I have commented on the 1980 international exhibition on ‘The Celts‘. A companion exhibition, ‘Die Hallstattkultur’, was at Steyr from April to October 1980. Some 32 public collections and private individuals loaned material. One of my most vivid memories was the dramatic display of the Vix krater.
Entry was slightly less than the ‘Celts’ at 10 Austrian Schillings.
I received my exhibition listing from the British Museum yesterday with details about ‘Celts: art and identity‘. The text informed me that ‘this is the first major exhibition to examine the full history of Celtic art and identity’. The exhibition opens on 24 September 2015.
This claim rather overlooks the stunning major international exhibition ‘Die Kelten in Mitteleuropa’ at the Keltenmuseum in Hallein, Austria in 1980. Some 67 museums from 10 different countries were represented. The catalogue has a substantial section on ‘Kultur der Kelten’ with a chapter on ‘Die keltische Kunst’ by Otto-Herman Frey. The catalogue has the Vorwort in four languages: German, English, French and Welsh (‘Mae’r Celtiaid yn dod!’).
The highlights in London will include the Holzgerlingen double-horned statue (Kelten no. 17), the Gundestrup cauldron (Kelten no. 188), and a gold torc from Snettisham.
I sometimes wonder if these major ‘blockbuster’ exhibitions fail to acknowledge earlier explorations. But then would ‘this is a further major exhibition to examine …’ bring in the visitors?
Incidentally I paid 15 Austrian Schillings to see the exhibition (at a student rate). The British Museum will be charging £16.50 (but free to Friends). Notice the Hallein ticket is in four languages.
I have much enjoyed John R. Kenyon, ‘Kyffin Williams and the guidebooks to the four great Edwardian castles of North Wales: a bibliographic essay’, The Castle Studies Group Journal 27 (2013-14) 241-44. These cover the castles of Beaumaris, Caernarfon, Conwy, and Harlech. My copy is a second impression (1966) but the originals date to 1961. The guides (‘illustrated souvenir’) were written by Alan Phillips and ‘produced by the Information Branch of the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works’. Phillips also prepared a souvenir guide to monasteries in North Yorkshire. He seems to have studied at University College, Oxford.
The four guides replaced the old Office / Ministry of Works guides to Beaumaris (by Wilfried J. Hemp, 1933), Caernarfon (by Sir Charles Peers, 1929), Conway Castle and Town Walls (by A.J. Taylor, 1956), and Harlech (by Hemp and Peers, 1927).
Williams’ covers were replaced by line drawings of the castles in later editions of the guides. My copy of Phillips’ guide to Harlech is the Department of the Environment (‘on behalf of the Welsh Office’) edition of 1974. The guides both contain fold-out plans and tours of the two castles. The DOE guide to Harlech has a description of the castle in Welsh printed inside the back cover.
The new MPBW guides mark a move away from the ‘Blue Guides’ to more heavily illustrated booklets such as the combined volume for Stonehenge and Avebury.
As part of our partnership with Heyerdahl Institute in Norway, we are delighted to host the 2014 Heyerdahl Lecture and Touring Exhibition on 5th Feb 2014 at 4.30pm at the Waterfront Building, Ipswich.
Erling Storm is the president of the Norwegian Rowing Association, and an active board member of The Thor Heyerdahl Institute. He has studied at Oslo Ingeniørhøyskole (engineering college) and lives in Oslo, Norway. He will be talking about Heyerdahl & Maritime Connections.
The lecture is accompanied by a touring exhibition which forms part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of of the birth of Thor Heyerdahl. It has been jointly organised by the The Thor Heyerdahl Institute and the Kon-Tiki Museum, Norway.
The Director of the Heyerdahl Institute, Beate Bjorge will also give a brief introduction to the work of the Institute which endeavours to promote and continue to develop Thor Heyerdahl’s ideas and principles within the following areas:
– Interdisciplinary research
– International dialogue / multi-cultural co-operation
– Protection of the global environment
We have long-standing connections with the Heyerdahl Institute along with colleagues from Glasgow Caledonian University, and will be developing research and course links over the next year as part of the Heritage Futures developments at UCS.
We’d be delighted for you to join us for the talks, exhibition viewing and a wine reception to welcome our international guests. Please contact Julie Barber email:julie.barber@ucs.ac.uk to register.
The Sir John Soane’s Museum in London has been hosting an exhibition Alan Sorrell – A Life Reconstructed (ed. Sacha Llewellyn and Richard Sorrell; Sansom & Company, 2013). The excellent illustrated catalogue contains a number of essays:
There are some unexpected images: Sudanese Express Passing Abu Simbel (1961), Construction of a Runway at an Aerodrome (1946), Istanbul: the wall of Manuel Comnenus (1954). The final section showing covers from his volumes of reconstructions reminds us of the legacy of Sorrell.
Heritage Futures 