Happy Mother's Day

To wish all Mums a very happy Mother's Day, here are a selection of objects from the museums collection decorated with mother-of-pearl

Bellows

These bellows are from the 18th century and were donated to the museum by Frank Green.Frank Green was an avid collector and built up an extensive and important collection. He ran the family business in Wakefield making the 'Green Economiser', that his father had invented.

Tatting Shuttle

Tatting is a way of making lace from a series of knots and loops. The tatting shuttle holds thread and guides it through the loops making the knots. You don't have to tat to like these, and in fact they are very collectable.  This one dates to around 1840.

Carte de Visite cases

A carte de visite is a small photograph, invented in Paris in 1854, they are about the size of visiting cards.  They were very popular in Victorian times. They featured many famous figures and were traded and collected. The only known picture of Mary Seacole was taken for a carte de visite.

Accessories

Victorian evening purse

Lace and mother of pearl decorated fan

Suede gloves, with mother of pearl buttons

Happy Mother's day.

The persuasive power of 'Mother'

As the shops are full of Mother's Day marketing, we look back to 1915 and see that the persuasive powers of 'mother' were used to get men to sign up to the army.

‘Go! It’s your duty lad. Join to-day’

This poster features in Wakefield Museums new exhibition 'A call to arms: the art of persuasion - recruitment posters of World War One.'

Lithograph, June 1915.  Printed by David Allen & sons Ltd, Harrow.  Published by the Parliamentary Recruiting Committee, no 109.

By June 1915 recruits for the army had fallen and enthusiasm for the war effort was waning.

Posters like this one tried to appeal to mothers to put aside selfish reasons and send in their boys. It received criticism for appearing too much like any other advertising campaign and humorous copies depicted the mother selling different products.

See this poster and others at Wakefield Museum, Wakefield One, Burton Street, Wakefield, WF1 2DD.  Free entry.  The exhibition runs until 26 September.  

Aviary in the Atrium Commission

May 2nd 1865. On this night at 11 o’clock two nightingales were singing melodiously in the Park at Walton Hall. Extract from the Diary of Charles Waterton, 1865

This is the last entry in the notebook of Charles Waterton, the Wakefield naturalist, explorer and pioneering conservationist. He died on 27 May 1865 aged 82. 2015 will mark 150 years since he passed away – and the near 150 years taken to catch up with his progressive ideas for nature conservation!

From May 2015 for a year Wakefield will mark this anniversary to celebrate Waterton’s incredible life and commemorate his legacy.

Wakefield Museums have been successful in securing funding from Arts Council England for a project to commission an artist or cultural organisation to create an installation in showcases at Wakefield One.  Wakefield’s new flagship civic building opened in 2012, it accommodates a range of Council services including a new museum and library. Audiences to the building are diverse, ranging from library and museum visitors, to users of the council services point.

We are looking for an artist to create a beautifully engaging display taking inspiration from:

150 Nightingales or 150 Birds in Waterton’s Life

This display should wow, thrill and surprise our visitors.   Take this opportunity to amaze us with ideas that allow people to engage with this subject.  Consider thinking ‘outside’ the atrium case this could be physical objects, sound or digital (there are some constraints in the building but we are willing to consider anything!).

Resources available:

Up to two Atrium showcases: Freestanding and glazed on all four sides and top with four internal lighting columns in each corner. Display dimensions (interior measurements) are (h x w x d) 1944mm x 2227mm x 1477mm and 1944mm x 1477mm x 1477mm 

Staff: curator for assistance with subject matter

Reference material:  A range of reference material relating to Charles Waterton.

For more information about Charles Waterton:

-          Visit Wakefield Museum  Waterton Gallery

-          Visit Wakefield Museum Web Pages

Project budget: up to £3500

Project timetable:  Display to open week commencing 20 June 2015 and will be on display for 6 – 9 months.

This budget covers fee and delivery of the following:

• The  formation of a visually interesting and engaging  display as part of the Nightingale Festival using  inspiration from ‘150 Nightingales or 150 Birds in Waterton’s Life’.
• Graphic interpretation explaining the installation (text writing, proof reading, image selection and sourcing, graphic design and production)
• Text and images  for marketing material (marketing material will be created by Wakefield Council)
• Regular updates of progress to exhibition manager
• Delivery of one supporting event for an Artwalk.  5pm – 8pm 29 July 2015, 30 September or 25 November (date to be confirmed)

Content, graphic design and display techniques to be signed off by Wakefield Council museum team.

How to apply:

If you are interested in submitting a proposal for the atrium commission please provide the following information:

• An outline of your idea, and how it relates to ‘150 Nightingales or 150 Birds in Waterton’s Life’.  Please include an image / sketch of your proposal may look in the space.
• A breakdown of budget (including a clear indication of your fee).
• A delivery timeline, featuring key dates for, text writing, graphic design and production, installation
• A list of sub-contractors and or suppliers used to deliver the brief
• Outline of what you would deliver at the Artwalk event.

Email to mayaharrison@wakefield.gov.uk  by 5pm on Tuesday 7 April.  [Selections will take place by 13 April 2015. Display to be in place week commencing 20 June 2015]

If you require further information about the project please contact Maya Harrison,  mayaharrison@wakefield.gov.uk, 01924 305350.

Arts Council England funding of £111K secured for Wakefield Museums

Wakefield Council Museums have been successful in securing funding of £111,140 from Arts Council England.  This funding will enable the district's museums to deliver an exciting programme of exhibitions and activity over the next year.

This funding will focus on improving the visitors experience across our museum venues and includes projects such as:

- improving family activities

- reviewing  our 'welcome'

- a spectacular exhibition at Wakefield Museum 

- a project collecting & displaying Wakefield Stories 

- investment in staff training and development

- involving more people in our changing displays

Cllr Les Shaw, Portfollio Holder for Sport & Culture said, ‘This is a fantastic boost for our museums, and more importantly for our visitors. This programme will enable us to build in long-lasting improvements to our offer, giving visitors more access to museum collections.’

Sarah Maxfield, Area Director, North, Arts Council England, said: ‘“Our Museums resilience fund supports museums by enabling them to become more sustainable and robust, whatever their size, and helping them to offer improved experiences for both audiences and artists. I’m delighted that 27 museums across the North have been awarded a total of £3.7 million in this round and look forward to seeing the results of this funding in the future. The Arts Council’s aim is to achieve great art and culture for everyone – the North has some fantastic museums across the area which between them reach thousands of visitors each year therefore greatly supporting us in our mission. ”

Keep up to date with developments by following us on Twitter @WFMuseums, and this blog!

Cooking up a treat at Wakefield Museum

Wakefield Museum has just opened a new child-sized 1950s inspired kitchen:

We have also added new displays around the kitchen with 1950s objects from the collection. This display shows the cabinet that inspired the design of the kitchen units and features some of the objects that appear in the kitchen cupboard graphics.

There is also a display of 1950s toys.

A photograph of street in Wakefield taken in the 1950s forms the view from the window.  

To celebrate the new kitchen we threw a party, taking tips from a 1950s party planning magazine in the museum collection.

Dr Annie Gray cooked up a buffet using recipes from the magazine. Delights included tinned pineapple and Marmite sandwiches; prawns in aspic; 'dunkers' and teen-age hot dogs! Here she is getting some assistance decorating a cake with glacé cherries and angelica with her assistant for the evening!

They were very proud of their creations...

Visit the kitchen to play or just to reminisce about family memories.  The Kitchen is in Wakefield Museum's 'Front Room' area and is free to visit.

The Iron Age is coming to Castleford Forum Museum!

Castleford goes back to the Iron Age for a special event on Saturday 21st February.

The perfect end for the half-term holidays!

Castleford Museum has a very important Iron Age display - the Ferry Fryston chariot - and this event will allow visitors to see the chariot in a new way.

The Iron Age chariot on display in the museum

The Ferry Fryston chariot was found in 2003 during improvements to the A1 (M) by the Highways Agency. It dates back to 200BC and was buried with the remains of a man estimated to have been in his 30s or 40s, from Scotland or Scandinavia. It is one of the most significant finds of its kind. 20 chariots have been found from this period, but this is one of only two to not have been dismantled before they were buried.

 Click here for more information about the chariot.

For this free event, we will also be showing a half-size replica of the chariot, which really brings this important archaeological find to life.

The half-scale replica of the Iron Age chariot will be on display

The event will be fun for all the family, with Iron Age inspired craft activities, storytelling and the opportunity to meet an Iron Age warrior! 

Have your face painted with woad patterns and be ready to go into battle!

Woad face-painting for warriors!

We ♥ Valentines!

Happy Valentines day

We hope you have your hearts desire... if not here is a selection of 'hearts' from our collections

Half Penny, 1793

A half penny token to be used at Fieldings grocer and tea dealer, decorated with a heart motif.

Playbill, 1824

A playbill for the Wakefield Theatre.

Hair-tidy

A home made hair-tidy, decorated with pearls and ribbon.

Brooch, late Victorian

The heart is made of cornelian.

Bracelet

A bracelet made of five strips of horse hair linked  with bands of gold.  In 2004 a visitor from South Africa identified the material as elephant's tail - 'Much too thick to be horsehair'.

Strap-end, 1450 - 1485

A decorative end of a belt, found at Sandal Castle

Brooch, 1920s

A brooch made from plastic

Pin cushion, 1914 - 1918

Decorated pin cushion with Yorks and Lancs Regimental emblems.  Visit Wakefield Museum to see a selection of First World War objects, in the Great War Trail.

Bracket, c.16th Century 

16th Century timber bracket with a heart shaped design.

Dunderdale dish, 1800 - 1810

A creamware dish, hand painted.  This matches a supper service in the collection of 4 dishes with the same design.  It was made by Castleford pottery Dunderdale and Co. Visit Castleford Museum to see a display of Castleford pottery.

Lovehearts, Victorian

Ashtrays, 1936 - 1959

Ashtrays made by Bagley & co.  Visit Pontefract Museum to see a display on Bagley's glass.