Charles Gore’s Mollusc Watercolours
A Collection with a question mark
This Item of the Month is a collection of watercolour paintings depicting Molluscs, which was gifted to the museum in the early 1900s. In these pieces, individual specimens of sea slugs are intricately drawn and painted. Carefully encased in panes of glass, each piece is labelled with the specimen’s Latin name.
This collection was owned by Charles Henry Gore, the founder of Swindon Museum. When he opened the Museum in 1920, it contained large collections of geology and natural history. Gore's collection of these items in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries reflects a Victorian vogue for gathering and categorising specimens. In museums, displays often placed emphasis on showing the great variety of the natural world.
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When Swindon Museum first opened, Gore used collections to teach schools and visitors about the history of the earth, from its first formation to written history. In this context, 68 accurate and labelled paintings of molluscs would have been right at home. After all, Molluscs are a huge and diverse animal group, which play a key part in natural ecosystems.
Though it is clear to us why and how these items came to the collections, we do not know for certain who made them. Since Gore was a competent artist, as well as a natural history enthusiast, it is not a leap to assume that he is the creator. However, though the stamps on the back imply the watercolours were a part of his collection, they are unsigned and undated.
The lack of information about the creator could also imply that these were not intended as artistic works. It seems that the artist referred to scientific sources, such as Joshua Alder and Albany Hancock’s important Monograph of the British Nudibranchiate Mollusca: With Figures of All The Species, for these studies. Possibly used as an archive or teaching resource, the accuracy of the sketches was important. Hence, their similarity to the illustrations in Alder and Hancock’s monograph.
Though artistic merit may not have been the main (or at least only) intention for these pieces, they are vibrant illustrations and fascinating to look at. Visitors can view a selection of the watercolours in our exhibition ‘Origins’, and the specimens on display will change on a monthly basis, according to the public’s choice. Keep a look out on our social media platforms for the next vote!
