Captain Cook Birthplace Museum launches tea tray appeal

The tray dates from the 1790s

A museum celebrating the life and work of Captain James Cook has launched a fundraising appeal to return a rare artefact to the North East.

The Captain Cook Birthplace Museum in Middlesbrough wants to acquire an 18th Century japanned tea tray that features a depiction of the explorer's death.

It formerly belonged to a wealthy local industrialist, and is now part of a private collection put up for sale.

Donations to help the museum meet the £34,500 asking price are being sought.

The tray - with a rendering by Edward Bird of George Carter's 1781 painting of the scene - dates from the 1790s and was presented to Henry Bolckow in the 1850s.

'Towering figure'

The wealthy industrialist, who became Middlesbrough's first mayor and MP, built Marton Hall at Stewart Park, the site of Cook's 1856 birthplace.

Following Bolckow's death, his collection of Cook artefacts was sold, with the death scene tray eventually finding its way to Australia.

Councillor Tom Mawston, chair of the Cook Birthplace Trust, said: "It would be fantastic if we were able to return it to the site of his birth.

"There remains huge local pride in the achievements of a man who pushed back the boundaries of the known world, and we are determined to develop and expand our celebration of one of history's towering figures."

Cook was beaten and stabbed to death in Hawaii in February 1779.