Birmingham Museum - research and projects

Current Research

At Birmingham we research our collections so we can learn more about them. Research projects range from object cataloguing, to academic collaborations, to conservation investigations. This means you can see more and learn more about Birmingham’s collections.

 

Edward Robert Hughes (1851-1914)

Edward Robert Hughes’s watercolour 'Night with her Train of Stars' (1912) is one of the most popular works in Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery’s collections, but the artist himself is still little known. A two-year research project with the University of Birmingham, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, is uncovering new information about Hughes’s life and tracing previously unknown examples of his work. For more information contact Victoria Osborne, Curator (Fine Art).

Suburban Birmingham, Spaces and places: 1880-1960

Led by the University of Birmingham working with Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, and Birmingham Libraries and Archives. The project team will use these Birmingham collections to research the history of Birmingham suburbs. The research will be published online and used to create public displays. The University of Birmingham will hold a Day School for members of the public interested in learning more about the history of Birmingham suburbs. The project runs from 2008 to 2010. Email for more information.

Investigating Ancient Egyptian Mummies

In 2008, three Egyptian mummies and two mummified heads from the Birmingham’s Ancient Egyptian collection were CT scanned, in conjunction with Stafford Hospital. Initial interpretation of the scans by hospital staff has enabled the Museum to identify sex, approximate age and information relating to dental, bone and soft tissue condition. The CT scanning has enabled these objects to be rendered three-dimensionally and this information will soon be available to the public alongside the mummies currently on display. More.