Research and Cultural Collections hosts a range of extraordinary artefacts, artworks and antiquities. Discover a behind-the-scenes peek at the University of Birmingham museum.
Many objects within the Eton Myers Collection of Egyptology are made from Egyptian faience, a glazed ceramic material with a distinctive blue-green colour. Faience was composed of crushed quartz or silica (sand), natron or plant ash, copper, and lime.
This beautiful colour was described by the Egyptians as tjehenet, meaning ‘gleaming’ or ‘dazzling’; it was ideologically important and associated with themes of rebirth and fertility, and thus widely used. There is evidence of its use in ancient Egypt from as early as the Predynastic Period (around 3000 BC) onwards, an indication of its enduring popularity.
Egyptian, c. 3000 BC
Faience Bowl, Research and Cultural Collections. Courtesy of Eton College, Myers Collection
Many high-quality examples from the Collection demonstrate the ancient craftsman’s skill. However, a small portion of faience bowls such as this one illustrate what could go wrong during production. Dated to the Roman Period (c. 30 BC – 395 AD), this bowl would have been fired in a kiln at high temperatures to create a ‘gleaming’ surface. Several production errors include the breaks around the bowl’s rim, the remains of supports used during firing which are stuck to the bowl’s base, and a distinctive pool of overfired glaze inside the bowl. It seems that during firing not only were items placed too closely together, but this bowl fell and was thus fired at an uneven angle.
Despite these mistakes and the likelihood that it was never used in antiquity, collector Major William Joseph Myers decided to keep this bowl, and it has remained in the Eton Myers Collection of Egyptology ever since.
Find out more
You can search the Eton Myers Collection of Egyptology via the online catalogue. You can also find out more about faience objects and production from the collection via the virtual exhibition ‘Objects Come to Life’ on the Birmingham Egyptology website.
During these unprecedented times, the University of Birmingham campus has moved to restricted operations. This means that our latest exhibition,
John Walker: Works from the University of Birmingham Campus Art Collection 1966-1996 is closed. As today is #MuseumfromHome day, we thought it was the perfect time to bring the exhibition to you via this blog post!
John Walker
Detail from The Blue Cloud, 1996, Research and Cultural Collections
The current exhibition in the spectacular Rotunda Gallery in the Aston Webb Building is John Walker: Works from the University of Birmingham Campus Art Collection 1966-1996. The exhibition brings together for the first time, prints and paintings by John Walker, which have previously been displayed across campus. Walker is an internationally acclaimed painter and printmaker. His work juxtaposes abstraction and representation through a richly allusive, painterly language.
Born in Birmingham in 1939, Walker was educated at Birmingham School of Art and later the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris. The artist has spent significant periods of his life in Australia and America, where he now permanently resides. His prints and paintings are represented in museum collections around the world including the Tate, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne and the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York amongst many others.
John Walker exhibition
Walker’s prints and paintings draw reference from a broad array of sources, taking inspiration from cultural stimuli of the contrasting geographical locations throughout his life. The artist spent much of his early life in local museums and galleries, immersed in the classical Western art historical canon. The collections at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and particularly the Barber Institute of Fine Arts at the University of Birmingham were to have a profound effect on Walker’s artistic career.
John Walker
Memory I, 1996, Research and Cultural Collections
Textual references also feature heavily in Walker’s paintings, from single words scrawled in the surfaces to full stanzas of poetry. Poetic meditations on departure in his paintings explore not only classical themes of life and death but bring us back to Walker’s own personal family history. His father, injured in the Battle of Passchendaele, was treated in the University of Birmingham’s 1st Southern General Hospital, located in the Great Hall during World War I. It was here that Walker’s father met his mother, an auxiliary nurse charged with his care.
John Walker
Detail from The Blue Cloud, featuring excerpt from poem Anthem For Doomed Youth by Wilfred Owen, 1996, Research and Cultural Collections
In honour of John Walker’s lifelong contribution to the arts, as well as his significant personal connections with the University, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Letters in the winter graduation ceremony of 1994. It was during this time that the University acquired several of the artist’s print series for the Campus Art Collection and commissioned him to create a mural in the foyer of the Arts Building, The Blue Cloud, which was completed in 1996.
John Walker
The Blue Cloud, 1996, in situ in Arts Building foyer, Research and Cultural Collections
Find out more…
If you haven’t had the chance to visit yet, the current exhibition has been extended to 25 September 2020 to enable more time to engage with these fascinating works after this period of restricted access. The Blue Cloud is on display in the foyer on the ground floor of the Arts Building. During a recent visit to the exhibition, John Walker has also offered an extraordinarily generous new gift of works on paper to enhance the University’s Campus Art Collection.
In January we explored the Sculpture Collection after hours as we threw light on some of our favourite pieces. With a torch in hand, we highlighted sculptures by eminent artists which make the campus an illuminating place to enjoy (both day and night!) Here are just some of the beautiful photographs of the tour!
Commodore PET 2001 computer, 1977, Research and Cultural Collections
The Commodore PET 2001 is considered the first commercially successful all-in-one home computer. Amongst other things, it could be used to work out maths problems, and design simple graphics and animations.
Released in 1977, it appears that the designer Chuck Peddle was inspired by the sentient AI machine Hal 9000, from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Peddle paid homage through the use of a three letter name combined with the number “2001” and PET’s Microgramma logo, this being the font of Hal’s interface.
The PET 2001 was based on a MOS 6502 processor, which later came to power the popular Apple II, and an operating system produced by the newly founded company, Micro-Soft. The computer initially held a maximum storage capacity of only 4KB – equivalent to around 21 text messages!
As it was a relatively cheap computer, it was popular in schools and sold widely, despite complaints about its tiny ‘chiclet’ keyboard. Unfortunately for Commodore prosperity did not last long, as the Apple Macintosh and IBM PC were soon to follow.
The University of Birmingham’s Computing Collection showcases technological advancements in IT and the impact that technology had on research at the University. Technological advancements such as the PET 2001 enabled staff and students throughout the University to improve the way they managed information and data, marking a radical move away from paper into the digital realm.
The Apis was a sacred bull in ancient Egypt, worshipped as a divine animal but also a protector of the deceased. This blog post focuses on a coffin footboard which depicts the Apis from the Archaeology Collection to further explore its role in ancient Egypt.
Coffin footboard, ancient Egyptian, Likely Third Intermediate Period (c. 1069 – 664 BC) – Late Period (664- 332 BC)
This wooden panel from the footboard of an ancient Egyptian coffin depicts the Apis bull carrying the mummified body of the deceased upon his back. The bull was a sacred animal and symbol of physical strength and male fertility, and was particularly revered in the area of Memphis in northern Egypt. While early textual and iconographic sources linked the Apis bull with the god Ptah, the principal deity of Memphis, from the New Kingdom (c.1550–1069 BC) the bull also became intrinsically connected to the god Osiris. Later assimilated with the god and known as ‘Osiris-Apis’ (or Serapis in the Greco-Roman era), the bull acted as a protector of the deceased and was often depicted on funerary items such as coffins carrying the body to the afterlife. Such representations like this footboard typically date from the Third Intermediate Period (c.1069 – 664 BC) onwards. This object was gifted to the University in 1939 from the private collection of Sir Robert Mond (1867-1938), forming the first collection of Egyptian artefacts as part of the Archaeology Collection.
This article was written for Buzz - the University of Birmingham’s staff magazine. Each edition includes a ‘Campus Curiosity’ - an article on one of the thousands of objects cared for by Research & Cultural Collections. Take a look at the past editions of Buzz to read the previous Campus Curiosities articles.
In October 2019, the Archaeology Collection was relaunched with an exciting new re-display giving insight into aspects of ancient European, Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian cultures. The new display is a joint venture between the Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology and Research & Cultural Collections created with the assistance of student volunteers.
In this blog, find out about the Archaeology Collection as well as its re-display. This blog post, originally posted by CAHA, is re-posted here with their kind permission.
The Archaeology Collection display, in the Arts Building
In 1902 Prof. John Hopkinson wrote to the Archaeology Department stating his wish to purchase antiquities to aid in the teaching of ancient Greek, his request was approved, and shortly afterwards he purchased several Greek vases on a trip to Rhodes.
These vases formed the nucleus of the Archaeology Collection, which has steadily grown since its inception in 1902. Today, the Archaeology Collection holds over 2,000 objects from Greek, Roman, Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and European contexts. It is used actively in teaching and continuing Prof. Hopkinson’s initial plan for the collection, gives students the opportunity to learn directly from objects of the ancient world through taught seminars and volunteer placements.
Beginning in 2018, the Department launched a joint venture with the University’s Research and Cultural Collections to increase the use of the collection and raise awareness of the collection within and beyond the University. To achieve these aims, the collection was reorganised based on themes that reflect the teaching and research interests in CAHA. New information panels were written by academic staff members and student volunteers were involved in all planning and installation stages.
To celebrate the relaunch of the collection we are holding a series of Object in Focus talks where teaching staff from CAHA speak about the specific objects in the collection and share what they can tell us about the ancient world. We also have a new Podcast series Stories from Objects that involve academics and students talking about different objects in CAHA’s teaching collections. The series will cover topics such as Roman coins, animal bone, Greek pottery, and Egyptian shabtis and much more. We hope that these talks and podcasts will introduce the collection to a wider audience, and listeners will enjoy learning these stories from objects.
The first patient controlled variable rate heart pacemaker was developed in Birmingham by cardiothoracic surgeon Leon Abrams and medical engineer Ray Lightwood.
Guidant Corporation
Pacemaker, metal and resin, Research and Cultural Collections
Its development started in response to high mortality associated with slow heart rates after open heart surgery. Electrodes were attached to the heart and then linked to an external pacemaker. It produced short pulses at adjustable intervals and intensities. It was subsequently developed as a commercial pacemaker with the support of the electronic engineering company Joseph Lucas Ltd., and became known as the ‘Lucas-Abrams’ model.
The first implant took place in March 1960, with two further implants the following month. These three patients made good recoveries and returned to a high quality of life. By 1966, 56 patients had undergone implantation with one surviving for over five and a half years. In 2002, there were still three surviving pacemaker patients in Birmingham whose first pacemaker had been a Lucas-Abrams model. Lucas and Abrams’ pioneering work was celebrated with the unveiling of a Blue Plaque in 2010.
This pacemaker is from the research collection of Professor Michael Gammage. He used his collection to further develop his own work and teach students. The collection was gifted to the University in 2014.
The latest recipient of a Blue Plaque is actor and humanitarian, Madeleine Carroll, who graduated from the University of Birmingham in 1926 with a BA with honours in French. You can find out more about the previous recipients in the Blue Plaque guide.
This article was written for Buzz - the University of Birmingham’s staff magazine. Each edition includes a ‘Campus Curiosity’ - an article on one of the thousands of objects cared for by Research & Cultural Collections. Take a look at the past editions of Buzz to read the previous Campus Curiosities articles.
We are thrilled to announce that the winner of the Arts & Science Sculpture Commission is Juneau Projects, with their proposed sculpture Mosswerk.
A big thank you to everyone who voted for their favourite sculpture proposal, and to all of our fantastic finalists: Andrew Gillespie, Intervention Architecture and Hipkiss and Graney.
Juneau Projects
Mosswerk
Image credit: Patrick Dandy
About the sculpture
Mosswerk is a wooden tower structure with a decorated exterior of laser-cut organic imagery representing the life cycle of moss. Exploring the artists’ long-standing concern with the relationship between technology nature and people, the imagery will be developed through collaborative conversations and creative workshops enabling students, researchers, staff and the wider local community at University of Birmingham to directly influence the design of the sculpture.
The sculpture will have a hollow centre with an integral watering system and will be treated to moisture-loving plants will grow over time in response to the surrounding environment, and can be viewed through windows into the sculpture. The artists are particularly interested in these tiny, often overlooked plants, drawing attention to their distinctive forms and important ecological role as bioindicators for air pollution and extractors of harmful chemicals effectively slowing climate change. The growth of moss and small plants throughout the lifetime of the sculpture will not only encourage people to engage with nature but also encourage wildlife to interact with the work; returning the technological, hard-edged sculpture to a softer, more organic and natural state.
Juneau Projects
Image credit: Greg Milner photography
About Juneau Projects
Juneau Projects are Philip Duckworth and Ben Sadler, two artists based in Birmingham. They have worked together for nearly twenty years, developing a practice that looks at the possibilities of artistic production through collaboration and participation.
They enjoy the surprises that come from working with people to develop ideas, designs, objects and experiences. They are interested in the perceived relationships and boundaries between the natural world and human civilisation and how this has altered over time. In tandem with this Juneau Projects are fascinated by the evolution of technology and its role as a lens through which to view the world.
Juneau Projects Say…
“Creativity is a fundamental impulse for humankind, and sculpture, in its widest form, is central to this – tools, instruments, statues, clothes etc all display people’s evolving relationship with materials and space.”
Feral Sculpture Workshop led by Juneau Projects
Image credit: Greg Milner photography
The Arts & Science Sculpture Commission is generously supported by the Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grants.
Arts & Science Sculpture Commisison: The Studio Visits
As part of the development of the Arts & Science Sculpture Commission, we visited the artists’ studios. Here’s a collection of some of our favourite behind-the-scenes photographs!
Hipkiss & Graney
Andrew Gillespie
Juneau Projects
Intervention Architecture
Want to find out more? You can visit our outdoor display case to view scale models by our four artist finalists and learn more about the design and vision of each in our Rotunda Gallery exhibition.
Do you know which proposal you would like to see it made into a full-scale sculpture in the Green Heart? If so – vote now!
Arts & Science Sculpture Commission - Artists on Film
Watch this film to find out more about the Arts & Science Sculpture Commission and to find out more about the artists’ proposals.
Got a favourite sculpture? Then vote now!
Want to find out more? You can visit our outdoor display case to view scale models by our four finalists and learn more about the design and vision of each in our Rotunda Gallery exhibition.
In March 2020, a new public sculpture will be unveiled at the University of Birmingham campus, bringing together arts and science in the new University parkland, the Green Heart. This sculpture will explore ways in which art and science can inform each other, spark debate, and bring about new understandings of the world in which we live.
In this blog series, you will find out more about the artists and their proposals. Last but by no means least, it’s Hipkiss & Graney!
Hipkiss & Graney
Image credit: Greg Milner photography
About Hipkiss & Graney
Hipkiss & Graney are a visual arts duo from Ingot Studios, Stirchley, South Birmingham. Their highly collaborative practice explores ideas around collectivity, community and counter-movements through socially engaged workshops, large-scale interactive installations and performative outputs. Their performances discuss political and environmental issues, often involving magic realism and fictional organisations.
What’s the proposal?
Hipkiss & Graney
This is How We Saved the World, The Repository
Image credit: Patrick Dandy
Hipkiss and Graney are designing a sculpture that projects holographic representations of university lecturers and researchers, amongst others. The design will draw from dystopian and science fiction narratives, with a soundscape to match.
The aim of this project is to create a new, hopeful and empowering narrative about the future of our planet. Through research, collaboration and kindness we can create a better future for everyone.
Hipkiss & Graney Say…
“We want to work with big ideas about society and the environment and the most natural way we find to approaching these issues is through building immersive worlds and experiences for the viewer.”
Describe your practice in 5 words…
Folk tales for our time
What do you think?
Do you like this proposal? Would you like to see it made into a full-scale sculpture in the Green Heart? If so – vote now!
Want to find out more? You can visit our outdoor display case to view scale models by our four artist finalists and learn more about the design and vision of each in our Rotunda Gallery exhibition.
In March 2020, a new public sculpture will be unveiled at the University of Birmingham campus, bringing together arts and science in the new University parkland, the Green Heart. This sculpture will explore ways in which art and science can inform each other, spark debate, and bring about new understandings of the world in which we live.
In this blog series, you will find out more about the artists and their proposals. It’s time to read all about Juneau Projects!
Juneau Projects
Image credit: Greg Milner photography
About Juneau Projects
Juneau Projects are Philip Duckworth and Ben Sadler, two artists based in Birmingham. They have worked together for nearly twenty years, developing a practice that looks at the possibilities of artistic production through collaboration and participation.
They enjoy the surprises that come from working with people to develop ideas, designs, objects and experiences. They are interested in the perceived relationships and boundaries between the natural world and human civilisation and how this has altered over time. In tandem with this Juneau Projects are fascinated by the evolution of technology and its role as a lens through which to view the world.
What’s the proposal?
Juneau Projects
Mosswerk
Image credit: Patrick Dandy
Juneau Projects would like to build a wooden tower, filled with nooks and crannies and decorated with organic imagery inspired by conversations with staff and students at University of Birmingham.
The structure will be treated to encourage the growth of moss and other bryophytes. This in turn will encourage wildlife to interact with the work. They are particularly interested in these tiny, often overlooked plants, and hope the sculpture will focus attention on their distinctive forms and their ecological role.
The sculpture’s surfaces will evolve and grow over time in response to the surrounding environment.
Juneau Projects Say…
“Creativity is a fundamental impulse for humankind, and sculpture, in its widest form, is central to this – tools, instruments, statues, clothes etc all display people’s evolving relationship with materials and space.”
Describe your practice in 5 words…
Nature, technology, people, useful, fun.
What do you think?
Do you like this proposal? Would you like to see it made into a full-scale sculpture in the Green Heart? If so – vote now!
Want to find out more? You can visit our outdoor display case to view scale models by our four artist finalists and learn more about the design and vision of each in our Rotunda Gallery exhibition.
In March 2020, a new public sculpture will be unveiled at the University of Birmingham campus, bringing together arts and science in the new University parkland, the Green Heart. This sculpture will explore ways in which art and science can inform each other, spark debate, and bring about new understandings of the world in which we live.
In this blog series, you will find out more about the artists and their proposals. Our latest post is all about Intervention Architecture!
Intervention Architecture
Image credit: Greg Milner photography
About Intervention Architecture
Intervention Architecture Ltd (IA) is an award winning, RIBA chartered architecture and design studio in Birmingham.
The studio has a collaborative and open atmosphere and an ethos that reflects an inherent appreciation for craft and the value of workmanship and materials.
IA ensure community engagement is part of their design and making. They are interested in site responsive works, engaging with users throughout each stage with each unique site context.
What’s the proposal?
Intervention Architecture
The Oculus
Image credit: Patrick Dandy
Intervention Architecture proposes The Oculus - an intimate viewing device for the Green Heart which invites visitors to interact with the sculpture and to observe and enjoy the parkland.
The Oculus will rotate, enabling viewers to experience the growing flora and fauna through a series of apertures.
The sculpture will serve as an area of reflection and a participatory platform from which to track the changing landscape as the greenery changes through the seasons.
Intervention Architecture Say…
“Working in architecture we are primarily interested in the behaviour of people, celebrating this by creating enhanced experiential relationships with their spatial environment.”
Describe your practice in 5 words…
Curious, community, craft, contemporary, boutique
What do you think?
Do you like this proposal? Would you like to see it made into a full-scale sculpture in the Green Heart? If so – vote now!
Want to find out more? You can visit our outdoor display case to view scale models by our four artist finalists and learn more about the design and vision of each in our Rotunda Gallery exhibition.
In March 2020, a new public sculpture will be unveiled at the University of Birmingham campus, bringing together arts and science in the new University parkland, the Green Heart. This sculpture will explore ways in which art and science can inform each other, spark debate, and bring about new understandings of the world in which we live.
In this blog series, you will find out more about the artists and their proposals. First up, it’s Andrew Gillespie!
Andrew Gillespie
Image credit: Greg Milner photography
About Andrew Gillespie
Andrew Gillespie lives and works in Birmingham.
As a contemporary sculptor, Andrew’s work explores surfaces, appropriation and the urban environment. He is interested in the collision of surfaces, structures and materials. He regularly translates familiar imagery and objects through printmaking and casting, exploiting the shift in status and content that occurs with each gesture.
Working as Recent Activity, Andrew curates a programme of exhibitions and events, bringing new artists to Birmingham and activating new audiences.
What’s the proposal?
Andrew Gillespie
In Better Shape for Life
Image credit: Patrick Dandy
Working with the University’s collections, Andrew will re-make and re-contextualise an “awkward” object – something that might have been concealed, overlooked or hard to exhibit.
His sculpture will draw attention to the University’s extensive pacemaker collection, which includes the first variable pacemaker developed by Leon Abrams and Ray Lightwood at the University of Birmingham (take a look at our Blue Plaque guide to find out more about their pioneering work).
Guidant Corporation
Pacemaker, metal and plastic resin, Research and Cultural Collections
Andrew’s proposal highlights the relationship between artistic and scientific design; the pacemaker is streamlined, simple and abstract in appearance, much like contemporary sculpture. He is also interested in the idea that art can be like a pacemaker, working on demand, activated when needed and a force for keeping us alive.
Andrew Says
“I love how art is a catalyst for conversations, a vehicle for bringing people together to look at the world in a different way.”
Describe your practice in 5 words…
in, on, alone, together, always
What do you think?
Do you like this proposal? Would you like to see it made into a full-scale sculpture in the Green Heart? If so – vote now!
Want to find out more? You can visit our outdoor display case to view scale models by our four artist finalists and learn more about the design and vision of each in our Rotunda Gallery exhibition.
You can learn more about Andrew’s proposal by coming to ‘Changing Concepts - Collage with Andrew Gillespie’ on Thursday 5th September. Click here to find out more and to book.
The West African Wardrobe – my placement at the Research and Cultural Collections
Post by Oskar Lundin
Oskar Lundin was the International Museums and Collections Award 2019 recipient from the University of Lund. He carried out a 4 week placement with Research and Cultural Collections in July 2019, with other projects hosted by Winterbourne House and Garden and the Barber Institute of Fine Arts.
I was introduced to the West African textile collection on the first day of my placement at the Research and Cultural Collections Study Centre. Whilst I had various smaller projects that I had ongoing at institutions like the RCC, the Barber and Winterbourne, this one was to keep me occupied for the entirety of the month.
Ewe
Kente textile, 20th century, Research and Cultural Collections
The West African textiles are a significant part of the Danford Collection of West African Art and Artefacts, the main body of which was collected by John Danford in the 1950s during his time as a British Council representative in Nigeria. Upon coming to England, the objects were used for teaching at the University of Birmingham and the collection was added to through gift and purchase over the years. In 1968, Sister Evelyn Bellamy’s array of Ghanaian artefacts were gifted to the collection. Among these were a number of textiles, and from these I was given a short-list to choose to research for my Campus Curiosities article in the Buzz magazine. This project piqued my interest and educated me in a new field of study, made tangible by the fantastic pieces from the collection.
I settled on a 20th century Kente cloth, consisting of narrowly woven strips of fabric stitched together, made by the Ewe people of Ghana and Togo. It would be wrapped around the body to function as a man’s garment. With its brilliant colours and an interesting design, combining a geometrical style with sparse representational motifs, this one stuck out from the rest in a way that captured my interest. I set about doing some research on Ewe Kente and West African textiles, where the tradition of weaving is thought to date back to the 11th century. To this day, the weaving and wearing of Kente bears esteemed cultural symbolic importance. Despite this, details on the maker and the specific meaning of this particular Kente remains unknown. One theory is that this Kente might have been commissioned to mark a rite of passage into adulthood since the cloth is adorned with bird motifs, symbols invoking the local proverbial saying “a bird which grows feathers will always fly”. Writing a short article for Buzz was great practice as one is rarely trained to set aside one’s learned academic tone.
For the purpose of having the article “published” our workroom transformed into a studio where I got to carry out some photography. Despite mainly getting blurry shots, as a novice photographer, I’m genuinely pleased with the one-off good shot that made the cut!
In order to preserve it, the textile collection is kept in acid free boxes in a regulated environment and folded into sheets of tissue (textiles being notoriously fussy about storage conditions). Therefore, when it was realised that woollen blankets were found to be shedding in their boxes, precautionary measures had to be taken. These blankets needed to be sought out and placed in separate boxes. This task provided me with experience in handling museum objects – a good skill-set to have going into this field of work – though rather uncomfortable for someone who, like me, is used to appreciating them from a distance. Once the blankets were nicely tucked away, the cataloguing database became my priority. As the textiles had been moved, their location on the database needed to be updated and the boxes relabelled. Working with the University’s collections management database Mimsy XG, I acquainted myself with complexities of such a database, which allowed me to hone my skill in cataloguing as I prayed for some good old Christian temperance. The effort of going through the textile database resulted in neat storage labels for the boxes. Hopefully this will make the process of searching the archive more joyous in the future for staff and other researchers.
Oskar on his final placement day
I would like to thank everyone at Research and Cultural Collections for keeping me busy with exciting projects and for being great mentors!
Much of my placement at the Research and Cultural Collections has involved working closely with the Nicklin-Salmons Collection. This is a large array of carefully collected items that demonstrate the research and travels of art historian Jill Salmons and her husband Keith Nicklin. These over 250 items come from different African countries, and range from rare skin covered masks to fertility dolls. Yet the object I have chosen to focus on is that of the fatting room figurine.
Okun Akpan Ekanem
Fatting Room Figurine, 1970s, wood, Nicklin-Salmons Collection of Ethnography
I initially came across a picture of a fatting room girl while scanning the images taken during Salmons and Nicklin’s field research. I was instantly struck by the girl’s distinct appearance as, seated nobly with her hair parted and high, she radiated honour and dignity. To my delight I later came across the wooden figurine. The object, carved by Okun Akpan Ekanem of Ikot Ekpe, Ikot Ekpene division, was clearly inspired by the appearance of fatting room girls such as the individual in the above image. I decided that writing about this object would provide me with the opportunity to learn more about the fatting room’s significance.
Keith Nicklin
Photograph of a fattening room girl, 1971, Nicklin-Salmons Collection of Ethnography
Across different cultures the movement from girlhood to womanhood is marked by a series of ceremonies. During their field research, Salmons and Nicklin studied the traditions and art works of the people of Calabar, a city in the Nigerian Cross River Region. For the Efik people of Calabar, the journey into womanhood is signified through the Iria ceremony, with the girls who partake in this called iriabos. Traditionally, the aim of Iria was to ensure that girls were properly prepared for their roles as mothers and wives. The rite’s main feature is the iriabos’ admission into fatting rooms: secluded areas or huts where girls are kept and prevented from undertaking strenuous work.
Before entering fatting huts, girls must present themselves to their village. During this procession the Iriabos’ virginity is inspected by elders and the women in charge of the ceremony, with a large emphasis placed on their chastity. Traditionally, female genital mutilation was a part of these ceremonial rites, but in recent times this practise has fallen out of favour and was officially banned in Nigeria in 2015.
For the inspection, the girls are painted with intricate designs that lace across their face, chest and arms, and are decorated with a chalk named ndom. The object’s artist Ekanem depicts the characteristics of fatting room girls in his own work. The symmetrical lines painted across the figurine’s body are similar to the patterns seen on Iriabos. Additionally the wooden figure is pink in colour, a nod to the Iriabos’ practise of covering themselves with ndom.
Once their chastity has been assessed, the Iriabos are then allowed to enter their separate fatting rooms. They are also fed large amounts of whichever food they desire, and ordered to get plenty of rest. It is important that girls gain weight, as it is thought that this will help them with conceiving and bearing children, furthermore largeness was traditionally a sign of wealth and beauty in many Nigerian cultures. Though, in recent times this perception of beauty has given way to a more Eurocentric preference for a slim and slender frame.
There are an additional number of distinct outward features that mark out Iriabos, many of which are depicted in the figurine. The rings tied around the figure’s legs represent the copper wires Iriabos wear to restrict their movement, as the purpose of the fatting room is relaxation. Additionally the figurine sports a distinct coiffure, with her hair parted into large spheres across her head, much like the individual in the image. While some girls shave their hair for the ceremony, other cultures have adopted this hairstyle.
Once the isolation period is up, through a ceremony attended by the whole community, the Iriabos celebrate their leaving the fatting room. They are adorned with coral jewellery, as seen on the figurine, and present themselves to their community and potential suitors.
This large celebration marks the Iriabos’ first step into womanhood. While coming out was traditionally followed by marriage, many girls who now complete this rite look to other personal goals such as finishing their education. While this ceremony was initially intended as preparation for marriage, it is also a deeply personal journey that signifies how women seek to define themselves, as they enter a new stage in life. The evolving interpretation of this rite was further evident in the recent series Fattening Room. In which a group of modern African women experienced the ceremony, learning to both reconcile and challenge traditional ideas of womanhood. While the tradition wains, it is crucial that works of art such as Ekanem’s wooden figure continue to draw attention to this practise, keeping its legacy alive.
Special thanks to Jill Salmons for all the reading suggestions and information provided.
Further Reading
Abel Crespo, Emily Duque and Diana Zuhlsdorf, Iria Ritual; A Celebration of Feminism or Femininity?
Pamela J. Brink, The Fattening Room in Nigeria.
Pamela J. Brink, The Fattening Room revisited.
Patricia Levy, Nigeria
Imo Nse Imeh, Daughters of Seclusion: The Revelation of the Ibibio ‘Fattened Bride as the Icon of Beauty and Power (Black Studies and Critical Thinking)
Sakina was the University of Melbourne’s 2018 International Museums and Collections Award recipient and she spent a month interning with the University of Birmingham museums and collections in 2019. As part of her internship, she spent time at the Cadbury Research Library where she developed both her understanding of collection management principles as well as deepened her knowledge about the confluence of both Islamic and Christian motifs in a single artwork. She is also currently completing her Honours in Art History at the University of Melbourne. Her thesis investigates the links between Islamic and European art and culture in the first decades after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople.
In this blog post. Sakina focuses on a sculpture which captured her imagination - The Reading Girl by Pietro Magni.
Pietro Magni
The Reading Girl, c. 1861, Marble, Research and Cultural Collections
I stumbled upon Pietro Magni’s sculpture, The Reading Girl, whilst I was assisting in reviewing data for the Art UK sculpture project. Art UK (previously known as the Public Catalogue Foundation) is a dynamic arts charity with a national and global reach. The organisation aims to open up art in public collections for enjoyment, learning and research by digitising artworks and sharing the works’ stories with the greater public. In this instance, I was aiding in surveying the Research and Cultural Collection’s sculptural data, which will be shared through Art UK.
Magni’s sculpture, which is displayed in the Cadbury Research Library’s Reading Room here on campus, is a delightful example of sculptural realism that was emerging from northern Italy in the 1850s and 1860s. The marble sculpture has been created with unnerving precision, making the reading girl seem life-like. Her downward gaze, shoeless feet, informal dress and escaped locks suggest that she is fully enthralled by her book. She pays no heed to contemporary cultural codes of conduct, abandoning her outer dress, which has been haphazardly thrown across the chair as well as her chemise, which has slipped down to expose her narrow back, projecting bones and right breast. The uncomfortable and seemingly broken chair appears to go unnoticed by the girl whose attention is solely centred on the words of her book. She is unselfconscious, and in this particular portrayal of a pubescent girl, this lack of shame carries with it the association of innocence (Jones, 2017).
Pietro Magni
The Reading Girl, c. 1861, Marble, Research and Cultural Collections
Her location within the Reading Room of the Cadbury Research Library is apt and her naturalistic features, which emit an aura of tranquility, struck me. She encourages the reader to get lost in their books by reminding them of the potential to escape reality through narratives. It reminds the viewer of the enthralling of books, ones that are not full of long sentences and big words, but of stories that flow and regale tales of stories that make you believe in the impossible.
For more information about this sculpture, check out Claire Jones’ short essay, Realism and the Multiple: Pietro Magni’s Reading Girl (c.1861).
