72 ACCOUNTS, ETC., OF THE BEITISH MUSEUM. 



collection of North American Indian dresses. Five frames 

 have been filled with personal ornaments from New Guinea, 

 Asiatic Islands, Africa, and Matty Island, and placed upon 

 screens ; while a number of African shields have been 

 mounted and placed above the wall-cases. A collection of 

 African pottery and musical instruments from various 

 localities have been placed on exhibition. 



The work of arrangement has been greatly hampered by 

 the increasingly crowded state of every section of the 

 Department. This difficulty has been made greater by the 

 intrusion of the Roman antiquities into the Prehistoric 

 Section, in consequence of the occupation of the Roman 

 Room by the Waddesdon Bequest. It is to be hoped that 

 additional space may be found or created in the near future. 



The registration of current acquisitions has been continued, 

 and 561 objects have been registered, while 86 ethnographical 

 specimens have been drawn and described for the slip 

 catalogue. The slip- catalogue of the Franks Collection of 

 finger-rings has been continued, and will form the basis of 

 the printed catalogue to be published by the Trustees. A 

 similar catalogue of English pottery has been continued, and 

 1,304 pieces have been described during this year. 



The Trustees have issued the publication on the objects 

 obtained by the recent expedition to Benin, which have been 

 given to the Museum by Her Majesty's Principal Secretary 

 of State for Foreign Affairs, and on other objects from the 

 same locality which have been otherwise given or sold to the 

 Museum. 



- A large number of pamphlets connected with pottery and 

 porcelain have been arranged and bound in volumes, to which 

 an index has been affixed. About 350 large labels indicating 

 the principal contents of the exhibition cases have been 

 prepared, printed, and mounted throughout the Department. 

 Other labels to the number of 441 have been painted, and a 

 great number written, especially for the Ethnographical 

 section. 



Twelve hundred wooden tablets for labels and specimens 

 have been prepared ; and 429 objects and 561 miscellaneous 

 photographs have been mounted. On the hand-press 50 

 book-plates and 386 headings to slips have been printed, as 

 well as a number of labels. 



During the year there have been 1,610 visitors to the 

 studies of this Department. 



II. — Acquisitions. 



The most important accession is the collection of works of 

 art bequeathed by Baron Ferdinand Rothschild, noticed in 

 the following section. 



(1.) Early British and Prehistoric Antiquities : — 



A stone mould for the manufacture of bronze spear-heads, 

 found at Wallingford, Berks. 



