34 



3^^ November^ 1890. 



J. H. Greenhill, Esq., Mus. Bac, in the Chair. 



George Trobridge, Esq., Head Master of the Belfast Govern 



ment School of Art,, read a Paper on 



ART IN THE BELFAST MUSEUM. 



Museums are generally voted dull places, and the Belfast 

 Museum has, I fear, with the outside public the reputation 

 of being the dullest of dull Museums. I do not think the 

 Museum deserves quite all the abuse it receives, though it 

 is not as cheerful a place as it might be. I must confess I 

 have found a great deal to interest me in it, and so, I think, 

 most persons would if they knew what to look for. Why 

 is it that museums are found dull ? For the same reason that 

 many interesting books are dull to a large class of persons. 

 They are not educated to appreciate them, or they have dissi- 

 pated their powers by over-indulgence in light literature. A 

 museum, though dedicated to the muses, is not a place of 

 amusement in the common sense of the term ; it is essentially 

 a place of study. "We must remember that the muses presided 

 over history and astronomy as well as over music and dancing. 

 A museum is dull to the ignorant, but a heaven of delight to 

 the learned. What we want in order to make museums in- 

 teresting is a guide, and, without pretending to deep knowledge 

 either in art or antiquity, I humbly offer my services in that 

 capacity while we explore some of the dark corners of the 

 Belfast Museum. 



In looking round to find material and illustration for my 

 lecture, my most important and extensive discoveries were in 



