Powis Castle and Garden

One of the UK's most significant collections of Indian objects is displayed within the ballroom at Powis Castle.

The Clive Museum is home to a collection of more than 1000 items from South and East Asia that were assembled by two generations of the Clive family: Robert (who became known as Clive of India) and his son Edward, who married Henrietta Herbert, daughter of the 1st Earl of Powis (2nd creation). It includes ivories, textiles, statues of Hindu gods, ornamental silver and gold, weapons, and ceremonial armour which date from about 1600 to the 1830s.

The story behind the objects is not always clear and although some items were purchased or received as gifts, others were acquired as spoils of war, and so today the collection remains a symbol of Britain’s colonial past and represents the ongoing impacts of colonial and imperial legacies in the twenty-first century. Both academic and community research remains ongoing to ensure a balanced interpretation of this significant collection.