National Museums Liverpool Blog - Friday, November 19, 2010

My name is Ellie and I am a new addition at the National Conservation Centre in Liverpool.  I am here on a year long internship in Objects Conservation and Public Engagement, funded by ICON (Institute of Conservation) and the Heritage Lottery Fund. 

While I am here I will post regular updates on the blog to provide a glimpse of what is happening behind-the-scenes at the National Conservation Centre, as conservators look after and investigate fascinating objects from the collection.

Last Saturday’s event ‘Looking After Liverpool’s History’ provided a sneak preview of some of the objects that will be showcased in the new Museum of Liverpool next year.  One hundred year old chocolate, modern day beer bottles and bomb damaged ceramics went under the spotlight, as conservators explained how they look after the enormous variety of objects in the museum’s collection.

If you missed out, then why not join us this Saturday 20th November between 1-3pm for ‘Object Detectives', when we will be revealing the hidden stories of objects using investigative techniques.  Drop in and see our x-ray and high powered microscopes in action, find out more about objects and discover what is eating our collections!

Image of a clothes moth larva taken with a scanning electron microscope.

You might have already seen that on Thursday night (25 November) the 2010 John Moores Painting Prize winner, Keith Coventry, will be discussing his work with previous juror and independent art critic Sacha Craddock.

Both Keith and Sacha have kindly agreed to do a signing session after the event. Keith will signing copies of the JM2010 catalogue, and Sacha will be signing copies of the 2008 exhibition catalogue in which she features as a juror. Catalogues cost £9.95 and £5 respectively.

The event kicks off at 6pm in the Walker Art Gallery. Places are free but limited so call 0151 478 4697 to reserve yours.

If you can't make the event you can still buy (unsigned) copies of both catalogues in our online shop.

Image courtesy of the Liverpool Daily Post and Echo

I have been out at sea in the middle of the night on a few occasions and it is fascinating how different the heavens can look.

On one occasion I slept on deck on the Liverpool to Dublin ferry watching the shooting stars as I nodded off.

Everything is much darker out at sea in huge contrast to many places on land with widespread man-made light pollution.

Modern ships may be equipped with the latest radio and satellite navigation devices but light is still essential on the open seas in the pitch dark.

In the early days vessels relied on the moon and clear night skies as they made their way over largely uncharted waters. On board candles and oil lamps were used above and below decks. As ships became more sophisticated, rules and regulations were introduced to improve safety.

As steam brought about faster ships, there was a growing need for vessels to be seen especially on busy sea routes with the danger of collisions.

A fire on board a crowded emigrant ship could be devastating. Strict rules covered the use of lamps and naked lights were not allowed.

A pair of safety candle lanterns, on display in the Merseyside Maritime Museum’s emigration gallery, was supplied by Price’s Patent Candle Company.

The development of electricity on board ships brought about many different types of lighting from curved passageway lights and four-bar lights to three-shade lights and post lights.

In 1848 Britain introduced regulations requiring steam vessels to display red and green sidelights along with a white masthead light.

A ship’s green starboard (right) and red port (left) navigation lights are also on display at the museum.

The rule of the road at sea requires vessels to carry lights to enable other ships to see them and be able to determine in which direction they are going.

The starboard and port lights are usually fixed to the ship’s bridge. The lights can be seen on the museum’s ship models including the Titanic and Empress of France (pictured).

The first international Maritime Conference was convened in 1889 to draw up regulations aimed at preventing collisions.

This resulted in the Washington Conference Rules adopted by the US in 1890 before they became effective internationally in 1897. These revised rules required steamers to carry a second masthead light.

More changes came in the international Safety of Life at Sea Conference of 1948 including fixed stern lights for most vessels.

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 and bookshops.

Staff celebrating their plaudits!

We're really excited as the Lady Lever Art Gallery is on the glory trail with two major award wins! Last week was hugely successful for the gallery as the venue scooped two awards at the Wirral Tourism Awards.

Lady Lever Art Gallery was crowned 'Attraction of the Year' at the prestigious event. The hardwork of the staff at the Lady Lever was also rewarded when Cliff Bowden, a Visitor Host at the gallery, won the 'Outstanding Customer Care award'. What a great effort!

Bhutia Busty Monastery with Kanchendzonga in the background.

Following the mad panic that always ensues at the end of a bout of archive fever, I managed to complete a good chunk of my research in the Delhi archives and have now moved up to the Northeast of India and to the mountains of West Bengal and Sikkim.

The work here is a little different in that I’m now trying to find the descendants of some of the men I have been reading about in the archives and also get a feel for the area Charles Bell worked in. My first stop was Darjeeling, where I spent a couple of days visiting places where Bell and the 13th Dalai Lama had stayed and visiting a photography studio that had a number of interesting historical photograph taken at the time Bell was there. The area is surrounded and dominated by the Khangchendzonga range, this is the third highest mountain in the world and as the temperatures have dipped for winter, there is a good covering of snow on the mountain tops. This is the perfect time of year to visit as the day are warm, and the views, as you can see, are very clear out to the mountains. 

I then moved on to Kalimpong, a rough and ready, trading town on the frontiers between India and Tibet, it was here that long caravans of mules (and their muleteers) carrying loads of Tibetan wool came to after weeks spent crossing the dangerous passes over the Himalayas.  I’ve had great success in Kalimpong, where descendants of some of the town’s old families have put me in touch with the families of the men I hoped to trace. Kalimpong has been so productive and welcoming that I intend to make a detour back to the town to follow up some new leads.

The document is missing the list of crew signatures which would usually be attached. The articles were their contract for the voyage and they signed to agree to the conditions of service listed, such as food provided, when wages would be paid and what share of the profits would be allocated.

The articles also state that the Alice carries a Letter of Marque, this means that the ship was a privateer (a pirate with a licence from the government) and could capture merchant vessels from other nations and their valuable cargos. This could be a very profitable enterprise.

Further information about the Alice and its captain, Samuel Murdoch, can be found on the online Transatlantic Slave Trade database, which shows that the voyage for which these articles were produced lasted 426 days and 200 slaves died on the middle passage.

So, it may be slightly tatty, but this document, along with other sources held by the Maritime Archives and Library, provides important evidence about merchant seafaring in the 18th Century."

Thousands of visitors have already voted for their favourite painting.

There is only one week left to vote for your favourite painting in the John Moores Visitor’s Choice prize at the Walker Art Gallery.

Angela Samata, John Moores project manger, explains how tight the voting is at the moment: “This year we have 45 very different paintings for visitors to choose from. The quality and variety of paintings in the exhibition has ensured the votes are close and we have quite a task ahead of us to count them! We are grateful to Rathbones for sponsoring the Visitors’ Choice prize, which encourages intense debate and interest in contemporary painting”.

Angela has also given us a sneak preview of the five paintings which have taken an early lead:

• Jon Braley’s resin-coated "untitled" work which celebrates the power and energy of nature

• Richard Harrison’s imaginary landscape, the expressionist painting "Mountain Peaks"

• Nicholas Middleton’s photo-realist painting "Protest, April 1st 2009" depicting Financial Fools’ Day protest outside the Bank of England. Nicholas was selected as a prize winner this year and he also won the John Moores Visitors’ Choice prize in 2006

• Liverpool-born Steve Proudfoot’s enigmatic work "The Party" which poignantly depicts an ordinary scene of family life

• Christian Ward’s psychedelic painting "Frontier Monument" with its mysterious details and layers.

But don’t worry if your favourite is not amongst the above. You still have until 10.30pm on 18 November, when the gallery is open late for Long Night, to place your vote.

The winner will be revealed on Thursday 25 November.

National Archives of India, New Delhi

Working through the vast archives of the National Archives of India is a lonely business. Very few people in the world get as excited as you do about the details and stories you find and so when elation strikes having found information on a Tibetan man you knew very little about, it’s not possible to run round the archives telling everyone you meet about your exciting discovery. 

The disease only found amongst archival researchers is commonly known as ‘archival fever’ and there is no known cure. I’ve had several of those experiences during the past three weeks of intensive scanning of catalogues and documents from the Foreign and Political records of British India in the early 20th century. It is here that I have gained a much clearer picture of Sir Charles Bell, his networks and his personal commitment to Tibet.

I have finally dragged myself away from the archives and now travel to the Northeast of India to meet some of the families still found in the area whose relatives once worked for the British India Government.

Nicholas Middleton talks about his painting

Nicholas Middleton’s "Protest, April 1st 2009" has been a popular painting in this year’s John Moores Painting Prize. Visitors have been astonished by the level of accuracy and detail in the stunning photo-realist painting. As one visitor put it: "So alive! Can not believe it is a painting!"

The judges this year certainly also felt the painting stood out, making it one of the five prizewinners.

Nicholas came to the gallery on Wednesday to talk about his work and this painting in particular. I was really interested to hear that he had actually been at the protest and had taken the photograph himself. I had presumed it was a photograph he’d found but knowing he was there, and part of the crowds of people attempting to make their voices heard, gives an extra dimension to the work.

Nicholas explained he takes his camera everywhere with him and is actually one of the few people remaining using film. He even develops the film himself which is why his paintings tend to be black and white, it being cheaper and easier to develop.

From all the photographs he took that day the composition of this stood out to Nicholas because it seemed to him he could create from it something following in the tradition of a particular type of ambitious Victorian painting. He made a comparison to the work of William Powell Frith, in particular his painting “Derby Day”, making the connection that they were both images of society, full of life and energy, that represented a particular point in history.

There are more free artists talks scheduled over the next few weeks.

And there is still a chance to vote for your favourite painting in the Visitors’ Choice prize in the gallery. Nicholas won the Visitors’ Choice in 2006. Keep an eye out on the blog to see if he can make it “a double”!

The volunteers’ team are happy to announce that our Discovery Volunteers project has been named the regional winner North West for THE UNITE AWARD for team activity at the vinspired Awards 2010.

Since summer 2009, 72 young people have been involved with the project, having volunteered on gallery at World Museum – chatting to our visitors about specially chosen handling objects. We are really pleased that this award recognises all their hard work and the positive impact that they have made within our museums. We would like to say a big well done to all the young people who have taken part as a Discovery Volunteer!

Winning the regional award means that Discovery Volunteers are now in the running for the national award – which will be announced early 2011. We will keep you posted on this next year, but please keep your fingers crossed for more good news!

More information about the Unite Award which Discovery Volunteers have won can be found on the vinvolved website, you can also find out more about youth volunteering too.

If you are aged 16-25 and interested in youth volunteering projects at National Museums Liverpool please contact the volunteer team.