Treasure!
What is treasure? Sparkly and valuable or precious to me? Museums measure value not just in terms of cost or financial value but in significance and understanding, an ordinary object becomes valuable
This exhibition at Liverpool was a joyful and wonderful exploration of treasure. The
exhibition design was understated and allowed us to revel and luxuriate in the bling and sparkle of gold and precious metals that were created and formed thousands of years ago. The centrepiece is the Mold Cape, stunning and usually on display in the British Museum - a long way from where it was found. There is a nice replica of the cape in Mold Museum* but there is something special about the real thing, made almost 4,000 years ago. Since being found in 1833 it has acquired meaning and legends which add to its value and interest, but this is an object that illustrates why we visit museums – you need to see the real thing. It’s also the subject of regular repatriation requests from Wales.
The exhibition also covered finds from Cheshire and it was fun to see items from across Cheshire including loans from Nantwich Museum and we spent time working out which items we know from local museums.
My team have just completed a pilot project for the Welsh Government about recognising significant and nationally important collections in museums in Wales (outside of Amgueddfa Cymru). This has been a joyful project to deliver. We supported 17 museums big and small to identify special collections which have national (or international) significance. They have researched the objects, considering significance in terms of historical, artistic, technical and scientific, social and community value. Similar schemes in Scotland and England require a committee to approve the significance, in Wales we asked the museums to identify verifiers who have specialist, academic or community knowledge and experience to help demonstrate the significance. This introduced a wonderful range of experts and enthusiasts who shared their knowledge.
*this exhibition is small and was designed by my team at Headland Design
I found this post only because you liked one of mine. So happy! My birth grandfather who died in 1929 of pneumonia before antibiotics was born in Wales. I am trying to learn how to speak the old language using Duolingo, but without a lot of success. So far :-) I subscribed to keep up with your posts about past treasures.
wow im in Wales and was unaware Welsh artefacts were on display outside my country.