The Crimean War, Sevastopol, and British Military Collecting Strategies in the Black Sea Region c.1829–1856

Abstract

Between 1854 and 1856 the shape of private and public collections of arms, armour, and ordnance were influenced directly by the conflict with Russia, especially from the main theatre in the Crimea and its key military engagements including Alma, Balaklava, Inkerman, and Sevastopol. While antiquities and some examples of militaria had entered private collections through personal travel during the first half of the nineteenth century, it was the outbreak of war with Russia that perhaps had the strongest influence on collections. The new theatre of war provided fresh opportunities to begin a collection or expand an existing one. Moreover, a greater number of individuals from all levels of society were given chances to acquire objects than hithertofore, from militaria to objets d’art to ordinary domestic items. Pictures and photographs were often the most highly prized, particularly of the time before war had started and the destruction of cities such as Sevastopol had occurred. 1