Discover the eclectic collection of art formed by Miss Ellen Tanner following her journey to the Middle East in the 1890s. From sumptuous textiles to delicate carved woodwork and lacquer and elaborately decorated metalwork, this collection is on display for the first time following a major conservation project generously funded through the Big Give Christmas Challenge.

In the late 1920s, an unusual gift was given to the Holburne Museum by an extraordinary woman. Miss Ellen Georgiana Tanner donated over 80 items of textiles, metalwork, lacquer and woodwork that she had gathered on her extensive solo travels in Mesopotamia (now Iraq) and Persia (Iran).

A small exhibition of items from Miss Tanner’s various gifts to the Holburne sheds light on this varied collection and the extraordinary woman who collected them, as well as giving an opportunity to show some of these extraordinary items for the first time. The value of Miss Tanner’s gift is enhanced due to her accompanying notebooks and diaries that offer a unique sense of place and valuable, and often entertaining, insights into her travels and experiences.