Brought to Light: The Remarkable Bateman Collection

Remains of a light brown fine-toothed comb with decorative carving and some teeth missing.

A painting of Thomas Bateman (center) with his young son (right). Bateman sits by a table with his hand on a skull. He son stands next to him holding what looks like a fishing pole. Both are smartly dressed, with bright white collars.

Thomas Banks, Thomas Bateman And Son, 1860

Thomas Bateman (1821–1861) was fascinated by the past and ahead of his time. A pioneering Victorian antiquarian, he founded a museum at his Derbyshire home presenting artefacts and specimens from across the globe.

Bateman’s extensive excavations in the Peak District expanded his family’s collection. When the museum closed in the 1890s, Sheffield joined some of the world’s leading museums in acquiring parts of its holdings. Today, much of the city’s local archaeology collection, as well as minerals, ceramics, metalwork and fossils, can be traced to Bateman.

This exhibition was made possible with a grant from the Weston Loan Programme with Art Fund.

The exhibition was made possible with the assistance of The Curry Fund of the Geologists’ Association and support from the Bill Pettit Memorial Award of NatSCA.