Museum treasures up for grabs in Staffordshire
A mounted leopard's head, a cheese press, an old piano and a stuffed stoat - these are just several of the quirky and historical items being booted out from the collection at Staffordshire County Museum.
Altogether, 50 old items buried in the museum's storage are looking for new homes.
They are being disposed of due to either duplication, poor condition or lack of a strong Staffordshire connection.
Chiefs are busy contacting museums bosses all across the country to see if they would like, for example, a mounted leopard's head on a shield dating back to 1890, but they warn the process could take some time.
And if there are no museums willing to take on the historical artefacts, they could be offered to individuals or thrown away for good.
Staffordshire County Museum is housed in the servants' quarters of Shugborough Hall, Milford - and is a popular attraction for visitors from all across the UK and further afield.
Managed by Staffordshire County Council, it features a restored Victorian kitchen, laundry and brewhouse as well as permanent galleries and temporary exhibitions.
Councillor Gill Heath, cabinet member for communities said: “Our museum service regularly reviews its collections, and items which do not meet the service’s collections policy are put forward for disposal under the conditions of Arts Council England’s Museum Accreditation Standard.
Conservation
"This relates to items that are duplicates, have little or no relevance to the county’s heritage, or are in poor condition and which are beyond conservation or restoration.
"These items are advertised to museums both locally and nationally in the first instance, and transferred to any museum who wants them. This process normally takes a few months. Those that don’t find another home are either put up for sale or disposed of.
"Any money resulting from the sale of an item is put back into the museum service, where it is used to directly support the future care and conservation of the museum collections."
Also on the list for disposal is an old outdoor toilet in poor condition, a stuffed fox, a thistle boiler, a baker's van, a potter's wheel and a rug loom.
There is also a monkey pole from West Bromwich and a Bedford Horse Box, both on the list as they have no links to Staffordshire.
