Supporting research of Oriental and European lacquer

Yukiko Yoshi is a MA furniture conservation student at West Dean College. The dissertation she is working on is a comparative analysis of the metal powders used in

Oriental lacquer and the European imitations of Oriental lacquer, sometime called japanning. Her MA supervisors are: Mike Podmaniczky, Associate Professor at Winterthur Museum, Delaware, and tutor Furniture Programme at West Dean College; Nick Umney of the furniture consevation department of the Victoria and Albert Museum. In support of her research Yukiko requested access, in order to study and sample, several lacquer items at Temple Newsam House. I think there are two reasons why Yukiko looks so happy here. First that the access was agreed (and TN staff are looking forward to receiving a copy of her dissertation, heavy hint, Yukiko!). Second, Yukiko just learned that she has been awarded a six month paid internship, (HLF funded, ICON administered) in frame conservation at Guildhall Art Gallery. Supporting research and encouraging access have been fundamental to service delivery, since before I worked at Temple Newsam House, and all the years since, values I share with my colleagues, past and present. A precis of Yukiko's findings will be placed on the blog.

http://www.westdean.org.uk/

http://www.icon.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=295&Itemid=39

http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/LGNL_Services/Leisure_and_culture/Museums_and_galleries/Guildhall_Art_Gallery/

Good Morning Campers!

For the last week I have been looking through a variety of small objects to display at Abbey House as part of our newly decorated, seaside themed, penny arcade. These have related to different areas of the British holiday experience - postcards, travelling to the seaside, and the souvenirs you can pick up. As it’s almost the holiday season, I thought it would be a good time to blog about it.

One item that caught my eye and that I have been busy reading is “The Camp Herald” from 1935. This was published by the ‘Cunningham Young Men’s Holiday Camp’, affectionately titled Switzerland, but based in Douglas, Isle of Man. It was first established in 1887, and continued up until 1939. During World War I, it was requisitioned as an internment camp to contain prisoners of war. For World War II, it was requisitioned as a naval training camp. It never managed to recover and re-open as a holiday camp after World War II.

“The Camp Herald” was published yearly to keep campers up to date with the latest goings on, but also to serve as a good piece of marketing. It contains pictures of all the facilities at the camp, alongside testaments from past campers about how much fun they had, and how they will be returning next year with more of their friends.

C.A.E. from Hull, August, 1932 writes:

“I feel it my duty to write and tell you what a wonderful holiday my friend and I had at your Camp. Unfortunately, my friend had only one week, but I soon made fresh pals on my second week. The food is excellent in every way, the bungalows very comfortable, and the service rendered by the Camp staff, not forgetting the Orchestra, is first rate. We both intend coming again next year, and in addition bringing more friends from Hull.”



Looking at the facilities, it may not seem as grand as the Butlin’s or Pontin’s of the mid twentieth century, but it certainly pre-dates them by some way. The ‘campers’ stayed in tents, outdoor chalets, or for the wealthier, there was an indoor bungalow option – with a toilet provided on every floor. They could swim, eat, enjoy a good orchestral concert, play bowls, tennis and golf, or even watch the TT race. The camp offered a valet service to ensure each young man could look his best with nice clean clothes.





It may sound fun and games, but there were rules to the camp – and these were published in the Camp Herald to make sure any ‘would-be’ campers knew what was expected of them. Alcohol was not permitted at any time during the holiday – whether it was on camp or not. Girls were a definite no, especially late at night. And there was a curfew with lights-out – 11.45pm until 7am on weekdays, 11.30pm until 7am on Sundays – with absolutely no chance of an extension to this. Rowdy campers who disobeyed the rules in any way would be swiftly removed.

Translation in progress for a Chinese table screen

This eight-fold table screen which is currently displayed at Lotherton Hall is one of the most interesting yet trickiest objects from the Chinese collections. It is believed to be a present to someone, possibly an official or a prestigious scholar, on his 80th birthday some 200 years ago.

I am trying to unravel the full meaning of the cursive scripts which appear on the square panels of each side. They used many symbolic and old Chinese words, however, making them hard to read. At first, I thought they were two poems consisting of 8 lines and 7 syllables each, which described the painted scenes of figures and mountain views respectively. After spending some time researching the words and the contexts in which they have been used, I am now hesitating to suggest that the two poems seem to address completely different topics. The poems allude to the story of the Heavenly Peach Garden owned by the Queen Mother of the West (王母 pinyin pronunciation: wang2 mu3) who is the Daoist Goddess of Immortality. Yet some of the lines reveal the role of the owner of this present in relation to the politics at that time, while some share similarities with the Chinese couplets (对联 pinyin pronunciation: dui4 lian2), which are still used on the occasion of birthdays nowadays. Here is my translation of some of the scripts:

五湖太老方傾 ? (荦)
四海高人盡賦詩

Pinyin pronunciation:
wu3 hu2 tai4 lao3 fang1 qing1 ?(luo4)
si4 hai3 gao1 ren2 jin4 fu4 shi1

Translation:

Great learning is known only when elders from the Five Lakes

And scholars from the Four Seas gather to improvise

Notes: Five Lakes, Four Seas mean all corners of the world

願言鶴算齊方朔
王母蟠桃任意偷

Pinyin pronunciation:

yuan4 yan2 he4 suan4 qi2 fang1 shuo4

wang2 mu3 pan2 tao2 ren4 yi4 tou1

Translation:

We wish you longevity like Fang Shuo who gained immortality

After eating the peaches stolen from the Queen Mother

Notes: Fang Shuo served as an attendant then the Superior Master of the Palace under Han Emperor Wu (140-87 BC). His brash confidence and ready wit were favoured by the emperor. This led Fang to become a prominent figure in the Daoist legends. One famous story about him was that he thrice stole and ate the peaches of immortality from the Queen Mother of the West.

漫言陶?(浚)無真賞

甘谷相逢盡主人

Pinyin pronunication:

man4 yan2 tao2 ? (jun4) wu2 zhen1 shang3

gan1 gu3 xiang1 feng2 jin4 zhu3 ren2

Translation:

Rumors say that Tao Xun failed to appreciate

I came across friendship in this foreign land (uncertain)

(These two lines are tricky, the meanings suggested by these words do not seem to make sense)

自是蓬壺天不老
碧桃花底醉長生

Pinyin pronunciation:

zi4 shi4 peng2 hu2 tian1 bu4 lao3

bi4 tao2 hua1 de5 zui4 chang2 sheng1

Translation:

I believe in the fairy mountain and the ageless sky

Let us live to eternity beneath the golden peach blossoms

Another mysterious aspect of this object is whether the paintings and the poems were created by the same person. The painted scenes of figures appear to suggest a moment before a feast began when the guests and attendants carried out some form of offering. The mountain scenes are decorative. The same red seal mark consistently appears in the corner of the calligraphy squares suggesting this is the poet’s mark, is believed to provide information of who wrote the scripts, which is however, not yet identified.

The War Illustrated

This piece was actually researched and written by Megan Turnpenney – a student from Greenhead College –who was on a placement with us at Abbey House Museum last week. Having come across these items a few weeks ago, but not having had the chance to put anything together for the blog, it seemed a perfect opportunity for Megan to get to work…

At Abbey House museum we house a collection of magazines written during and after the Second World War. The magazine- ‘The War Illustrated’- was originally started in 1914 at the start of the first World War, but was discontinued in 1919 after the war ended. However it later returned at the start of World War II and continued to be published until 1947. The magazine was edited by John Hammerton, it was published every alternate Friday and was extremely popular. The popularity was partly due to the fact that the magazines expressed the views of the British public throughout the war.

The magazines covered a range of articles from what certain regiments of the army were doing in the war effort to eye witness stories of the war. The magazine also discussed key debates of the time such as whether Britain could still count herself as an island or whether she was truly dependant on others to survive. ‘The War Illustrated’ tried to boost morale whilst also trying to give informative and accurate information. Certain stories were heartbreaking to read as they recounted gruesome tales of life in a Nazi prison camps and the suffering of hundreds or thousands.

However many articles were written not to shock readers but to increase patriotism and support of the war. One such page displayed a picture of The N.A.A.F.I ( Navy, Army and Air force Institutes) the picture only contained women who, for the first time, would be working in the Forces canteen at Singapore- all the women shown look in a state of happiness and excitement for the task they are about to embark on. (Volume 7, Magazine number 175, pictured above.)

Another article which was published contained a condensed version of a speech given by Churchill - Prime Minister of the time. In this speech the Premier gave an inspiring review of the accomplishments and ordeals that led to victory in Europe. “I told you hard things at the beginning of these last five years. You did not shrink, and I should be unworthy of your confidence” Also in this certain magazine, published a month after Germany’s surrender, there is a picture on the last page of Churchill passing through Downing Street surrounded by an exuberant crowd after hearing of Germany’s unconditional surrender. (Volume 9, Magazine number 208, pictured below.)

As we are a museum service, one article had to be included. On the back page of an edition of the magazine, there was a picture of 20 tonnes of Precious manuscripts and ancient documents being returned to the British Museum after spending six years in their wartime repository at Skipton Castle. Yorkshire accumulated the artefacts in 1939 due to the imminence of war and the possibility of air-raids on main sites in London. The boxes containing the manuscripts were guarded by police and railway detectives; the boxes were also padded, locked and sealed to ensure minimum danger to these precious documents. (Volume 9, Magazine number 227, pictured below).

Sadly, the original City Museum in Leeds wasn’t lucky enough to have an alternative home – it was hit by an air raid in 1941, and many of the objects were damaged. A visitor to the Leodis.net website comments on how their mother was taken to see the damage, and saw Nessy the Leeds Mummy out on the street!

Dangerous spiders at Leeds Museums

Banana Spiders (also known as Brazilian Wandering Spiders) live in the rainforests of South America, wandering the forest floors at night and hiding in, amongst other things, banana trees during the day. Their bite will cause immediate pain, a cold sweat and irregular heartbeat. They have been known to cause death within an hour! Although they are most common in banana imports into the US, they have been recorded to survive the transatlantic journey to UK supermarkets.

Like that of the Banana Spider, the venom produced by the North American Black Widow also acts on the nervous system. Deaths are caused by its victims being unable to breath. While Banana Spiders are aggressive, Black Widows only bite in self defence, for example if they are accidentally trodden on. Although their venom is extremely potent, deaths in healthy adults are extremely rare and anti-venom treatment is usually successful.

Although the Brown Huntsman Spider also appears fearsome, it is easily scared by humans and will flee on their approach. It has great speed and agility, running out of its hiding place of small cracks to ambush its prey, as although it has the ability to produce silk it does not spin webs. They are common in Australia, and their leg span can be up to 20cm! They are often regarded as welcome inhabitants of homes, helping to keep down cockroach numbers.

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Posted by Clare but written and researched by Sara Tricoglus (biology intern, Spring 2010) who worked diligently on the wonderful herbarium collections held at Leeds Museum Discovery Centre.

I couldn't resist tagging this drawer on to the end of Sara's blog:It's part of Leeds Museums and Gallery's arachnid collection. All these specimens were found in bananas or grapes in Leeds supermarkets.

Leeds links to Boston (Massachusetts)

Having just come back from a trip to Boston (purely pleasure - not work, although I did of course visit a couple of museums) I thought I'd check what items we had in the Leeds collections which had connections to that city.

First off is this late Victorian souvenir teapot stand (donated in 1967) featuring the statue of George Washington which still stands in the Boston Public Gardens.

More recently, in 2008, we collected some personal items belonging to a Leeds woman Hannah Bloomfield (nee Fatkin) who was an active Christian Scientist and visited the mother church in Boston in 1934. The bag that she used for the trip is shown below.

Before marriage, Hannah Fatkin was manageress of Field's Coffee House, Commercial Street Leeds. She was a significant figure in the Christian Science movement in Leeds during the 1930s and 1940s.

Last week I visited the Mary Baker Eddy Library in the Christian Science Head Quarters in Boston and in particular saw the famous "Mapparium" which is a glass globe and world map that you can stand inside. It is frozen in time in 1935 which is around the time Hannah visited, so she may have seen it newly installed. The map proved too costly to alter to keep up with the upheavals of the 20th century, so is a snapshot of a vanished world order. http://www.marybakereddylibrary.org/exhibits/mapparium