Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery

Bizarre Collection in University of Glasgow Campus, Scotland

© David Whitley


Scottish scientist William Hunter bequeathed Scotland's oldest public museum. Find the entrance, and marvel at Sir Isaac Newton's death mask and a walrus' penis bone...
The Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery in Glasgow, Scotland
There are some museums which have a definitive theme; they’re about something in particular and that’s the reason to go there. However, it’s often the case that the best museums have no overriding focus whatsoever. The Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery in Glasgow, Scotland is a fine example of the latter type.

Scottish scientist William Hunter
Having first opened in 1807, the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery is essentially the extensive (and often bizarre) collection of Scottish scientist William Hunter. He bequeathed the collection and the money to build a museum to the University of Glasgow, which is where the collection can be found today. It is Scotland’s oldest public museum, and is currently celebrating its 200th anniversary – no mean achievement.

University of Glasgow Campus at Gilmorehill

Finding the museum can be something of a challenge in itself – it is not in the centre of Glasgow, but on the University of Glasgow campus at Gilmorehill to the west. However, it is quite close to the city’s major museum complex – the Kelvingrove. The Hunterian Museum can also be quite tricky to find within the university building in which it is housed; it’s one of those where visitors have to go through a few entrances, up a few stairs and into a hall without the direction being immediately obvious.

Sir Isaac Newton, Frederic Chopin and Robert The Bruce
Still, it’s worth navigating all the passageways and courtyards, as the museum plays host to a fantastically random selection of artefacts from around the world. Here is just a selection of what can be found inside this most odd museum…

The skeleton of a young, male Indian elephant.

A bird’s nest encrusted in calcite.

A shield belonging to a member of a Scottish Highland tribe.

Sir Isaac Newton’s death mask.

A bronze cast of Frederic Chopin’s hand.

Chimu pottery from South America.

Some Chinese jade.

The baculum (or penis bone, as it is more commonly known) of a walrus.

A bone from the foot of famous Scottish leader Robert The Bruce

A testicle in a jar.

The tooth of a mastodon.

Lots and lots of Buddha statues

Collector… superstar
It's all rather random isn’t it? Well that’s what makes it a fascinating way to while away a couple of hours for any visitor to Glasgow. If there’s one part that sums it up, it is a display on William Hunter himself, with the tagline: “Collector, anatomist, midwife, author, researcher, academian, superstar.” That’s the spirit…