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'Self-portrait Dreaming of Portavadie', by Pinkie Maclure, Tayport, Fife, Scotland, (2019)
'Self-portrait Dreaming of Portavadie', by Pinkie Maclure, Tayport, Fife, Scotland, (2019)
The collections of decorative arts, craft, jewellery, glass, ceramics, metalwork, furniture and product design comprise over 11,000 objects. They include work by leading figures of Aestheticism, the Arts and Crafts, and Art Nouveau movements, as well as a significant collection of studio and art glass donated by Dan Klein (1938-2009) and Alan J. Poole, and one of three nationally significant modern and contemporary jewellery collections.
Find out more about our Decorative Arts, Craft and Design collections
Combined with the historic dress and textiles collections pre-dating 1850, our collection of European and North American fashion and textiles consists of c. 50,000 items. The modern and contemporary collections include the archives of British fashion designer Jean Muir (1928-1995), comprising an estimated 18,000 items, and of the Serbian artist, colourist and textile designer, Bernat Klein (1922-2015), comprising over 4,000 objects.
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Collection responsibility: Head of the Modern & Contemporary design section, specialising in fashion and textiles from 1850 to the present day, and the development of the contemporary fashion collections.
Research interests: Jean Muir (fl. 1962-1995); contemporary couture and new technologies in fashion; constructs of masculinity in contemporary menswear and image-making; diversity and inclusivity in the fashion industry.
Collection responsibility: British, European and other ‘Western’ glass, ceramics, metalware, jewellery and industrial design circa 1945 – present.
Research interests: Nordic and British Modernist Jewellery Design, Contemporary Craft with a focus on Ceramics, Glass and Jewellery, 20th century European Art and Design and the integration and interpretation of historical collections by working artists and makers.
Collection responsibility: European ceramics, glass, precious and base metalwork from circa 1800 to 1945.
Research interests: Staffordshire ceramics, especially Minton & Co.; British pottery made for export; printing on pottery; the Renaissance revival in Britain and Italy.
Collection responsibility: Working with fashion and textiles from 1850 to the present day.
Research interests: Post-war textile design in Britain, émigré designers, artist textiles and modern tapestry.
Collection responsibility: Providing curatorial support across the Art and Design department, focussed on modern and contemporary collections, including exhibitions and enquiries.
Research interests: Furniture and product design circa 1900 – present, design anthropology, design and the art market.
Our collections from Asia represent its cultural diversity. More than 50,000 items from across the continent allow an insight into artistic exchange, trade relations, imperial histories and religious beliefs.
The European Decorative Arts section encompasses gold and silver, sculpture, ceramics, glass, enamels, arms and armour, dress, tapestries, textiles and furniture made between 1200 and 1850.
Our Mediterranean, Africa, Americas and Oceania collections consist of over 35,000 objects ranging from the archaeological to the contemporary.
Our Modern and Contemporary Design collections comprise over 35,000 objects dating from c.1850 to the present.
