World Cultures collections

The world cultures, or ethnography, collection consists of approximately 3,700 objects that have been collected from foreign countries. It contains objects from Asia, Oceania, Africa and the Americas, as well as some items from Europe. All sorts of different objects are included in the collection, from weaponry, tools and utensils to games, clothing and ceremonial artefacts.

Find out more about our collections from Oceania, Africa, Asia and Americas. These pages are being developed and more information will be available soon.

Collection highlights

Objects collected from New Guinea by Henry Moore Dauncey have been described as one of the best collections of New Guinea material in Britain.

The collection donated by Gertrude Benham in 1935 contains artefacts collected throughout her travels. Benham was a pioneering explorer who travelled the world for thirty years. One of her many achievements was to be the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in 1909.

Smaller collections of note include the William Fosterjohn objects collected from the Lengua people of Paraguay between 1899 and 1903, a superb group of ten argillite carvings from the North West Coast of Canada, and an extensive collection of southeast African beadwork and significant material from Polynesia.

Collections on display

Visit our 'Bringing the World to Plymouth' gallery to see some of our objects on display.

Collections online

You can find more information about a selection of objects on our e-catalogue.