit.ly/Somalia_Doll
#whatsinstorewednesday #objectinfocus
This is the skull of a female western lowland gorilla from Cameroon. As we take the time to research more deeply into our collections, we start to address questions around the ethics of collecting natural history for museums.
Find out more here: http://bit.ly/westernlowlandgorillaskull
#reimaginingthemuseum #objectinfocus
Often when we look at museum objects, we are curious to know their real, sentimental meaning. We might ask questions such as 'who did this belong to?', or 'was it special to that person?'
The hat we have just added to our collections map belonged to Tchiliwandele, a Soba (chief of a small community) in Angola. Find out more about his hat and other special objects in our Collection by exploring our Collections map https://powell-cottonmuseum.org/collections/
Every object has a story to tell.
#whatsinstorewednesday #objectinfocus
Today's #ObjectInFocus is one of Percy's Kashmir maps - complete with annotations of his journey. Many of the small villages he visited over 100 years ago either no longer exist, or have different names today, so these maps are a vital source for researching our collections.
While we can't access the Museum, our collections team are going to share some of their favourite objects: 'This woman's chest ornament made of brass and cowerie shells on thick red felted fabric was collected in Kargil, a town in Ladakh, near the Himalayas. Percy travelled there in 1893 - one of four trips he made to the region. What I like about it, is that it's so colourful and eye-catching; it has a warmth at odds with the Himalayan winter Percy would have been experiencing. In his lifetime Percy didn't collect many textiles, so this is quite a special item in the collection'.
Dr. Inbal Livne, Head of Collections and Engagement.
#ObjectInFocus #MuseumFromHome #Museums