Decorative Arts and History, including the Great Seal of the Irish Free State, is the part of the collection kept at the Collins Barracks site, a former military barracks named after Michael Collins in 1922. This site, opened in 1997 and also holds the Museum's administrative centre, a shop and a coffee shop.
This section has displays of furniture, silver, ceramics and glassware, as well as examples of folk life and costume, and money and weapons. A Chinese porcelain vase from about 1300 AD, the Fonthill vase, is one of the features. Special exhibitions are mounted regularly, in summer 2007, for example, one of Irish High Crosses.
The Soldiers & Chiefs exhibition features military artefacts and memorabilia tracing Ireland's military history from 1550 to the present.
Read more about this topic: National Museum Of Ireland
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