Bristol Museum and Art Gallery
Bristol’s premier museum and art gallery houses important collections of minerals and fossils, natural history, eastern art, world wildlife, Egyptology, archaeology and fine and applied art.
Venue Type:
Museum, Gallery
Additional info
For a reminder of your visit, the Museum shop contains award-winning merchandise, including reproduction prints from the Art Gallery's collections, greetings cards, a wide range of books for all ages and interests, unusual gifts and Bristol-branded gifts to name just a few. To view the stock and for more information, visit the Museum Shop web page.
The Geology, Applied Art and Eastern Art collections at Bristol's City Museum & Art Gallery are Designated Collections of national importance.
Among the Designated applied art collections with a strong Bristol connection are important collections of delftware and glass. Also designated are Bristol's geology collections and fine and applied arts from the Far East, including the celebrated Schiller Collection.
Part of Bristol Museums’ Designated Collections related to Bristol’s role as a manufacturing city and major seaport is on display here. Other parts of these collections can be seen at Georgian House, Red Lodge, and Blaise Castle House Museum. Please contact Bristol Museums for more information if you wish to see a specific item.
At Bristol's City Museum & Art Gallery there is a choice of galleries situated upstairs full of artworks: Old Masters, French School, British Collection, Modern Art and the Bristol School.
Alongside in the adjoining galleries, the decorative arts collections can be found: Eastern Art, Ceramics, Silverware and Glassware. On the lower floors - a fine collection of glittering minerals, ancient fossils and a large archaeology gallery showing the South West's geographic formation. Close by is the World Wildlife Gallery containing many examples of endangered or extinct animals, including the much-loved Alfred the Gorilla.
The popular Egyptology gallery contains real mummies besides other items and situated next door is the hugely impressive wall decoration made over 3,000 years ago - the Assyrian Reliefs. A natural history gallery contains examples of aquatic habitats in the south west of England and an interactive map of local wildlife sites and a freshwater aquarium containing fish typical of the region. Throughout the Museum and Art Gallery material from other countries can be seen, including pottery and clothing.
Collection details
Science and Technology, Religion, Photography, Natural Sciences, Fine Art, Decorative and Applied Art, Costume and Textiles, Coins and Medals, Aviation, Archaeology
Key artists and exhibits
- Old Masters, French School, British Collection, Modern Art and the Bristol School
- Eastern Art, Ceramics, Silverware and Glassware
- Archaelogy / fossils
- Egyptology / mummies
- Assyrian Reliefs
- Pottery and clothing
- Natural history
- Endangered or extinct animals, including the much-loved Alfred the Gorilla
- Designated Collection
Through Whose Hands It Passes
- 7 May — 31 October 2016 *on now
Through Whose Hands It Passes is a new video work by artist Mary Flower that highlights the quiet and unobserved details of the Eastern Art Gallery and Schiller collection of Chinese ceramics.
The objects within the space provide a backdrop that allows the camera to seek out the overlooked features in the space.
The footage is accompanied by spoken text from The Purloined Letter – a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe in 1844, considered to be a forerunner of the modern detective story. The tale describes the journey of a stolen letter as it changes hands between characters.
Flower’s film offers a rich and nuanced interpretation that gives you the opportunity to think about the many layers of meaning hidden within the stunning objects.
Suitable for
- Family friendly
Website
Adela Breton: Ancient Mexico in Colour
- 6 August 2016 — 14 May 2017 *on now
Artist and traveller, Adela Breton (1849-1923) worked at archaeological sites in Mexico making full-size colour copies of the wall paintings in temples and buildings in Chichén Itzá, Teotihuacan and Acancéh.
Her copies are now the only full record of what was there in the 1900s and allow today’s academics to interpret the images and the history they show.
For the first time since the 1940s, the large watercolours will be on display as a celebration of Adela Breton, her art and the art of ancient Mexico.
Suitable for
- Family friendly
Admission
Pay what you think
Website
http://www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/bristol-museum-and-art-gallery/whats-on/adela-breton/
Stone Age to Iron Age
- 17 September 2016 — 25 June 2017 *on now
Explore highlights from Bristol’s archaeology collections in a brand new Stone Age to Iron Age display.
Prehistoric people were resourceful, inventive and skilled. Find out about the sites they left behind and be amazed by objects including 300,000 year old stone tools, Bronze Age swords and beautifully decorated Iron Age jewellery.
Recent archaeological discoveries found locally will also be displayed for the first time. Discover the antiquarians, archaeologists and scientists who have helped shape our understanding of prehistoric Bristol, learn about local places to visit and get ‘hands on’ with our Stone Age to Iron Age timeline.Explore highlights from Bristol’s archaeology collections in a brand new Stone Age to Iron Age display.
Prehistoric people were resourceful, inventive and skilled. Find out about the sites they left behind and be amazed by objects including 300,000 year old stone tools, Bronze Age swords and beautifully decorated Iron Age jewellery.
Recent archaeological discoveries found locally will also be displayed for the first time. Discover the antiquarians, archaeologists and scientists who have helped shape our understanding of prehistoric Bristol, learn about local places to visit and get ‘hands on’ with our Stone Age to Iron Age timeline.
Suitable for
- Family friendly
Admission
Pay what you think
Website
http://www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/bristol-museum-and-art-gallery/whats-on/stone-age-to-iron-age/
Warrior Treasures: Saxon Gold from the Staffordshire Hoard
- 26 October 2016 — 23 April 2017
Warrior Treasures is a dazzling collection of gold ornaments studded with blood-red garnets that reveal how an Anglo-Saxon sword was more than just a weapon. It signified a warrior’s status, wealth, family and even religious beliefs.
The ornaments are part of the Staffordshire Hoard, which is made up of around 4,000 fragments of gold, silver and semiprecious gems that were stripped from swords and seaxes (single-edged knives). It was unearthed in July 2009 and is the largest Anglo-Saxon hoard ever found.
The hoard reveals breath-taking workmanship and sophisticated designs which have challenged our preconceptions of art in the late 600’s AD.
Through the research on the Hoard it has shed light on the ‘Dark Ages’ and brings to life the Old English poem Beowulf, in which great kings with hoards of gold bestow precious gifts upon loyal heroes.
The secrets of the hoard are still being uncovered through painstaking research and on-going conservation.
The treasure is owned by Birmingham City Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council and cared for on their behalf by Birmingham Museums Trust and The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery.
Suitable for
- Any age
Admission
Tickets:
Adult – £5
Concession* – £4
Under 16s – Free.
Groups: 1 in 10 go free. Groups are requested to book their visits: museumbookings@bristol.gov.uk
Concessions*
Concessions are available with proof of identity for students, people over 60, ES40 holders, disabled people (carers free) and Friends of Bristol Museum & Art Gallery.
Website
https://www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/bristol-museum-and-art-gallery
Bristol Museum and Art Gallery
Queen's Road
Bristol
City of Bristol
BS8 1RL
England
Website
www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/bristol-museum-and-art-gallery/
Telephone
0117 922 3571
Fax
0117 922 2047
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