Wunderkammer or Musaeum? The collections of the 1st Duchess of Northumberland in Georgian London

Dr Adriano Aymonino, Director of the University of Buckingham’s undergraduate History and History of Art Programme and Programme Director of the MA in the Art Market and the History of Collecting
The Musaeum created by the 1st Duchess of Northumberland at Northumberland House between the 1750s and the 1780s was one of the largest collections ever assembled in Georgian London. A whole floor was devoted to its display and a handwritten nine-volume catalogue was produced to keep record of its holdings and classify its contents. Encompassing all sorts of natural and man-made objects, the Duchess’ Musaeum was explicitly modelled on the recently founded British Museum, while at the same time retaining elements of the previous “cabinet” tradition. This lecture will focus on the tension between “curiosity” and “Enlightenment” apparent in the Duchess’ Musaeum and in several other contemporary similar collections, discussing issues of taxonomy, global sources, and arrangement.