-
Glenbow Museum
The Glenbow Museum is located in
Calgary, Alberta, Canada and is one of the biggest museum' in the
western part of Canada, with over 93,000 square feet of display
space that is housed on over 20 galleries that feature many
selections of Glenbow's million objects. Eric Harvie donated his
huge historical collection of antiquities to the people of Alberta
in 1966, and began the Glenbow-Alberta Institute. In downtown
Calgary, the institute manages the Glenbow Museum that is open to
the public, and contains its museum collections, library, archives
and huge art collection. A new permanent display was opened in 2007,
called the Mavericks, on the third floor, that follows the history
of the province via 48 influential and colorful people. Today, there
are four main collections; mineralogy, ethnology, cultural history
and military history. The cultural history houses over 100,000
relics that came here from around the world, that pertains to the
life that existed in western Canada from the late 19th century to
the present day; and tells how people worshipped, were governed,
made their livings, relaxations, dress styles and eating habits; and
also the amount of family mementos that were needed to make a new
home a home. This collection contains important relics of Alberta
pottery, northern explorations, pressed glass, western Canadian folk
studies, numismatics and textiles. The Glenbow ethnology collection
houses over 48,000 relics that were made or used by the indigenous
people of the continent, especially the northern plains, the
northwest coast, subarctic and arctic areas and certain areas of
South American, Asia, Oceania and Africa. The military history has
become the most diversified in western Canada with 26,000 relics
that span numerous countries over 5 centuries, but mostly the
European, North American and Asian firearms and edged weapons; as
well as Japanese arms and armour, Canadian medals, decorations and
orders. Their mineralogy collection has many minerals, precious and
semi-precious stones from all over the world, but mostly western
Canada, with the selections being chosen for their overall value and
mineralogical importance and Treasures of the Mineral World display
that is a favorite with rock hounds, geologists and visitors of all
age groups that come here to marvel and view the magnificent
minerals of their earth. Exciting displays of glow in the dark
minerals, fool's gold, a piece of the earth's oldest rock and rock
crystals of every color in the rainbow. Their Asian collection is on
semi-permanent loan from the Bumper Development Corp. Ltd. that
contains masks, reliefs, sculptures and paintings in wood, metal and
stone from the Hindu and Buddhist cultures of Asia that date from
the first century to the 18th century. The exciting art collection
has 28,000 artworks, mostly from the 19th century to the present
day, that is historical, contemporary or modern that relates to the
Pacific northwest. There is also a spectacular collection of
landscape paintings, Sybil Andrews well known Canadian prints
collection, American illustrations, western and wildlife artworks,
First Nations and Inuit art; with some works from other parts of the
world to give a national and international depth to the collections.
The library holds over 100,000 maps, newspapers, periodicals,
pamphlets and books that relate to western Canada, from the roaming
of the buffalo to the arrival of the railroad, then settlement of
the west, to social, political and economic events that occurred in
the province. In this wonderful collection, there are very rare
illustrated equestrian literature from the 15th century, books from
a one room schoolhouse and volumes and various material that relates
to the other collections.
|
