I am fascinated by manmade objects created in the eras of early man through the 1700s or so—tools, weapons, clothing, jewelry, mechanical objects (especially mechanical objects), maps, furniture, shelters, statues, and the like. Paintings are not really my thing.
What kind of museum would focus on or house collections of these sorts of manmade objects? I can’t come up with what the right term for this would be to make much headway searching online.
Do you have any suggestions for museums with collections along these lines within up to ~8 hours drive time of SE Michigan?
Thanks, Historians!
I don't know about Michigan, but if you are ever in Paris, a visit to Musée des Arts et Métiers might be up your alley, at least partially. I distinctly remember there was a room full of working demos of interesting linkage designs for power transmission - some were really obscure, but really neat to see in real life.
Also, if in Munich, the massive Deutsches Museum is also related. It is more of a museum of engineering, science and tech, so it is skewed towards that.
Edit: I am not sure how much stuff they have pre-1700s though. These two might be too late for your liking.
Hi, it may be worth x-posting this question to /r/museumpros