The Museum is Norfolk's premier museum and houses the world's largest collections of Norwich silver, Lowestoft porcelain and works from the Norwich School of artist. The museum's Anglo-Saxon and Viking exhibits, which include a gallery and a reconstruction of an Anglo-Saxon burial site, are accompanied by exhibits ranging from Egyptian tombs to contemporary design.

One of the highlights of the collection is The Paston Treasure, commissioned by Sir Robert Paston in the mid-1670s. It was probably painted by a Dutch artist visiting the family home in Oxnead Hall and depicts items from their incredible collection. The painting's wooden frame was spectacularly gilded in 2015 thanks to a campaign hosted on the Art Fund's crowdfunding platform, Art Happens.