Exploring the University's lesser-known cultural heritage collections
The University of Birmingham is home to an incredible array of heritage and cultural collections, some of which you may never have heard of!
Across the University of Birmingham campus, the University is home to a vast assortment of historical and contemporary collections of objects. Within are countless stories, offering important cultural insights and the opportunity for new perspectives.
Cadbury Research Library
The Cadbury Research Library is home to a staggering collection of rare books, manuscripts, archives, photographs and associated artefacts. It contains over 250,000 rare books and more than 4 million manuscripts dating as far back as 1471. The collection is accessible to all, making it a trove of publicly accessible knowledge.
Collection highlight: The Birmingham Qur’an
The Birmingham Qur’an manuscript is among the oldest known surviving fragments of the Qur’an and one of the rare early Qur’anic manuscripts in the world to undergo radiocarbon dating. It belongs to the Mingana Collection, a collection of more than 3,000 Middle Eastern manuscripts. The Birmingham Qur’an Manuscript features portions of Surahs 18 to 20. It is written on parchment in Hijazi, an early style of Arabic script.
Collection highlight: The Noël Coward Collection
Noël Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer best known for his role in 1969’s The Italian Job. The collection chronicles his career as a writer, containing manuscripts and typescripts of play scripts, musical scores, song lyrics, stories, articles and speeches through to final published material.
University Collections
The African Collection
The African Collection includes woodcarvings, metalwork, jewellery, pottery, weaving, basketry, textiles, fashion and religious and domestic artefacts demonstrating cultural traditions and artistic expression from across Africa. The collection also contains archival materials including invaluable photographs providing vivid visual insights into the region’s cultural heritage.
The core of the collection originates from what is now Ghana and Nigeria, acquired between 1943 and 1957 by artist John Danford.
Collection highlight: Photographs of the Emir of Abuja
Taken in 1950, this photograph captures the sixth Emir of Abuja: Sulaimanu Barau. Barau trained as a teacher and taught from 1927-1931 before leaving the profession to become the district head of Diko, a small area in Nigeria north-west of the capital of Abuja. By 1944 he had become the Emir of Abuja. He worked to introduce contemporary practises in the capital, leaving behind antiquated customs. As an example, a customary ritual was for subjects to kneel down before the Emir and pour dust on their heads, demonstrating their obedience.
The photograph was taken by Edward Harland Duckworth, a former Inspector of Education in Nigeria and the founding editor of Nigeria magazine. He noted of Barau: “Emir Sulaimanu Barau is a man of amazing energy…The happy, democratic relationship between the Emir and his people was most marked. Little children came up to hold his hand and he had a kindly word for the old women as we threaded our way between the produce spread out in the crowded market”
The Archaeology Collection
The Archaeology Collection began in 1902, 2 years after the University received royal charter. Professor John Hopkinson was given permission to purchase a series of ancient vases in Rhodes. Since then, the collection has grown to include over 2,000 Greek, Roman, Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and European objects dating back hundreds of years.
The collection is used as intended by Professor Hopkinson, for ancient history and archaeology students to learn directly from objects of the ancient world through taught seminars and volunteer placements.
Collection highlight: The Apis Bull
This wooden footboard from an ancient Egyptian coffin was gifted to the University in 1939 from the private collection of Sir Robert Mond. It depicts the Apis bull carrying a mummified body of the deceased on its back. The bull was considered a sacred creature, symbolizing physical strength and male fertility, and held special reverence in the Memphis region of northern Egypt.
University Heritage Collection
With the University turning 125 this year, the University Heritage Collection provides an important opportunity to reflect on our history. It includes objects dating back to our very founding, including the ceremonial key created for the Royal opening of the University in 1909. It also includes relics from the University's role in both world wars and personal effects of the University's founder, Joseph Chamberlain.
Collection highlight: The University Mace
The University Mace was made in 1902 by Philip Webb, Robert Catterson-Smith, and W. H. Haseler Ltd. It is made of silver parcel gilt. The mace was commissioned by Alice Beale, the wife of the University’s first Vice Chancellor, Charles Gabriel Beale
The mace is used during formal academic occasions, including graduation. Carried across the great hall, it is an important symbol of the University's prestige as graduates receive their degrees.