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Powell-Cotton. Rowland Ward Taxidermy. (www.Taxidermy4cash.com)

The Museum was established by Majorcontrary, many species that were
Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton, whoendangered in Powell-Cotton's time are
spent forty years exploring Africa andnow thriving as a result of his
Asia and collecting in the UK. Once he'deducational legacy. The museum is also
run out of room in the house, he built aproud of its primate collection. Many of
'Pavilion' alongside. This was opened tothese were traded from local people who
family and friends around 1895, androutinely hunted the animals for food.
today it is just one gallery in a museumOther galleries display a wide range of
that displays around 400 animalAfrican cultural artefacts, including
specimens. The overall collection isjewellery, costumes, weapons and
huge and the curator, Malcolm Harman,domestic utensils. The exhibition helps
admits that the artefacts never beento put many of these into context, with
totalled up. He estimates that thebackground information and photographs
ethnography section alone containsof many of the ethnic groups that
around 18,000 items.Powell-Cotton met during his travels.
Arguably the most famous galleries areThe collection bug was also passed on to
those housing the taxidermy. Moderntwo of the Major's daughters, who added
attitudes have, perhaps, distorted theseveral thousand objects, photographs
scientific nature of the collection andand films from their own travels in
although some sections may not be toAngola.
everyone's taste, Powell-Cotton was aIn one of the most exciting and diverse
genuine conservationist. Many of thecollections in private ownership, there
animals are displayed in such aare also displays of local archaeology,
convincing manner that you almost forgetfirearms and cutting weapons from around
you're not on the African Savannah. Asthe world, Asian artefacts, Japanese
well as the stunning dioramas there areNetsuke and porcelain. Many of these
mounted heads and carefully preserveditems were obtained by the Major from
skins. The glass case housing a lion insale rooms and auctions. Much of the
mid-attack on a buffalo is one of myporcelain came from the collection of Mr
personal favourites. Irrespective ofPope, a former Catholic missionary.
your moral stance on PercyHaving purchased some of the items at
Powell-Cotton's hunting exploits,auction, Major Powell-Cotton arranged to
nothing brings home the reality of thebuy the rest privately. They consist of
natural world better than this stunningEuropean and Chinese export pieces and
example of the taxidermist's art.some of the most prized items are those
The collection contains almost everythat were made exclusively for use by
African mammal (there are over 5,000the Imperial Emperor in the Forbidden
additional species behind the scenes),City. Most of this dates from the Quing
including some species that casualand Minq Dynasties and includes examples
visitors would be forgiven for neverof the highly prized and exclusive
hearing of, such as Mrs Gray's Lechwe'yellow' porcelain reserved for the
and Hunter's Hartebeest. No animal inEmperor's immediate family.
the collection is extinct. On the



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