Q. Gavaghan Collection of Military Miniatures

Donated by Mr. Paul Gavaghan of Chevy Chase, M.D. The collection is housed in the Insel Display Case for Military Miniatures, and in adjacent display cases which are located in the Daniel Library. The first part of the collection consists of miniatures that are from three to five inches. It consists of the following ten displays:

.....Alexander the Great's army, 4th century, B.C.

.....Assyrian army, 8th-7th centuries, B.C.

.....Ancient soldiers: Egyptian, Hittite, Nubian, and Philistine.

.....Byzantine army, 4th-15th centuries, A.D.

.....Celtic army, 8th-5th centuries, B.C.

.....Gothic army which overthrew ancient Rome, 5th century, A.D.

.....Hannibal's Carthaginian army, 3rd-2nd centuries, B.C.

.....Imperial Roman army, 1st century, B.C.-5th century, A.D.

.....Persian army, 6th-4th centuries, B.C.

.....Scythian army, 7th-6th centuries, B.C.

The second part of this magnificent collection is now kept in drawers in the new map case, waiting to be put in display cases. They consist of approximately a thousand units. The soldiers are about one inch high while those on horseback are about two inches. They consist of the following armies:

.....Persian Army.

.....Alexander's Army.

.....Republican Roman Army.

.....Carthaginian Army.

.....Imperial Roman Army.

.....Hunnic Army.

.....Later Roman Army.

.....Teutonic Army.

.....Carolingian Army.

.....Byzantine Army.

All of the miniatures were assembled and painted by Mr. Gavaghan. West Point has a huge collection of military miniatures, but even they do not have as good a collection of ancient armies. This may be the pre-eminent collection of its type in the United States.