How to Donate to Tryon Palace Collections

Many of Tryon Palace’s museum collection objects have been acquired through generous donations from our community members.  Donations to the museum collection are tax deductible.

If you are interested in donating an object to the Tryon Palace museum collection:

Email the Director of Collections at Alyson.Rhodes-Murphy@ncdcr.gov  

Please describe the object in detail, including approximate date, history of object, and condition. Also attach an image of your object to the email.

Members of the Tryon Palace Collections Staff and the Tryon Palace Commission Collection Committee work together to review offers of object donations to the museum collection to determine whether the potential donations meet the collections’ scope.  

Criteria for evaluating an object for acceptance into the collection include the following considerations:

• Was the object made or used in eastern North Carolina?
• What is the object’s provenance and historical significance?
• What documentation (written or oral) is related to the object?
• What is the object’s exhibit potential?
• Does the object need conservation treatment?
• Does the object pose a storage risk to other collection objects?

Once an object has been evaluated and accepted for acquisition by the Collection Committee, Collections Staff will work with you to arrange for the object to be transferred to Tryon Palace’s custody. This will include the physical transfer of the object to Tryon Palace, as well as the relevant legal paperwork.  If you have any questions about this process, please contact the Registrar of Collections at Kayla.Leonard@ncdcr.gov.