A FASCINATING collection of 19th-century household accessories, toys and clothes from central and eastern Europe at Haslemere Museum, has been photographed and documented by two visiting academics.

The museum hosted two postgraduate placement students this summer and welcomed Xinyu Chen and Qi Zhou from the University of Leicester, who are both studying for an MA in art museum and gallery studies.

They undertook an eight-week work placement at the museum, which enabled them to put into practice the many skills they have acquired through their studies.

During their time at the museum, the students photographed and documented artefacts from the Horsnaill collection of Central and Eastern European textiles that was recently gifted to Haslemere.

The Horsnaill collection comprises more than 140 artefacts and thanks to the work put in by Xinyu and Qi, the background of each bag, belt, doll, brooch or item of clothing can now be explored on the museum database, together with a map showing where individual items originated from.

Artefacts range from an embroidered drawstring bag from Greece, richly decorated shawls from Yugoslavia, ornate slippers from Albania and patterned collars and bonnets from Hungary.

While undertaking this project, both students improved their skills by learning how to take professional standard photographs of objects and how to edit them.

They also updated the museum’s database records and added information about how the objects were made.

The comprehensive interactive map they created to pinpoint the origin of objects from the collection, displays their wide distribution throughout Europe.

Xinyu and Qi will return to China after their placements, but both thoroughly enjoyed their time at the museum.

Thanking the museum for providing their work placement opportunity, the students said: “While on our placement we’ve had the chance to find out about all the different types of activities in the museum.

“We have particularly enjoyed helping with some of the family friendly events hosted by the museum over the summer.”

A database of photographs from the Horsnaill Collection created by the students can be searched online at the museum website.

An interactive map is in progress and can be accessed later in the year.

To find out more about work placement opportunities visit www.haslemeremuseum.co.uk