Recent Acquisitions
Photographic Prints by Hashem Shakeri
As part of the second Bristol Photo Festival, the museum opened Staring into the Abyss in September 2025. The exhibition marked the first presentation by a public art gallery of Hashem Shakeri’s photographs of life in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power following the withdrawal of US and UK forces in 2021.
Based in Tehran, Hashem Shakeri is an artist, photographer and filmmaker whose long-term documentary projects explore the impact of conflict and ideology. His work has received numerous international awards.
Shakeri’s powerful images reveal the hardship and despair experienced by many Afghans, while also highlighting resilience and quiet acts of resistance, from girls studying in secret schools to acrobats continuing to practise in hiding. His work offers a nuanced portrayal of Afghan society, exploring masculinity beyond the Taliban’s ideology and presenting even Taliban members with humanity and complexity.
After the exhibition the Friends helped to fund the purchase of five of Shakeri’s prints and funded engagement expenses for a project with refugees based on the prints.
English Delftware Plate
Dating to around 1740, this Delftware plate is probably of Bristol manufacture and is notable for its vibrant polychrome depiction of a smoking bottle kiln. Unlike the more common blue-and-white examples, this plate is decorated in coloured glazes, making it one of only a handful of known surviving examples. The kiln depicted is believed to represent a Bristol bottle kiln, possibly even the very kiln in which the plate itself was fired. Measuring 22.8 cm in diameter and in excellent condition, the plate has a distinguished provenance.
The acquisition significantly enhances the museum’s celebrated Delftware display by complementing an existing blue-and-white example already on display.
Together, the two plates offer a rare opportunity to compare different decorative techniques while providing a vivid insight into Bristol’s thriving ceramic industry during the 18th century. Both depict the same distinctive smoking bottle kiln, capturing the industrial landscape that once defined the city, where pottery and glass kilns dominated the skyline. The lively brushwork and colourful decoration convey the familiarity of an artist intimately connected with this manufacturing environment.
Since the museum’s Delftware redisplay project (2020–2022), accompanied by a successful symposium and extensive public engagement, Bristol Museum & Art Gallery has established itself as a leading centre for the study of English Delftware. This acquisition further reinforces that reputation. Similar plates are held in major international collections, including colonial Williamsburg in the United States, highlighting both the rarity and scholarly importance of this example.
Beyond its display value, the plate offers exciting research potential. Future non-invasive X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis of its pigments could help attribute related Delftware groups more confidently to Bristol rather than other production centres such as London or Liverpool. The acquisition therefore makes a lasting contribution to both public interpretation and academic research, while providing a striking visual icon for Bristol’s rich ceramic and glass-making heritage.
Privateer Wine Glass
This 18th-century commemorative glass is inscribed “Succefs to the DEFIANCE Privateer” and holds exceptional historical and artistic value due to its strong connections to Bristol. Probably crafted by a local Bristol glassmaker, the glass is in excellent condition and features a detailed engraved bowl alongside an opaque-twist stem, exemplifying the high standards of 18th-century glassmaking. Because it is engraved for a specific vessel and boasts well-documented auction provenance, it is a rare, highly sought-after piece that complements our existing commemorative glass for the Oliver Cromwell privateer.
Based in the port of Bristol, the Defiance operated as a privateer during the 18th century. Between 1757 and 1758, the vessel successfully captured seven mostly French ships and assisted in recapturing the British merchant ship Pearl, which was en route from Jamaica to London.
Privateers were authorised by the British Government under Queen Elizabeth I to counter Spanish and French naval dominant trade monopolies. They were privately funded war vessels active through the 19th century. Unburdened by standard cargo, these ships carried large crews specifically tasked with seizing enemy foreign ships as prize boats and sailing them into port.
Acquiring this piece enhances the narrative of Bristol’s rich maritime history, offering a tangible link to both the city’s celebrated glassmaking industry and its role in 18th-century naval privateering. The Friends were pleased to purchase the glass at auction for the museum.
Wickwar Hoards
The Wickwar Hoards refers to a significant archaeological discovery made by metal detectorists near the village of Wickwar in South Gloucestershire, England, in 2018. The find consists of two distinct hoards buried close to each other, offering a rare dual window into both Middle Bronze Age metalworking and late Roman currency hoarding.
Key Components of the Discovery
- The Bronze Age Hoard: Dating to roughly 1300–1100 BCE, this collection contains Middle Bronze Age metal objects, including socketed axe heads, spearheads, and palstaves. Many pieces were deliberately broken or fragmented prior to burial—a common ritual practice during the period associated with votive offerings, territory marking, or metal recycling.
- The Roman Hoard: Buried roughly 1,500 years later around the late 4th century CE (c. 330–350 CE), this assemblage comprises over 1,400 Roman copper-alloy coins (nummi) packed tightly inside a greyware ceramic pot. The coins date primarily to the reigns of Constantinian emperors, reflecting the monetary circulation of late Roman Britain shortly before direct imperial administration collapsed.
Archaeological Significance
logical SignificanceWhat makes the Wickwar discovery particularly compelling is the spatial relationship between the two deposits. Placing a late Roman coin hoard in the exact vicinity of a much older prehistoric hoard suggests the landscape retained symbolic, ritual, or navigational significance across millennia.
Acquired and conserved through the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) and local heritage initiatives, the Wickwar Hoards provide valuable insight into trade routes, metal production, and wealth preservation strategies in Gloucestershire from prehistory through the end of Roman Britain.
The museum was able to acquire the Hoards with the help of several grants including one from the Friends which enabled the purchase to go ahead.
Bristol Flood Photographs
This was an auctioneer lot featuring over 20 original candid prints and negatives from the 1959 Bristol Floods in Brislington. Taken by prominent local autograph collector John Short, the photographs are annotated with dates and locations, capturing sites such as West Town Lane, Robertson’s Sports Field, Hulse Road, Callington Road, and a dog rescue.
The 1959 Brislington photographs fill a crucial gap in the museum’s existing archives, which primarily cover flood events from the 1880s, 1930s, and the 1968 Bedminster floods.
In the context of environmentalism and climate research, these historic images are increasingly valuable. An internal council department recently contacted Bristol Archives for such historical visuals to assist with reports and community outreach regarding future flood defence plans.
Following accessioning and cataloguing, the collection will be available in the public searchroom. It is also marked as an ideal candidate for digitisation, which will facilitate wider reuse and permission granting for both council initiatives and external parties.