New £60,000 Welsh Government-funded gallery case brings South Asian treasures into focus and invites deeper conversations about history, identity and power
VISITORS to Powis Castle and Garden will be able to get closer than ever before to some of its most globally significant historical objects from February 14, following the installation of a new state-of-the-art museum display case.
Funded by a £60,000 grant from the Welsh Government’s Cultural Transformational Capital Programme, the new case allows four important artefacts from the castle’s internationally significant South Asian collection to take pride of place within the museum’s gallery.
The objects include the 18th-century Tiger Head Finial, once part of Tipu Sultan’s throne, Tipu’s sword, a symbolic object representing both power and warfare, along with a ceramic jug and a set of chess pieces. Together, they form the first phase of a wider ambition to re-present and reinterpret the castle’s South Asian collection for modern audiences.
Shane Logan, General Manager at Powis Castle and Garden, said the project marks a significant step forward in how these objects are shared with the public.
“We’re excited to share a new chapter for the South Asian Collection—one that’s all about making it easier for everyone to explore, understand, and enjoy.
Over time, we’ve been listening, learning, and working with academics, curators, and researchers to uncover the many layers of history behind these objects.
This updated interpretation and new display case open the door to bigger conversations about how art, power, exchange, domination and resistance have shaped relationships between nations. These objects aren’t just things from the past—they continue to influence how we think about identity, history, and each other today.”
He added that collaboration has been central to the project:
“We’re working with a wide range of voices to make sure the stories we share are richer, more honest, and more inclusive. We hope this space encourages visitors to pause, reflect, and maybe even see history from a new angle.”
Powis Castle is home to one of the world’s great collections of art and historical objects, with more than 13,500 items in total. Within the Clive Museum, nearly 700 artefacts from South and East Asia are displayed, dating from 1600 to the 1830s. This collection was assembled by generations of the Clive family during the British colonisation of the Indian subcontinent and brought to Powis Castle in the early 19th century.
Qamoos Bukhari, Lead Project Curator at the National Trust, described the collection as both significant and challenging.
“The Clive Museum collections at Powis Castle are among the most significant, inspiring, and challenging in the UK.
This exhibition moves away from traditional approaches to presenting pre-modern art, offering new points of reference and multiple narratives that reflect how visitor expectations have changed.”
He added that the new display draws on poetry, politics, historical context and contemporary interpretation to broaden understanding.
“It highlights the journeys these artefacts have taken, using them to explore British and South Asian colonial histories and their links to resistance and global exchange — forces that can sometimes overshadow creativity, local traditions, and artistic identity.”
The funding also supports new digital equipment, providing visual and audio content for visitors, alongside improved lighting, seating, and bilingual Welsh and English interpretation, making the gallery more accessible and engaging.
Karen George, Property Curator at Powis Castle and Garden, said the redisplay is part of a wider long-term strategy.
“By placing renewed focus on these remarkable objects, the project seeks to encourage dialogue and offer richer access to the complex histories of cultural significance.
This trial redisplay forms part of our ongoing representation and experience planning for the historic interiors of the castle as a whole. It allows us to test a new approach that will help shape how we present the wider collection in the future.”
The new display case is not just about conservation and presentation, but about creating a space for reflection, learning and conversation — offering visitors a deeper, more nuanced understanding of history, culture, and identity through the objects on display.
The new gallery display opens to the public at Powis Castle and Garden on 14 February.
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