National Museums Liverpool Blog - Monday, June 08, 2009

I can see it now – the strange carving of a man’s head on a stout wooden pole half hidden in the shady garden. It was one of the curiosities brought back by the man whose family lived at the house. He was a sea captain who did not return from the Second World War.

The head and pole looked Polynesian, hewn from the wood of a tropical forest before ending up in a Liverpool garden. The face would stare at me as I swung languidly in the hammock slung between the pole and a tree – an indelible childhood memory.

Before 1914, accommodation on British merchant ships was very primitive. Crews usually lived together in cramped quarters with basic washing, eating and toilet facilities. Even the cabins occupied by the captain and other senior officers were usually very small and basic.

Living conditions didn’t greatly improve until the 1950s and 60s when old steam ships were replaced by motor ships. On today’s ships crews have many facilities including comfortably-furnished cabins, excellent food and sporting and leisure amenities.

Displays at Merseyside Maritime Museum include a seaman’s hammock dating from about 1900. Hammocks were used for hundreds of years before bunks and beds became common. Seafarers would sling their hammocks in some convenient place and, when not in use, they could be easily stowed away. If a sailor died, his body was stitched up in his hammock and buried at sea. Hammocks were used on both Merchant and Royal Navy ships until the 1950s

A seaman’s horsehair mattress from the 1920s was used on the steam coaster, Enid. Wooden bunks were fixed to the sides of fo’c’sle (forecastle) below decks in the ship’s bow (front). Mattresses were placed on the bunks. They were known as “donkey’s breakfasts” because they were traditionally filled with straw.

1848 illustration of the fo'c'sle of a sailing ship.

An 1848 drawing (pictured) shows the basic conditions in the fo’c’sle of a sailing ship.  It graphically illustrates the damp, claustrophobic conditions. Two seafarers are seen trying to relax after a makeshift meal as the ship lurches heavily in rough seas.

Crews had to supply their own bedding, towels, soap, a plate, mug, knife and fork.

Photographs include washday on board a modern steamer in the 1930s. On many older ships dhobying or washing clothes was done in a bucket on deck. In contrast is the officers’ saloon on the BP tanker British Duchess in the 1960s. By this time, officers enjoyed particularly good living conditions on board ship.

A new Maritime Tale by Stephen Guy appears every Saturday in the Liverpool Echo. A paperback – Mersey Maritime Tales (£3.99) – is available from the museum, newsagents, bookshops or from the Mersey Shop website (£1.50 p&p UK).

Obama mania hits Antwerp

Hello there

One of the most unexpected but satisfying things I have seen in my recent travels has to be during a trip to Antwerp when I was invited to speak at the 'What’s in a name? Knowledge and Research in Museums' symposium held in the library of the Rubens Museum. It was organised by MAS (Museum aan de Stroom) which opens in 2010. MAS staff members as well as speakers from Amsterdam (such as the National Maritime Museum and the Tropenmuseum), London (Museum of London and Greenwich Maritime Institute) and my good self presented a series of papers explaining how knowledge, information and research is dispersed within their institutions.  

I have to say that the majority of debate took place between the invited British speakers. All friendly of course and focusing on whether or not the google generation as they are called would have any reason to come to a museum in person as they could access everything off site. I agreed to a certain extent but I think we are some way off the majority of 16-18 year olds googling museum collections in their own time before they have ever visited in person. As a follow up to a visit with parent or school yes, but before they log onto Facebook etc etc I am not so sure. An interesting area for debate though. 

The sight of seeing the Obama Bar in a backstreet of Antwerp whilst enjoying some of city’s beautiful architecture brought a smile to my face. His election recently not only caused unparalleled scenes of joy in the streets of the USA but it affected someone enough to open a bar (or probably rename a bar) after him in Antwerp. Take it from me, the location was definitely not on the main thoroughfare and I could well imagine Antwerp locals rather than American tourists drinking under a picture of a smiling Obama.

If only we had someone of Obama’s stature in the UK now, especially after the worrying and frankly disturbing MEP election results which I woke up to this morning. Someone to bring hope to a wide range of voters rather than focus negatively like so many politicians today on peoples differences with the aim of polarising towns, cities, schools, work places etc. Differences are a good thing, different languages, different beliefs, customs and so on. That is why when writing this blog I cannot help but sigh in despair at the fact that a representative of a so called democratic political party here in the North West has gained a seat at the European parliament on an agenda of hate, distrust and manipulation. 

Now I am not going to go on a political rant, that is not my job, but as head of a museum which actively challenges racism and discrimination it is my duty to encourage all of you to tell your friends and families to visit the International Slavery Museum more than ever. Take a look at some of the displays and exhibits we have which focus on both the more heinous aspects of world history and contemporary society as well as some of the most uplifting. For every reminder of what hate can do by looking at an object such as the Ku Klux Klan outfit, you can see what the bringing together of cultures can do in our cultural transformations section. Take a look at the Black Achievers Wall, and in particular the Black British achievers and the inspirational sportspeople, actors, poets etc and tell me that their contributions have not enhanced Britain? It is frankly ridiculous to suggest otherwise.

An institution like International Slavery Museum will continue to do all it can to stop the growth and influence of individuals and political parties who espouse division and hate. So hopefully in the very near future the Obama camp will visit the UK as well as Liverpool, Merseyside and Lancashire and give people enough belief in hope rather than hate.

Bye for now.

Voting is high on the agenda with the election today and a new series of Big Brother about explode onto the nation's TV screen. I'd be interested to see how the number of voters compare given the difference in gravity ... Anyway, to enter into the voting spirit I thought it might be fun to have a light-hearted poll about some of the most popular pictures in the Walker Art Gallery. I haven’t picked paintings due to historical importance or artistic merit (of which there are many) but pulled out a handful that we know our visitors enjoy. After all, that’s what visiting a gallery all is about! It might be because of the story, because it features an animal or reminds them of their holidays. If you don’t know the painting follow the link to have a look at it on the website first. The ten paintings I've picked are:

Isabella – John Everett Millais

The Death of Nelson – Daniel Maclise

One of the Family – Frederick Cotman

The Fever Van – LS Lowry

Bathers at Dieppe – Walter Sickert

Interior at Paddington – Lucian Freud

Peter Getting Out of Nick’s Pool  - David Hockney

And When Did You Last See Your Father? – William Frederick Yeames

Snowdon from Llyn Nantlle – Richard Wilson

Two Jamaican Girls – Augustus John

Vote now and remember – it’s just for fun! If your favourite painting isn't listed here, email me with your suggestions and I'll give them a mention in the follow up post.

Which Walker painting do you love the most?(polling)

A posh pie and a hazlenut latte please!

We're very pleased that the tearoom at Sudley House has now reopened! After its recent refurbishment there is now an extensive new menu, an extra seating area and free wi-fi.

The new menu includes sandwiches, soups and 'posh pies' such as cod and chorizo, steak or spring veg hot pot. For afters you can try homemade cakes, munch on muffins or pastries and enjoy a hazelnut or vanilla latte.

Where else could you eat yummy food in a relaxed Georgian setting, before exploring the work of Turner and Rossetti in a gallery?

The tearoom is open daily from 10am - 4.45pm and you can look at our sample menu to get a taste of what's on offer.

Helen Halliwell and Bill Sillitoe installing the new display

Yesterday I saw the installation of a new display of Islamic ceramics in the Weston Discovery Centre at World Museum Liverpool. The display is a very personal project for technical services technician Helen Halliwell, as she has been closely involved from the outset.

Helen used to work as a demonstrator in the Weston Discovery Centre before joining the technical services team over at the National Conservation Centre recently. When the display of Islamic ceramics was proposed to tie in with the Arabic Arts Festival next month, Helen’s expertise was called on as she has a background in ceramics - she worked as a ceramics technician while studying for her Masters degree in the subject. So Helen worked with curator Emma Martin to select pieces of 13th and 14th century Islamic pottery from Iran, Iraq and Egypt for the display. The pieces, which have never been on display before, were chosen as they are great examples of the geometry and patterns in their designs, which Islamic ceramics are famous for.

After finalising the selection Helen joined technical services, which is the department responsible for creating mounts and installing displays. So she has been involved in that side of the project as well, including specifying the layout of the display case.

I caught up with Helen and senior technician Bill Sillitoe when they finished the display off yesterday. Bill made the supports for the wall mounted sherds in the display, using wire with a silicon tubing covering to protect the artefacts. Although they look quite simple, each one is specially made to support a specific sherd safely at the correct angle.

You can see more photos of the installation in our Islamic ceramics display set on Flickr.

A daring performance by our talented Youth Theatre

After a 12 month break for maternity leave I'm feeling a little rusty, so I've been enjoying the opportunity to reacquaint myself with our venues and exhibitions. Last week, during a trip to the Walker Art Gallery, I was lucky enough to catch an on-gallery performance from our very talented Youth Theatre in the exhibition Fashion V Sport.

The young people explored the four themes of the exhibition; dare, desire, play and display to create a quirky interpretation of each area. The budding thespians interlinked poetry and drama to produce a funny and unique short play that questioned our addiction to fashion and celebrity.

Unfortunately the exhibition closed last weekend but you can find out more about the Youth Theatre Project here. Or contact Helen MacBryde on 0151 478 4818.

The Revenue cutter, Harpy, chasing a smuggler. Image courtesy Liverpool Daily Post and Echo.

In the 1980s I spent several happy holidays in the Canary Islands where you could buy fabulous big Cuban-style cigars very cheaply. The Canaries – although part of Spain - were not in the EU so only a limited amount of duty free tobacco could be brought home. However, the Los Cubanos were so cheap I’d buy lots and declare them at UK Customs. The officer would weight them and work out the duty to be paid. A receipt was handed over as proof of the transaction.
 
Smuggling has been around ever since duties and taxes were levied on goods and commodities. From the days of sailing ships to the present day, Customs officers have relied on the latest technologies to counteract smuggling.

Both in the 18th century and now they have used some of the fastest and most manoeuvrable boats available. These cutters, as they are known, enable officers to chase and board vessels at sea and in remote ports.

In 1779 nearly four million gallons of gin and more than five million pounds weight of tea were smuggled into Britain, landed on beaches up and down the coast. At that time tea was a very expensive luxury which was kept in locked caddies usually in the homes of the rich. More than two-thirds of the tea consumed in Britain during the 18th century was smuggled.

The Commutation Act of 1784 slashed the tax on tea, smuggling it ceased to be profitable and the smuggling trade vanished virtually overnight.

Today tobacco and spirits are still smuggled and have been joined by Class A drugs such as heroine and cocaine. Between 1996 and 1998, the London-based Wright Gang smuggled in at least three tonnes of cocaine on yachts. In April 2007 they were jailed after an 11-year investigation.

Seized: Revenue & Customs Uncovered at Merseyside Maritime Museum looks at many different aspects of smuggling and related issues.

Two ships models show the development of the Customs cutter. The Sprightly was used by the Revenue service at the end of the 18th century. She was heavily armed, fast and could be moved with dexterity and skill. The other cutter model shows the Vigilant, one of a fleet of five cutters that today patrol the waters around Britain. The 42-metre long vessel was built in Holland in 2003.

An 1840 coloured engraving (pictured) shows the Revenue cutter Harpy chasing a smugglers’ ship. Casks are bobbing in the water after being jettisoned by the smugglers.

A new Maritime Tale by Stephen Guy appears every Saturday in the Liverpool Echo. A paperback – Mersey Maritime Tales (£3.99) – is available from the museum, newsagents, bookshops or from the Mersey Shop website (£1.50 p&p UK).

It's National Volunteers Week, so our youth volunteer co-ordinator Claire Olson has asked me to thank all our wonderful volunteers for their continuing hard work and enthusiasm, not just this week but throughout the year.

If you would like more information about volunteering then have a look at our volunteering web pages or pop into one of our special Volunteers Week events. Drop in any time from 11am-3pm at World Museum on Tuesday and the Lady Lever Art Gallery on Thursday.

We asked Dashti, one of our youth volunteers, about his experiences as a volunteer and here's what he said:

Claire Olson presenting Dashti with his v50 Award for completing 50 hours of volunteering

"Hi my name is Dashti and I’m 17. I have volunteered at National Museums Liverpool for 11 months. I started working in The Beat Goes On exhibition from July to September 2008. I worked in this exhibition talking to visitors, tidying up the play area and replacing comments cards.

After this, I began working with the Community Partnerships team. Every Wednesday I work with students from EMTAS (Ethnic Minority & Traveller Achievement Service). We have done many projects together including a project about the the Museum of Liverpool, learning about the history of Liverpool and making a film called 'Make Your Own Liverpool'. I also helped the students learn about ancient Egypt, space and national history.

I got my v50 award certificate in December, but I have now done 100 hours! I have learnt how to communicate well with lots of different people. I have learnt many things about the history of Liverpool and I also learnt about the exhibitions in the museum.

I have enjoyed talking to interesting people. The staff have been very helpful and because I feel more comfortable in the museum I will continue volunteering!"

Helen Halliwell and Emma Martin installing the new display of contemporary netsuke at World Museum Liverpool

One of the real privileges of my job is being able to see some of the behind the scenes work that goes into the creation of museum displays, the sort of things that most people take for granted. For example, not many people know that every single display stand supporting artefacts in our venues has been individually made by the highly skilled people in the technical services department, based in the National Conservation Centre. They don't just buy shelves and supports from the DIY stores, they hand craft every single display stand to suit the specific needs of the object it will be supporting.

The newest member of the team, Helen Halliwell, got to see her first major project go on display today. Helen worked with senior technician Bill Sillitoe to make a display stand for the World Cultures gallery at World Museum Liverpool to show contemporary netsuke figures. The smart circular stand has brushed Perspex shelves on both side to display the tiny figures from the Jonas Goro Gadelius collection, which was kindly donated to the museum by his widow Gabita. The really clever part is that it has a removable coloured disk in the middle, so when the display is refreshed each year to show different netsuke figures, it will be easy to change from its current red to a different colour that will suit the new figures.

You can see more photos of the installation in our netsuke display set on Flickr

Night At The Museum 2 poster

Those nice people at ODEON Cinemas have given us some even nicer prizes to help mark the opening of the second Night At The Museum movie - Battle of the Smithsonian. We've got tickets to your local cinema, a telescope, night vision glasses, a torch and lots of other goodies to give away.

To be in with a chance of winning these all you have to do is sign up for our email updates here. For the next few months we'll be having monthly draws for free tickets, and at the end of the promotion one name will be drawn to receive the telescope and other bits. The first draw takes place this coming Monday.

There's more information, including terms and conditions, on our main site.

The hastener

I was never caned at school but was threatened with it on one occasion for failing to whiten my pumps for PE. Another time the class bully - a hefty blonde - flicked ink at me. I told the teacher who sent Muriel to the female deputy head for two strokes on each hand. Muriel was as nice as pie to me after that.

Life for the ordinary seaman on sailing ships was hard with poor food, atrocious living conditions and frequently diabolical weather. There was also very harsh discipline to make sure crew members literally “toed the line” – believed by many to be a seafaring expression referring to the lines created by deck planks.

Captains ordered wrongdoers to be flogged. This involved the culprit being whipped on the back, usually with a cat o’ nine tails – a whip with nine thongs or tails. Very young seafarers were flogged with a lighter model with just five tails known as a boy’s cat. It was administered on the bare backside while the culprit was “kissing the gunner’s daughter” (bending over a cannon). The cane was also used but rarely on the hand, as this could hinder the victim when hauling ropes or doing other work.

One of the most feared punishments in the Royal Navy was being flogged around the fleet. The total amount of lashes was divided by the number of ships in port. The offender was rowed between each ship for the crews to witness his punishment. The gravest offences – such as sedition and mutiny – could attract a sentence of hundreds of lashes. However, a surgeon was present and could stop the flogging if it endangered the culprit’s life. A tally was kept of how many lashes were still to be carried out. Once the wounds had healed, the floggings would be resumed. As a result, sentences often took months or years to complete.

The ultimate punishment was execution by being hanged from the yardarm, again witnessed by the crew.

Apart from formal punishments, crew members were often thumped and hit as a matter of course.

In Merseyside Maritime Museum’s Life at Sea gallery there is a hastener from about 1877. These were applied by bo’suns (boatswains - junior officers) to keep crews in order. This hastener on display was used on the iron ship Eulomene of Liverpool. It is made of cane with the end formed into a Turk’s head knot. It is more than 18 inches long and as thick as a man’s thumb.

A new Maritime Tale by Stephen Guy appears every Saturday in the Liverpool Echo. A paperback – Mersey Maritime Tales (£3.99) – is available from the museum, newsagents, bookshops or from the Mersey Shop website (£1.50 p&p UK).

Civic welcome in Bursa, Turkey

Hello there

As you can see from the photo, I've been travelling again, this time to Bursa in northwestern Turkey, a three hour plus minibus ride (plus a ferry crossing) from Istanbul. The reason for this exciting venture was that the International Slavery Museum had been shortlisted for the very prestigious European Museum of the Year Award, awarded by the European Museum Forum to a museum which offers an excellent example of innovation in museums.

Well I will not keep you in suspense; we did not win the top prize, which went to Salzburg Museum in Austria. There were also three museums who were specially commended, one of which, the Museum of Life Stories in, Speicher, Switzerland I thought particularly worthy. The artist involved in the project, HR Fricker, explained to me that in the public areas of a home for seniors, their lives are shown around them, through exhibits and documentation. This might well challenge people's view of what a museum is, which I think is a good thing. Of course I was disappointed at not even having been commended (by the amount of people who came up to me afterwards I think we were one of the favourites) but if success is also measured by fellow museum professionals wanting to work with you in the future, then the trip was well worth it. 

The judges' report noted that although the International Slavery Museum includes an enormous amount of information and emphasises the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade, the museum tried to tell too many stories. I do not believe we tell stories as such. We offer narratives of events which you can follow, sometimes chronological, sometimes thematic but we do not claim to be storytellers. What we do is connect the many aspects of transatlantic slavery - the trading, the traders and the enslaved Africans - into what we believe is a medium in which all types of visitors can relate. In the past European involvement in transatlantic slavery was often seen in an overtly economic sense, the museum has moved on from this and looks at the broader picture, including contemporary legacies of slavery. I don't expect everyone to agree with how we do this but it should not be assumed that this is common practice.

It is hard to be too disappointed though in a lovely place like Bursa, where the civic welcome was a sight to behold, with a number of traditional dances performed for us outside Bursa City Museum. Bursa is often called 'Yeşil Bursa' ('Green Bursa') in reference to its parks, gardens and surrounding forests. The rather large group of museum professionals (not sure what you call this, a pride, shoal etc? Answers on a postcard) were taken on a number of excursions, which to be honest were a bit too organised for my liking. I like to think of myself as a bit of an independent traveller (I am probably more Louis Theroux than Paul Theroux to be honest) but our every step was marshalled like a state visit. I have to say I think being followed by an ambulance at all times was a step too far, I mean, how rowdy can a group of museum professionals be!

One of the most beautiful sites was the aptly named 'Green Mosque' or 'Yesil Cami' with its fabulous carved marble doorway surrounded by some lush gardens. Also on the itinerary was a visit to several mausoleums of early Ottoman rulers, again in some very tranquil surroundings. An interesting afternoon was also had at the Karagöz Museum, which looks at the lives of famous Turkish shadow play characters who lived in Bursa. Think 'Punch and Judy' with dragons thrown in.  

For those of you who think that travelling to exciting and interesting locations as part of my job is totally stress free, think again. Especially when speaking of food – as a vegan it can be challenging when abroad. This turned out to be the case in Bursa, home of the İskender kebab (it takes its name from its inventor, İskender Efendi, who lived in Bursa in the late 19th century). Lets just say that there is not much for a vegan to look forward to at an Iskender restaurant! At least my hopes were not dashed, as they were at the main award ceremony dinner where I was eagerly awaiting my 'special salad' - as one of organisers called it. What exciting Turkish influence on the drab salad this could be I thought. Lettuce on a bed of lettuce is not my idea of special but maybe I was looking to be critical after we failed to win anything!

Bye for now.