Museum Conservation Project 2002

Most of the prisoner-of-war work, on display at Peterborough Museum, consists of objects of carved bone and ivory, including model ships (many of the prisoners were sailors), guillotines, needle-work boxes and playing cards; and articles of straw marquetry. It is the largest and finest collection of such items in the world.

The Museum has held the Norman Cross collection of prisoner of war craftwork for many years. Some of the delicate items have deteriorated over time and are showing signs of decay.

In 2002, The Museum launched the Norman Cross Conservation Project to care for the items in most need of conservation. The project was only possible through generous grants awarded by The Pilgrim Trust and the Garfield Weston Foundation, with generous contributions from the Museum Society and the Friends of Peterborough Museum.

The Norman Cross Collection at Peterborough Museum

Source: Peterborough City Council

A needle-work box (Peterborough Museum)

A model ship (Peterborough Museum)