See artefacts which formed the earliest collections of the Museum at the Out of Storage exhibition.

In 1877, government passed an Act of Parliament to establish a new Dublin Museum, with the intention that ‘the people of Ireland would obtain the fullest opportunity of improvement in the cultivation of industrial and decorative arts’.

Collection and acquisition of objects begins

With advice from South Kensington Museum in London, officials began immediately to acquire material from renowned international private collections.

Quality contemporary items were selected directly from, for example, Tiffany and William de Morgan as well as locally from Vodrey, Pugh and Belleek. Works were also collected to document the ‘cradles of the world’s civilisations’ – the classical Mediterranean, India and China.

The new institution also concentrated on items illustrating industrial and economic development in Ireland, particularly from the 17th century. As a result of its vigorous acquisition policy, the collections expanded greatly. Indeed, when the new Kildare Street premises opened in 1890 some collections remained on exhibition in Leinster House because of space constraints.

What artefacts you can see from this period at Out of Storage

Examples of the types of material acquired at this time and on display in the Out of Storage gallery include glass vases that were purchased directly from the studio of Eugène Rousseau in 1880.