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The museum's Mineral Gallery is named after Philip Rashleigh and houses a large number of his collection, but who was he and why is his collection so important? Tom Cotterell explains all.Philip Rashleigh’s collection of minerals is uniquely important in the world of historic mineralogy. Rashleigh was by his own admission not a scientist, but a collector of pretty objects. However, by a twist of fate, his collection has become the most important collection to our scientific study of minerals found in the mines in Cornwall during his lifetime: 1729-1811. Using the beautiful colourful copper and iron arsenates as an example, the significance of Rashleigh’s collection will be demonstrated.
Tom is the former Curator of Mineralogy at Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales where he cared for the collection for 23 years. He specialized in analytical mineralogy, contributing significantly to our knowledge and understanding of British mineralogy over the past two decades. Over time, his research interests broadened and for the past 15 years he has been researching the history of mineral collecting in Britain from the earliest times, and through this research he has been working closely with the Rashleigh collection at RCM.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
25 River Street, TR1 2SJ Truro, United Kingdom, 29 The Leats, Truro, TR1 3, United Kingdom,Truro, Cornwall
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