Collections of the Spurlock Museum

The Spurlock Museum’s artifact collection contains approximately 43,000 objects, covering six continents and one million years of human cultural history. A few of the significant collections include Parthenon frieze casts, Merovingian bronzes, Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets, and Amazonian bark cloth.

Artifact preservation and education are the bywords of a professional museum. Preservation is best achieved by keeping artifacts in storage, and in following professional standards the Museum only displays about 3 percent of its holdings at any one time. Stored artifacts, though, can be made available for scholarly study or loans to other institutions, as well as serve as a core for temporary exhibitions. They may also be used educationally through the information and images provided in the links like the ones on this page.

Get a look “behind the scenes.” Read articles on the Museum’s most recent collection additions (New Acquisitions), important collection groups (Collections Highlights), and highlighted pieces (Artifact of the Month). Get information on all of our artifacts in Search Databases.

Enjoy!