Collections

Collections at RAMM chart the story of the natural world and human creativity over millennia and across the globe, from the fossilised remains of prehistoric life to the very latest work by contemporary artists. They consist of over one million individual objects and specimens and are divided into eight main categories: antiquities, costume and textiles, decorative art, fine art, natural sciences, numismatics, social history, and world cultures.

The collections contain items of local, national and international importance, and many are of outstanding historical or cultural significance. The world cultures collection and George Montagu’s shell collection have been Designated by Arts Council England as a reflection of their signficance.

Explore the collections from home

Collections at RAMM

Collections Explorer is a separate website. It shares information about the collections at RAMM and the people responsible for bringing them to the museum. It includes over 17,500 individual object records and new records are added every month.

Visitors to the website can explore objects through Collections Stories which are carefully curated and themed online exhibitions. If you missed an exhibition at RAMM, such as ‘By Royal Appointment: Devon’s lacemakers’ or ‘In Plain Sight – Transatlantic slavery and Devon’, online versions may be available as Collections Stories. RAMM’s Research Blog gives visitors access to the most recent research being undertaken on the collections by curators, conservators and external researchers.

Take me to RAMM’s Collections Explorer

Use the links below to navigate straight to different areas of the RAMM Collections Explorer website:

Collections across the South West

A second website, South West Collections Explorer, gives access to the collections held by several South West organisations: RAMM, Devon Museums Group (including The Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon, Topsham Museum and Torquay Museum), South West Heritage Trust and South West Implement Petrology Group.

Take me to South West Collections Explorer

South West Collections Explorer

License and buy prints of RAMM’s objects

A selection of fine art and object images are online to license or buy as prints.

Take me to the shop

Use the links below to take you directly to the most relevant online service:

What RAMM collects

RAMM reviews its Collections Development Policy at least every five years. This ensures the museum’s collections remain relevant and reflect contemporary society. All policies relating to RAMM’s collections are available on the reports, plans and policies page.

Donating items

If you have an item you would like to offer RAMM please contact us. A curator will be in touch with you. Please provide as much information as you can about the object’s history. Useful information includes when and where it was made or collected and who owned it. If the item came from overseas the museum may ask for the import / export documents. Sending a photograph of the item is really helpful.

Please do not send items in the post or bring items to the museum until you have spoken to a curator.