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.
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.
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.
A Mermaid’s Tale: the origins of the University’s Crest
Post by Nadia Awal
The latest Campus Curiosty in the June/July edition of Buzz is William Bloye’s Mermaid Fountain. The Mermaid is a much loved icon of the University of Birmingham. Her striking, resplendent stance upon bronze shells gives her a siren-like quality; many a visitor has taken beautiful photographs of her (you can often find a lovely snap of her via #hellobrum!). But why is the mermaid synonymous with the University? Here we shall explore the early history of the University to discover the mermaid’s tale...
William Bloye (1890-1975)
Mermaid Fountain, 1960, Bronze, Research and Cultural Collections
The mermaid from the University’s Crest holds a mirror and comb and can be found all around campus: on souvenirs, the Stained Glass Window in the Great Hall and in portraits of previous chancellors such as Sir Dominic Cadbury, to name a few. Representations of her can be found throughout Research and Cultural Collections, including in the University Heritage Collection, the Silver and Plate Collection, and the Campus Collection of Fine and Decorative Art. She is an intrinsic symbol of the University, and her tale is fascinating...
Objects from the University Heritage Collection and the Silver and Plate Collection which include representations of the mermaid
Sir Josiah Mason came from modest beginnings and created his own heraldic crest which includes our mermaid with mirror and comb along with a two-headed lion. Mason was a self-made millionaire through various industrial concerns (most famously the manufacture of pen-nibs). He was a great philanthropist and he founded an orphanage and almshouses in Erdington – where the boys wore lion pins and the girls, mermaid pins. He then established Mason Science College in Birmingham city centre in 1875. The College was the precursor of the University of Birmingham, which received its Royal Charter on 24 March 1900. During the establishment of the University, the General Purposes Committee ensured that the mermaid and the two-headed lion were preserved in the University’s crest when they made the official application to the College of Arms.
Henry Turner Munns (1832-1898)
Portrait of Sir Josiah Mason, 1881, oil on canvas, Research and Cultural Collections
This explains how the mermaid came to be on the University crest, but why did Mason use it in the first place? Stories have been told that Mason was inspired by an old, gilt toy featuring a mermaid sold by his uncle, or a stained glass window in a church in Kidderminster which featured a mermaid. Another tale says that he was inspired by a trip to a local pub as a child where he saw a mermaid in one of its windows. We cannot be certain why he chose the mermaid, but it seems likely that he perused books on heraldry, in which he would have seen that other Masons used mermaids in their crests. Arthur Charles Fox-Davies’ A Complete Guide to Heraldry states that he borrowed his symbols from unrelated Masons. It appears that he never sought consent to use the lion or mermaid for his family crest. He also neglected to apply to the College of Arms for permission to use these symbols for the crest of Mason Science College.
The mermaid may have found her way onto the University’s crest through an unorthodox heraldic history, but we fondly keep her as an enduring reminder of the University’s origins and the philanthropic efforts of Sir Josiah Mason.
In the latest edition of Buzz, we shared the latest Campus Curiosity article on Portrait of Sir Oliver Lodge by Sir George Reid. This portrait is currently part of the exhibition Terms of Engagement, which is on at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts. A selection of portraits were moved for this exhibition; we asked artist David Rowan to fill the temporarily vacated spaces. Here, David describes his artworks and process.
In January 2015 I was contacted by RCC in about producing new work to become part of an exhibition that would exist within the University’s buildings and corridors.
I was asked to produce new work in response to six portraits of former University figureheads. Six portraits of six very different individuals that would be moving into the Barber Institute for the Terms of Engagement exhibition. The empty spaces left behind would require something in place for the duration of the temporary exhibition. I began working with RCC curators and staff to research and develop the new work. The brief was open, I had free rein to pretty much produce whatever I wanted. I realised early on that the individuals depicted in each portrait, were very different people, spanning almost 100 years. I decided to research into each of the their lives, histories and legacies, rather than to focus on the painter of each picture or the visual content of the pictures themselves. During an extensive research period I uncovered extraordinary histories and fascinating information about the six people and connected histories, hidden narratives and myths. I decided that, in some way I wanted to incorporate this information into each of the six works.
I worked with multiple archives and utilised material from King Edward VI School, the MI5 archive, The United Nations Audiovisual Archives as well as the University of Birmingham's own Cadbury Research Library. I also researched and used collections from Birmingham Museums Collections Centre as well as online research culminating in purchases from Amazon, eBay and deadstock from a long closed carpet warehouse. What follows is a brief summary.
Ether Communication Device
C-Type Photographic Print 1330mm x 1000mm
Copyright David Rowan
For the Sir Oliver Lodge works, I became interested in Lodges key work with radio and his concept of 'Ether'. Lodges 1929 book, 'Phantom Walls was a real inspiration in producing this work and the title of my exhibition. I also researched photographic archive material from the Cadbury Research Library. The resulting works are 'photographic reconstructions' of these Lodge Ether machines based on Lodges own scientific experiments circa 1907 and they are reconstructed here for the very first time. I have produced several of Lodges experimental 'ether' machines, one large framed photographic print features in the exhibition. As well as this, we also produced a short 'hidden' film to accompany the print, this film features a spoken word transcript of a seance that Lodge himself attended and was filmed on location at the University. A version of the film, entitled Séance, can be viewed here: https://vimeo.com/142001517
Jeans Girls
C-Type Photographic print 750mm x 1000mm
Copyright David Rowan
Jean Wilks, the only woman to feature in my work and the University’s first female Pro-Chancellor. I produced work based on her time as principle of Birmingham's King Edward VI Girls School. She believed in greater equality for both men and women, she democratised responsibility amoungst the girls she taught, doing away with the 'head girl' and encouraging greater independence for young women. I interviewed her friend Joyce Stevens who worked along side Jean at the school. She confirmed that Jean’s Uncle had a profound influence on Jean. Jean’s uncle was once imprisoned for not paying his wife’s tax, while in prison he was sung to by several suffragette women, to keep his spirits up. The work I've produced uses several archival photographs of each school year that Jean would have presided over as principle of the school. Along with the colours of the suffragette movement. The triangle is often said to be the strongest shape, here it represents a top down distribution knowledge and the concept, that one person can, in Jean's case, positively influence many other people's lives over a long period of time.
Chocolate Socialist
C-Type Photographic Print 1000mm x 1330mm
Copyright David Rowan
Dominic Cadbury’s grandfather George Cadbury, the founder of Birmingham's Bournville Estate and chocolate factory empire is clearly the basis for the themes explored in this work. Chocolate - Socialism, the key ideals at the heart of the historical and almost mythical Cadbury Family. To produce this work, I sculpted a small chocolate Karl Marx (Marx being the father of socialism) This work although informal in concept is perhaps the most formal of final works, its sculptural shape and formal photographic style is intentionally reminiscent of the formality of traditional 18th and 19th century busts and statues. The Karl Marx, could be George Cadbury, or in-fact a bust of virtually any bearded man from the last two hundred years of history.
Oleg Lyalin's COKOΛ (PП 310) Radio 1971
C-Type Photographic Print 380x380mm
Copyright David Rowan
Julian Bullard, prior to his work for the University, was head of Her Majesties Diplomatic Service during the early 1970s'.During that time he was responsible for the expulsion of 105 Russian diplomats accused of spying. This revolved around a scandal the centre of which was Russian man Oleg Lyalin. Lyalin defected to the UK and was later relocated by MI5 in exchange for giving up information on over 80 Russian colleagues, who like Lyalin, worked for the Russian Trade Delegation, but who were actually engaged in covert intelligence operations. Inside the vitrine case is Lyalin's personal archive, it is on exhibition here, along with six framed photographs of his 'faked' identity cards, radios and cameras. Lyalin's cover story for spying, was that he was a traveling carpet and textiles salesman. He sold textiles in the West Midlands. Lyalin is perhaps the antithesis of Bullard, I find it fascinating these two, very different men have had such a profound affect on each of their lives and the course of each others personal histories, despite having never met.
Special thanks must go to the MI5 archive for the loan of the 1971 archival material. Of specific interest to me, is Lyalins 'Minox B' spy camera (containing a half shot roll of film) and the black and white press photograph, which shows the Russian Trade Delegation receiving U.K expulsion documents.
Matrix Churchill Machine Parts
Photographic Print 1100mm x 727mm
Copyright David Rowan
This work looks into the part of Lord Hannay's history when he was the UK’s ambassador to the United Nations; archives played an important part of my research here. Hannay took office less than a month after the start or the 1990 Iraq War, a tough appointment to say the least. This point in history is politically very complex, the stories and accounts of the time are discussed by Hannay in his book New World Disorder.
My work makes reference to The Scott Enquiry that follows the war. The UK government was investigated for its part in The Arms to Iraq Scandal, A scandal that involved Coventry firm Matrix Churchill who were accused of supplying weapons parts to Iraq (or in this case the 'machine parts' that feature in the first photograph). During the investigation the then defence minister Ian MacDonald was asked about the truth of the matter, his reply 'The truth is a difficult concept' This phrase can be applied to the concept of truth in portraiture as well as an individual’s relative points of view.
The Burman Engine
4K Video Presentation with audio 2 minutes 37 seconds
Copyright David Rowan
This video piece The Burman Engine is a high definition video animation made up of 100 still photographs of the 'Four Square' Burman Motor Cycle engine, this engine was designed as an 'exhibition piece' to show off the company’s expertise in producing high end industrial components. The engine is part of Birmingham Museums’ collection. Here the engine could represent the Roger Burman's creative endeavour and here it is elevated to high status, it auto displays itself for the viewer like a piece of 21st century technology, rather than a 60+ year old object. The audio that accompanies this piece is made from samples of motor cycle engine sounds, stretched, processed and re-presented. A peacock makes a brief appearance at the end of this work, this is to signify Burman's love of birds and creates a visual link to the peacock sculpture that features in the original portrait.
Of course there could be a lot more to say about the production of these works and the information acquired during research into these amazing peoples lives, there is more information and other material on my website:
http://davidrowan.org/work/phantom-walls/
A preview of the Phantom Walls video works are here:
https://vimeo.com/artistdavidrowan/videos
Its been very interesting developing and producing this new work and a real pleasure working with all the University of Birmingham staff, especially University Curator Clare Mullet and Exhibitions and Loans Officer Vicky Skelding-Bloor, as well as Anna Young, Nadia Awal and Clare Marlow. The exhibition continues until January 17th 2016 in the Aston Webb Building.
