National Museums Liverpool Blog - mounting

It may still be freezing outside, but here at the museum one of our curators has been occupied with thoughts of sunnier climes - Greece to be exact! Here's our Curator of Classical and European Antiquities, Gina Muskett, to tell us more...

Careful with that pot!

Visitors to the third floor of World Museum will see a change – a brand-new display of Greek objects. Lots of people – not just me – have been working on this display, and it’s taken us less than a year to get ready, from start to finish. Above you can see a photo showing two of us arranging the objects in one of the cases. It takes a lot of time to get things just right and, of course, we have to handle the objects with great care – the pot we’re putting into position is about 2,500 years old.

My favourite case is the display of some of the oldest objects in the display, made about 3,500 years ago by the people we call Minoans and Mycenaeans. Have a look at the tiny pieces of semi-precious stones, cut with very detailed designs, and imagine the skill it took to make them. The people who made the pottery were real experts, too - some of the pots have really thin walls, not much thicker than an egg-shell.

It was fantastic for me to have the chance to work on the display because Greek art and archaeology is a subject very close to my heart. I hope you find time to visit the new display; as well as some lovely objects, the colours in the cases are bright and sunny, reminding me of the wonderful blue sea and skies of Greece. Just the thing to brighten up a cold and chilly winter day in Liverpool!

Nicky Lewis examining original photographs by Stephen Shakeshaft in the paper conservation studio

In the build up to Liverpool People by Stephen Shakeshaft, which opens in a few days, I have been posting some of the photographs that didn't quite make it into the exhibition on the blog along with Stephen's funny and insightful stories behind each one. But I'm sure you're all dying to know about the pictures that are actually in the exhibition. One person who has seen them already is Nicky Lewis, who has mounted and framed them all ready for display. This included a few original prints, which required extra careful handling as she explains:

"After days spent mounting brand new prints of Stephen Shakeshaft's work it was a real thrill to get my hands (gloved, of course!) on some of his original prints. All of his images have great stories to tell but there's something quite special about seeing the real thing. The creases, tears and fingerprints, the scribbled notes and pencil lines to show where the image was to be cropped, all transport you to the desk of the newspaper photographer and that - I imagine - frantic time before that day's newspaper went to print.

Although the images will be framed in a similar way to the copy prints I instantly have to think differently with original objects. We have a responsibility to not allow their condition to deteriorate any further. So I have chosen mounting materials that are acid free and controlled the amount of light that the photographs are exposed to, and will monitor them closely while they are on display. You can also take a closer look at them in the exhibition at the National Conservation Centre from Friday."