A sample of mounted specimens in the Berry bird case.
Image: Ben Mountford
Source: Museum Victoria
An antique cabinet featuring a beautiful collection of mounted specimens is now on display at Melbourne Museum.
In a brief ceremony recently held in the Discovery Centre, Museum Victoria’s Wayne Longmore and Rory O’Brien formally accepted the Berry family’s donation of the approximately one hundred year old cabinet and New Guinea birds.
Both the cabinet and its donors have a long and interesting connection with the collection of historical items.
In the 1960s, Fran and Dick Berry opened a large antique shop in Flinders Lane with their son Richard. Passing between two carved wooden statues of fetching young women, visitors descended a stairway into a veritable Aladdin’s Cave of beautiful antiques, books and curios.
The shop was unusual in that at least half the objects there were not for sale, or only became available once the Berrys were convinced that a potential buyer had fallen in love with an item and would give it a good home. Featuring thousands of diverse and eclectic pieces, their collection included an especially beautiful bird cabinet.
Display cabinets featuring mounted bird specimens were popular ornaments in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Considered a curiosity by shoppers and browsers who visited the family store, this particular example contained a number of species unique to New Guinea.
Now on show at the Discovery Centre, the cabinet and contents will continue to be enjoyed by visitors to Melbourne Museum.