British Imperialism and its Legacies: 1888 International Exhibition of Science, Art and Industry
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Glasgow Museums has a collection of approximately 700 objects relating to the 1888 International Exhibition of Science, Art and Industry, held in Glasgow to fundraise for a new museum. Over 5 million people visited the largest event of its kind in Scotland. Legacies of the exhibition include today’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, collection objects, and white imperial narratives.
Countries then part of Great Britain and its Empire were represented in a ‘colonial court’. Objects from Myanmar, Canada, Sri Lanka, India and South Africa were displayed. However, no acknowledgement of the Indian government officials who had curated the India Pavilion displays, nor the crafts people involved appeared in official publications or press, though Glaswegian businessman and politician John Muir and the British colonial officials based in India were. The art that was made in Glasgow was based on Indian government art school products made for export. Indian craftsmen worked in the exhibition: two woodcarvers, two potters, two jewellers and three confectioners making goods for sale. There were also backdrops showing Indian tea plantations, textiles, and armoury. The Pavilion was decorated by Doulton and Co., manufacturers of the fountain now outside the People’s Palace Museum, Glasgow which reinforced this celebration of Empire.
The exhibition had a strong German content, reflecting the royal family’s ties to Germany and its industry, nationhood and empire.
Collection objects commemorating the 1888 Exhibition include admission tickets, tableware (textiles, ceramics, glass), medals, prints and books, the remains of a reception room, and 113 preparatory sketches for John Lavery’s huge painting celebrating Queen Victoria’s visit.
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