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Franks had a substantial personal fortune, which he used to build up some remarkable personal collections in parallel with his museum work on acquisitions. Though this activity was as an independent collector, it was of benefit also to the holdings of the
British Museum, either in the short or longer
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I think I may fairly say that I have created the department of which I am now Keeper, and at a very moderate cost to the country. When I was appointed to the Museum in 1851 the scanty collections out of which the department has grown occupied a length of 154 feet of wall cases, and 3 or 4 table
218:
In 1851, Franks was appointed assistant in the
Department of Antiquities of the British Museum. The post was newly founded, and the brief was to develop a collection of "British antiquities". Franks in a 45-year career at the Museum went on to launch five distinct departments.
805:
254:
in
Victoria Street, London, was also under his care before its incorporation into the British Museum collections. He became vice-president and ultimately president of the Society of Antiquaries; and in 1878 he declined the principal librarianship (then the title of
392:, another wealthy bachelor benefactor of the British Museum. Augustus blamed his obsessive collecting on his genes. In a manuscript account of his life, which was discovered in 1983, Franks began, "Collecting is a hereditary disease, and I fear incurable."
412:, London. Most of the items in his collections became the property of the nation, by bequest at his death, where they had not been donations in his lifetime. Franks purchased over 20,000 important objects for the British Museum's collections.
206:, then newly established, and laid the foundations of his knowledge of ancient and medieval art, in arranging its collections for annual congresses. In 1850 he was secretary of the first exhibition of medieval art held in the rooms of the
235:, an appointment he received in 1858, he made himself the leading authority in England on medieval antiquities of all descriptions, upon porcelain, glass, artefacts of anthropological interest, and works of art later than the
427:
inscriptions. It had been dismissed as 'some
Ancient carvings in ivory', and turned down by the Museum's Trustees in 1858 when offered to them for 100 guineas. In 1867, Franks gave the casket to the British Museum as a gift.
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691:
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to purchase it complete for the nation when
Augustus W. H. Meyrick put it up for sale around 1871. The Meyrick Collection went to auction and was broken up, but Franks did buy and then donate items such as the
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671:
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cases. The collections now occupy 2250 feet in length of wall cases, 90 table cases and 31 upright cases, to say nothing of the numerous objects placed over the cases or on walls.
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293:; "to Franks this was his greatest acquisition, and the one of which he was most proud". He had temporarily had to fund the purchase with £5,000 of his own money.
1030:
508:
he introduced the term "Late Celtic period", but its application proved contentious, and was considered somewhat misleading in the
European picture of Celtic art.
1050:
345:
Franks was also an authority on classical art, especially Roman remains in
Britain. He set up an exhibition of his Asian ceramics, mainly porcelain, at the
612:
1020:
932:
Franks bequest : catalogue of
British and American book plates bequested to the Trustees of the British Museum by Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks
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40:
1000:
929:
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246:, were formed into a separate department under his superintendence, as Keeper of British and Mediaeval Antiquities and Ethnography. The
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term. It was largely devoted to the collection of ceramics and precious objects of medieval art; it also included many items from the
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32:
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and his heirs, which came onto the market in 1884, Franks eased the deal by matching the money required with purchases of his own.
305:
Franks used personal influence on behalf of the Museum to help in the acquisition of collections. This he applied in the cases of
159:, as "arguably the most important collector in the history of the British Museum, and one of the greatest collectors of his age."
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202:; and was also one of the four student members of the Ray Club. On leaving Cambridge in 1849 Franks devoted his energies to the
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Franks, Augustus
Wollaston; Howe, Edward Russell James Gambier (British Museum Dept of Prints and Drawings) (1903),
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In 1855 Franks was responsible for acquiring for the museum the finest items from the collection of
338:, and Franks built up that side of his collection through dealers in India and by purchase from
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Wilson, David M. "Franks, Sir (Augustus) Wollaston (1826–1897), collector and museum keeper".
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860:
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One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
198:; was one of the founders of the Cambridge Architectural Society and an early member of the
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and museum administrator. Franks was described by
Marjorie Caygill, historian of the
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writes that "In many respects Franks was the second founder of the British Museum".
715:"Franks, Augustus Wollaston." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 4 June 2010 <
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He wrote numerous memoirs on archaeological subjects. His major publications were:
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edited by John Curtis and Nigel Tallis (2005). "The British Museum 2005".
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When the British Museum was considering buying the ceramics collection of
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680:. Vol. 11 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 35.
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377:, of both of which he formed important collections; the friendship of
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880: This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
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http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T029737
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A.W. Franks: nineteenth-century collecting and the British Museum
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289:. In 1892 he succeeded in raising the £8,000 needed to buy the
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led him to bookplates, and he completed the reference work of
808:. British Museum Collection database. Accessed 17 August 2010
475:‘Catalogue of Oriental Porcelain and Pottery,’ 1876 and 1878.
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357:
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One of his best known donations was the ninth-century ivory
484:‘Catalogue of a Collection of Continental Porcelain,’ 1896.
151:(20 March 1826 – 21 May 1897) was a British
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Franks' great-grandmother, Sarah Knight, was a cousin of
242:
In 1866, British and medieval antiquities, together with
16:
British antiquarian and museum administrator (1826–1897)
469:‘Examples of Ornamental Art in Glass and Enamel,’ 1858.
472:‘Himyaritic Inscriptions from Southern Arabia,’ 1863.
269:Franks retired on his seventieth birthday in 1896.
1036:Presidents of the Society of Antiquaries of London
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806:Objects donated by Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks
435:, of arms and armour, Franks failed to persuade
404:Funerary monument, Kensal Green Cemetery, London
1031:Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London
912:Marjorie Caygill; John F. Cherry, eds. (1997),
554:
845:. Vol. 20. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
763:Forgotten Empire – The World of Ancient Persia
231:At the British Museum, and as director of the
190:. As undergraduate he began his collection of
1051:Members of the American Philosophical Society
533:
616:(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
408:Franks died 21 May 1897, and was buried at
1021:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
49:
591:
529:
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502:Medallic Illustrations of British History
296:Towards the end of his career, he wrote:
285:and collector, including the outstanding
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593:"Franks, Augustus Wollaston (FRNS845AW)"
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257:the executive head of the British Museum
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613:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
978:
799:
518:
464:‘Book of Ornamental Glazing Quarries,’
328:
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313:, Lady Fellows for the collection of
1001:Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
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857:Celtic Ornament in the British Isles
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262:Franks was elected a member of the
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735:, The British Museum Press, 2002,
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751:. pp. 175–176 (quotation p. 176).
504:, 1885. In writing about British
431:In the case of the collection of
1016:Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery
960:
901:. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
897:Dictionary of National Biography
886:Read, Charles Hercules (1901). "
875:
842:Dictionary of National Biography
654:
379:John Warren, 3rd Baron de Tabley
233:Society of Antiquaries of London
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183:, where he remained until 1843.
1006:Employees of the British Museum
996:People educated at Eton College
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829:Wroth, Warwick William (1889).
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672:Franks, Sir Augustus Wollaston
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264:American Philosophical Society
1:
733:The British Museum; A History
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383:Charlotte Elizabeth Schreiber
204:Royal Archæological Institute
200:Cambridge Antiquarian Society
162:
136:Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks
55:Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks
1026:Fellows of the Royal Society
630:UK public library membership
538:. fathom.com. Archived from
244:the ethnographic collections
7:
597:A Cambridge Alumni Database
369:. He was interested too in
10:
1067:
888:Franks, Augustus Wollaston
599:. University of Cambridge.
478:‘Japanese Pottery,’ 1880.
194:, ultimately given to the
188:Trinity College, Cambridge
173:Sir John Saunders Sebright
98:Trinity College, Cambridge
967:Augustus Wollaston Franks
832:"Fountaine, Andrew"
536:"Creating A Great Museum"
116:
108:
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28:Augustus Wollaston Franks
23:
916:, British Museum Press,
454:
677:Encyclopædia Britannica
186:Franks then studied at
859:(2002 reprint), p. 1;
855:Edward Thurlow Leeds,
622:10.1093/ref:odnb/10093
405:
349:in 1876. He collected
303:
196:Society of Antiquaries
177:William Hyde Wollaston
1046:Museum administrators
410:Kensal Green Cemetery
403:
298:
214:At the British Museum
1041:Curators from Geneva
1011:English antiquarians
696:search.amphilsoc.org
692:"APS Member History"
490:John Mitchell Kemble
449:Sir Andrew Fountaine
390:Richard Payne Knight
347:Bethnal Green Museum
340:Alexander Cunningham
175:. His godfather was
120:British antiquities;
112:Museum administrator
818:British Museum page
534:Caygill, Marjorie.
433:Samuel Rush Meyrick
329:Personal collecting
315:Sir Charles Fellows
965:Works by or about
934:, British Museum,
791:has generic name (
406:
385:on playing cards.
283:Liberal politician
248:Christy collection
923:978-0-7141-1763-8
772:978-0-7141-1157-5
628:(Subscription or
480:2nd edition, 1906
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437:George Ward Hunt
396:Death and legacy
367:drinking vessels
237:Classical period
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323:Octavius Morgan
287:Lothair Crystal
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221:David M. Wilson
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208:Society of Arts
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311:John Henderson
291:Royal Gold Cup
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192:brass rubbings
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117:Known for
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699:. Retrieved
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546:15 September
544:. Retrieved
540:the original
501:
496:(1863); and
494:Horæ Ferales
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363:finger rings
361:from Japan,
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279:Ralph Bernal
276:
273:Acquisitions
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181:Eton College
166:
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103:Eton College
87:(1897-05-21)
18:
991:1897 deaths
986:1826 births
892:Lee, Sidney
871:Attribution
789:|last=
423:, with its
421:Northumbria
307:Felix Slade
252:ethnography
153:antiquarian
125:acquisition
85:21 May 1897
980:Categories
971:Wikisource
943:. Reprint
632:required.)
512:References
506:Celtic art
371:bookplates
163:Early life
109:Occupation
67:1826-03-20
940:858711909
781:cite book
580:Read 1901
266:in 1895.
701:25 March
167:Born at
894:(ed.).
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945:ISBN
936:OCLC
918:ISBN
793:help
767:ISBN
745:ISBN
737:ISBN
703:2024
548:2011
373:and
365:and
355:and
321:and
82:Died
61:Born
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