Archaeology

This collection includes both regional and foreign archaeology. The regional section consists of approximately 1500 objects from East Scotland, ranging in date from easrly prehistoric to medieval periods. There are key items from Morton Settlement, Tentsmuir, prehistoric bronze metal work from Douglasmuir, Pictish symol stones and medieval pottery.

The foreign section consists of around 850 items. They are primarily Egyptian with some Mediterranean and Near Eastern material. A mixed range of cultural artefacts are represented, including stonework, metalwork, woodwork, ceramics and textiles.

Ethnology

This collection consists of 3198 items from Africa, Asia, North America and Oceania. The greater part is African, predominantly from Nigeria, Zaire, Uganda and South Africa, and includes items that represent Dundee's economic and missionary links. The North American collection is mainly Eskimo.

Numismatics

This collection includes around 10,000 objects covering British and European, Scottish, Classical and World coins, banknotes, trade tokens, communion tokens, seals, medals and medallions. The British coinage includes a post-Union range and the Scottish section include medieval and pre-Union coinage. Trade tokens include local special issue and advertising material.

Industrial History

This collection covers Dundee's main industries of textiles, Shipbuilding and Whaling. It includes tools, products, and material associated with these industries. The shipbuilding section also includes object relating to Dundee yards such as Alexander Stephens, Gourlays, Brown-Livie and Caledon.

There is also a small number of items relating to other industries, covering engineering, wood working, farriery, shoe-making, clock and watch-making, printing retail trade and financial services.

Transport

This collection covers shipping, rail, road and air transport. The shipping section includes objects relating to maritime trade, the port of Dundee, sailors' crafts, lifeboats, Tay ferries, navigation and ship models. The rail material relates to the development of the railway on Tayside, with particular reference to the two bridges.

Costume

The collection consists of about 3,000 items covering the periods 1750 to the present day, with most items being from 1850 to 1950. The majority of the collection is made up of women's garments and accessories, with a range of day and evening dresses, wedding dresses, white cotton underwear and nightwear, etc. The collection of men's garments is fragmented, the only period which is well covered being 1930 to 1950. Children's clothing is poorly represented, with the exception of baby garments from the earlier decades of the 20th century.

The working dress section is small and mixed, ranging from ermine-trimmed civic robes to bleachfield workers' clogs. One aspect which is particularly well represented is footwear, which includes locally made boots and shoes.

Social History

This collection covers a wide range of material relating to: Domestic History, such as household furniture and finishings, heating, lighting, water, sanitation, food preparation and cleaning; Society, covering customs and beliefs, religion, socieites, government, law and order, public services, medicine, education and public amenities; Personal items relating to hobbies, games, toys, sport, travel, writing implements, cosmetics and other personalia.

Military History

This collection falls into two distinct catgories: (1) Arms and Armour and (2) Local militia.

Photographs

The collection consists of several thousand glass negatives, paper prints, glass lantern slides, postcards, ambrotypes, ferrotypes and other plate positives. They mostly depict images relating to local history. Many of the glass lantern slides are of foreign countries or general views of Scotlandand England. There are also several sets of studio portraits and family albums.

Archives

This collection consists of maps, plans, papers, ephemera, books and drawings related to Dundee District and to the museum's other collections.

Musical Instruments

The collection consists of about 50 objects including wind, stringed and keyboard instruments.

Natural History

This collection includes: (1) Zoology specimens - mounted birds, bird skins, nests and eggs, mounted mammals and skins, osteology, fish, reptiles and amphibians, insects, molluscs and other invertebrates; (2) Botany - vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens and algae; (3) Geology - rocks, minerals and fossils.

Fine Art

This collection includes oil paintings, drawings, watercolours, prints, photographs and sculptures. There are oil paintings, watercolours and drawings from Europe England and Scotland, ranging in date from 1650 to the present day. The European work is a small section and dates mostly from the 19th and 20th centuries. The English section is substantial and includes work by many well known artists such as Stanley Spencer and John Nash. Scottish work makes up the largest section, with the bulk of it dating from 1850 to around 1920. It is reasonably representative of Scottish Art, but is particularly strong on local interest work. The Scottish section also includes work by contemporary Scottish artists.

The collection of around 900 prints is particularly strong in early 20th century British work, with local artists well represented. The photography collection includes work by many contemporary Scottish photographers.

Sculpture is represented by around 60 pieces of work ranging from 19th century portrait busts to contemporary bronzes, and includes work by key modern sculptors.

Decorative Art

This collection includes silver, ceramics, glass and other decorative furniture or art objects. The silver collection consists of approximately 350 items, much of it Scottish with a English pieces, covering the period from the 17th century to the early 19th century, with a few items from the 1970s. There are over 800 miscellaneous ceramic items, much of which is standard household ware from the late 19th century. There are, however, pieces that represent well-known, quality wares, such as Satsuma pottery, Chelsea and Bow figures and modern Doulton figures.

The glass ware is of mixed quality and numbers around 170 items. The most important items are the 30 Georgian pieces of glass.

There are around 100 other decorative objects including Oriental work and large pieces of furniture.