Inside The Vault

The Morton Lighting Collection includes a wide variety of candles, lanterns and lamps dating as far back as 500 BC! The history of humankind and the history of lighting technology are closely linked. The need to control and use light to improve life drove humans to learn the technical art of producing and delivering light through various methods over time.

This fascinating collection documents the evolution of lighting technology over the course of 2,000 years and helps us to learn more about how people used to live. Lamps are vessels of history that demonstrate innovation, artistry, and culture.

With over 4,000 shell specimens, the Barker Collection is extremely significant. With an extensive variety of both marine and freshwater species from all over the world, the specimens illustrate a dazzling array of sizes, colors, shapes, and patterns.

A single specimen can’t reveal the full spectrum of variation in a species. That is why scientists often collect many individual specimens. A collection like the Barker Shell Collection can showcase the array of sizes, colors, shapes, and patterns that can be found within a species. This allows scientists to compare individuals and populations, track variations through time or across distances, and identify new species.

The extraordinary Davis Collection consists of about 350 miniatures representing human and animal forms from several different cultures around the world. The miniatures vary in age, with the oldest more than 4,000 years old, and the most recent around 70 years old.

The Davis Collection of Miniatures can help us understand more about the history and culture of different world civilizations over time.

From the miniatures, we can gain a sense of what was important to a culture by what they chose to depict. We can learn what materials were available to them based on what was used to make the miniatures, materials either from the surrounding environment or acquired through trade and cultural exchange. We also gain a better understanding of a culture’s beliefs, values, religious ceremonies, burial practices, manner of dress and more by studying these artifacts.

Hundreds of fossils belong to the Stinchcomb Fossil Collection, including some quite rare examples from all over the world. Although most of the specimens are from marine animals, the collection also consists of a variety of plant and mammal fossils as well, including unique and significant Paleozoic fossil plants.

Interestingly, most of the fossils were found in Missouri and Illinois and help to tell the story of early life in our region. Some of these specimens changed our understanding of when life first appeared in Missouri, pushing the timeline back to well over 1.5 billion years ago!

The extraordinary Grimm Collection consists of nearly 300 sculptures, figures, and carvings in the shape of or featuring the elephant. Most of the artifacts come from Asia, particularly China, Japan, India, and Southeast Asian countries. There are also some examples from Africa and a small number from European countries.

As a collection that focuses on one animal, the elephant, the Grimm Collection can help us understand more about the significance of this exotic creature to different cultures. Many cultures who live in the same lands as elephants have incorporated them into their religion, mythology, symbolism, and art. As a result, we can get a sense of the varying degrees of importance they have.