28 May 2025 / 8 Alligator
Brighton Museum & Art Gallery
Brighton Museum
In Brighton’s World Art holdings there are several interesting and appealing Mexican exhibits, some on display in the James Green Gallery of World Art, others kept in store, but accessible to serious students.
Of note are a couple of Aztec pieces, over 20 Mexican folk masks, and some intriguing curiosity items...
The two original Aztec pieces are both ceramic - a figurine of Xochiquetzal (goddess of love) and a terracotta printing stamp bearing a monkey design; both donated to the museum in 1925 by F W Lucas.
Some fine examples of Mexican folk masks, believed to have been acquired when Tony Shelton was Keeper of the collection in the early 1990s, can be viewed online (2011: link unavailable - we’re investigating!) as well as in our Masks photo gallery - we’re grateful to Sarah Posey, Brighton Museum’s Keeper of World Art, for allowing this.
F. W. Lucas had a particular interest in objects made from natural or animal material - on display in Brighton’s Cabinet of Curiosities is this delightful basket made from the hard outer shell of an armadillo. The handle is made of the tail of the armadillo which has been fastened into the animal’s mouth. The basket is lined with a green silk bag with an off-white drawstring cord. It was created by a Mexican Indian maker and donated to the museum in 1958 by a Mr. Hood.
And buried in the museum’s photographic archives is this b/w image, taken around 1929, of Brighton Aquarium’s interior - given an ‘Aztec’ style re-vamp by Brighton Corporation in 1927. Can anyone throw any more light on this?!
Comments (1)
Katia of Tonkam
12th Aug 2011
Also, the wallpaper in the banqueting room of the royal pavilion is supposed to be based on “Chinese” designs, but the serpents and birds depicted have an uncannily Mesoamerican look to them.
Brighton Museum
More Places to Visit
- WelcomeChelsea Physic GardenMonument of Edmund HarmanHampton Court Chocolate KitchenPitt Rivers MuseumBristol City MuseumAztec Objects in Museums‘Mexico in the UK’Haslemere Educational MuseumParham HouseWorld Museum LiverpoolWest Dean GardensWorth AbbeyThe British MuseumBritish Museum BackpackCadbury WorldThe Eden ProjectKew GardensHorniman MuseumCuming MuseumThe Cuming Challenge...Brighton MuseumBuckingham PalaceFURTHER AFIELD: Philadelphia Museum of ArtFURTHER AFIELD: 'Aztec Ruins', New MexicoFURTHER AFIELD: Chicago Field MuseumFURTHER AFIELD: Museu Barbier-Mueller D'Art Precolombí, BarcelonaFURTHER AFIELD: Musée du Quai Branly, ParisFURTHER AFIELD: Choco-Story, BrugesFURTHER AFIELD: Museo de América, Madrid