Search the Collections

The new website has been launched this week:

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/

Well worth a look. There is a lot that is hidden away in stores that is now accessible on the internet.

 

V&A Glass Gallery

This isn’t new but hidden away at the back of the museum. It is well worth a visit. A lot of spectacular pieces of glass in a very well presented gallery.

 

Museum stores

There is something surreal about being in a museum store. It is so different from seeing an object in an exhibition where the objects are displayed as to show them off or tell a story, but whatever the purpose they are treated with reverence. In a store, however, it is about the usage of space. The objects are well cared for and stored so that they do not deteriorate, but what you think about the object, its ‘meaning’ is not a consideration. I was in a V&A sculpture store the other day and as I waited for the curator to return I found myself standing next to a life-size plaster cast of Michaelangelo’s David. Having never seen the original it was quite amazing to just see this plaster cast, but I couldn’t really appreciate it as I had work to do!

 

Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle

This is my favourite museum ever! I went back there recently and it was still impressive.

It is a local history museum but they have made so much of the resources that they have to hand that it is a really enjoyable visit. All the staff are really nice which can make a real difference. I also walked about 12 miles to get there so it was good to be able to relax inside away from the Cumbrian rain.

I thoroughly recommend a visit.

 

The Ambassadors

I saw this painting in the flesh for the first time at the National Gallery last weekend. I’ve seen it so many times in books that it was rather strange seeing it up close and real. I hadn’t realised the amount of detail in the painting, some things just don’t come across in books and it is seeing them for real that you really appreciated them.

I wish more people could go to museums and galleries and get the joy of seeing art and history in its physical state. It has more of an impact on the mind over just words and pictures in a book.

 

V&A Jewellery Gallery

Not that I have any ulterior motive but I recommend the newly reopened Jewellery gallery at the V&A. The gallery is spread over two floors, linked but a spiral glass staircase. The jewellery is displayed chronologically and split up by country. There are loads of sparkling jewels to look at, you can have a go at designing your own, and don’t forget to open the drawers to see even more.

 

Natural History Museum

On Sunday lunchtime, I went for a visit to the Natural History Museum. I couldn’t believe how busy it was, I had to queue to get in! I’d obviously forgotten that the combination of a rainy day and school half term makes for a busy day in a museum.

I managed to have a wander around and see some exhibits that I haven’t looked at for a while, but mostly it was too busy to be able to hang around contemplating!

I was reminded though, of a book that I read called the dinosaur hunters. This was when looking at some of the fossils and I remembered the hours that had gone into the excavation of these specimens.  Learning about the past does not come fast and easy.

 

The joy of database

Documentation and collections management may bore some people but it is a vital part of the running of a museum.

Without knowing what you have in a collection, then that collection becomes redundant. You can only go so far with preserving objects, but if they lose their meaning then the point of a museum is lost. Good documentation facilitates the sharing of knowledge.

So the next time that you are on the look out for a particular item think of the people working behind the scenes maintaining the database who preserve this information.

 

Ilfracombe Museum

On a recent trip to Devon I visited a couple of museums in the north of the county. After spending a lot of time in the National Museums up in London it was really nice to go around some small museums. The eclectic nature of small local museums makes wandering around them a chance to explore and discover things for yourself. They have no grand idea to teach you, instead you look around and look for connections to the local area yourself.

One of the museums was Ilfracombe Museum. It is near the seafront, away from the main high street.  It only has a few rooms, but these are jammed with the collection. I found some police items which I always look out for in museums. It also had an interesting natural history collection, tucked away in drawers which you had to open to see. It was more reminscent of the cabinets of curiosities, with a little bit of everything tucked away somewhere.

There was a little display about Lundy Island, which is on my list of places to visit, and I must make the time to do one day!

 

Activities in museums

I went to Fishbourne Roman Palace at the weekend, where they had a Celtic Family Day. This basically involved tables of activities laid out for people to turn there hand at something. It was a shame we couldn’t turn our hand at Roman tasks, but the museum wanted to do something different.

I’m all in favour of activities and it was a fun day out. It was good to be able to chat to the volunteers and staff and find out more than you would by looking around by yourself. But the only drawback is that because you are so involved in doing the activities, it is easy to forget to look around the site and museum!