Countdown to Harrogate

The blog post for this week has been written by Egypt Centre volunteer and University of Birmingham student, Sam Powell, whose visit to Harrogate Museum in July 2022 led to the loan of the collection to the Egypt Centre.

As you may already be aware from social media posts and a series of YouTube videos, earlier this year, over 800 objects arrived in Swansea on loan from Harrogate in order to allow for in-depth recording and research to be undertaken. A condition of this loan was that the objects would be available via an online catalogue for researchers and the public alike, and so, as part of the Egypt Centre’s twenty-five year anniversary celebrations due to take place in October this year, the Harrogate Egyptian Collection will be launched hosted by Abaset Collections (fig. 1)!

Fig. 1: Forty days to go!

As part of my PhD research visits in 2022, I visited the Mercer Art Gallery in Harrogate to examine a wooden funerary figure in their collection (fig. 2). During my visit, staff mentioned that they would like to utilise their ancient Egyptian collection more effectively, and reach a wider audience. Of course, my first thought was to recommend the Egypt Centre as the ideal place for the objects to undergo full cataloguing and research given the fantastic experience I had working with the collection in Swansea, both as a volunteer, student, and also in creating the Egypt Centre Online Collection (Abaset) for them.

Fig. 2: Catalogue entry for the female figure

Abaset Collections came about as a result of my frustrations as a user of online catalogues for my own research, and so I worked closely with the Egypt Centre team to create a bespoke application that focuses on the user experience and engagement with the objects. The Egypt Centre Online Collection launched in October 2020, and was very timely given the temporary closure of the museum to the public due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Online Collection has proven a valuable asset for the museum, with easy access via mobile devices, high-quality photography of the objects, 3D models, and easy-to-search data to explore. Trails in a variety of languages including English, Welsh, Arabic, Spanish, and Hungarian allow for different themes and topics to be tailored for different audiences. These elements will also be available for the Harrogate Egyptian Online Collection.

All 813 objects from Harrogate have already been photographed from several angles (almost 4000 photos), and the Egypt Centre team and Swansea University students, along with several specialists in different object types, have been working tirelessly to hunt down provenances of objects, translate the names of the deceased, trace auction details, and categorise pottery types in order to populate the data within the online catalogue. This is still very much a work in progress, so not all the objects will be fully catalogued at the time of the launch (fig. 3). One of the best things about Abaset (in my opinion!) is the ability to update information in real-time. This means as soon we know something new about an object, it’s instantly available to everyone!

Fig. 3: Stelae in the Harrogate collection

We really hope you enjoy exploring the absolutely incredible collection of objects that make up the Harrogate Egyptian collection; it’s been so exciting sharing in the discoveries surrounding the objects (with many more to come, I’m sure!). The Harrogate Egyptian Online Collection will be launched on 7^th October, so keep your eyes peeled on the day for the link to the site, and please do share any feedback you have about the software and the objects themselves!

Registration for the Egypt Centre’s anniversary celebrations (which will include both the launch of this new online collection, and a presentation about the Egypt Centre Online Collection) is available here.

For a brief preview of the Harrogate Egyptian Collection, see the newly released video below, the fourth in the series on the Harrogate collection.

Announcing The Egypt Centre's Twenty-fifth Anniversary Event

As regular readers of this blog will know, this year the Egypt Centre marks twenty-five years since first opening its doors. While the official opening took place on the 28^th September of that year, we will be hosting a celebration event on the 7^th October. This hybrid event will celebrate the achievements of the Egypt Centre during this time with a series of presentations and unveilings. In particular, the opening of the first Harrogate collection exhibition entitled Causing Their Names to Live. The event is free, in keeping with the museum’s remit of breaking down barriers and widening participation. The in-person event is limited to sixty participants, so will be restricted to presenters, staff, volunteers, and Swansea University students. However, the Zoom event will be accessible to a global audience, who are encouraged to join us in celebrating this milestone. The full programme of the day can be found below. Registration for the event is essential and can be made via the following link.

During the past twenty-five years, we have had thousands of people volunteer at the Egypt Centre and we would like to think that the museum played an important role in shaping the career of some. We have also inspired countless school children with our learning programme, including our “dummy mummy”. Swansea University students have benefitted immensely from our object-based learning approach. Our online activities during the COVID-19 Pandemic have helped us to reach a global audience, many of whom were struggling with the rigours of lockdown! During the breaks at our celebration event, we are hoping to play a series of short videos from people who have engaged with the Egypt Centre during the past twenty-five years. Whether you are a former member of staff at the Egypt Centre, or a former (or current) volunteer, student, or visitor to the museum, we would encourage you to submit a short video (c. 30 seconds) telling us how we inspired you. Please email them (or any questions related to these) to me at k.griffin@swansea.ac.uk

 

Conference Programme (abstracts available here)

9:15 Webinar starts

9:30–9:45 Welcome address

9:45–11:15 The Evolution of the Egypt Centre

Carolyn Graves-Brown (Former Egypt Centre Curator) - At last! Hopes, imaginations, and dreams come true

Syd Howells (Egypt Centre Volunteer Manager) - Egypt Centre volunteers: a history 1998 1997–2023

Dulcie Engel (Egypt Centre volunteer) - My volunteering journey

Wendy Goodridge (Egypt Centre Museum Manager) - Let the battle commence!: breaking barriers to museum learning

11:15–11:30 Break

11:30–12:45 Collectors & Collections

Meg Gundlach (Egypt Centre Collections Access Manager) - The Hood legacy: Swansea by chance, Swansea by choice

Sam Powell (Egypt Centre volunteer and Abaset Director) - Abaset Collections: restoring ma’at to the Egypt Centre Online Collection

Anna Garnett (Petrie Museum Curator) - To Malet Place and beyond: The Petrie Museum’s role in the distribution of the Wellcome collection

12:45–14:00 Lunch break

14:00–15:10 The Egypt Centre & Swansea University

Christian Knoblauch (Lecturer, Swansea University) - Teaching in the collection: object-centred learning at Swansea University

Ersin Hussein (Senior Lecturer, Swansea University) - Community perspectives: understanding and voicing Cypriot heritage in Wales

Jess Evans (Swansea University student) - My student experience at the Egypt Centre

15:10–15:25 Break

15:25–16:35 Conservation & Innovation

Phil Parkes (Reader in Conservation, Cardiff University) - Shared history: conservation of Egypt Centre objects at Cardiff University

Courtney Lyons (Cardiff University conservation student) - Perspective of a conservation student: treatment of EC168, a Soter-style shroud

Noura Seada (Assistant Lecturer at October 6 University, Cairo) - Online engagement at the Egypt Centre: a view from Egypt

16:35–16:45 Break

16:45–17:45 Keynote

Ken Griffin (Egypt Centre Curator) - Rediscovering Egypt: the Harrogate collection in Swansea

17:45–18:00 Summary and close

Documenting the Harrogate Loan

It’s now almost six months since over 800 objects arrived to the Egypt Centre on loan from Harrogate Museum. Since then, the objects have been photographed (c. 4000 photographs), documented (a continuous process), and entered into a new online catalogue, which will be launched in October. The launch will coincide with the Egypt Centre’s twenty-fifth anniversary celebrations, details of which are almost finalised (stay tuned for an update on this blog soon). At the same time, the first of three planned temporary exhibitions on the Harrogate collection will also be launched. The title of the exhibition is Causing Their Names to Live, which takes inspiration from a common vivification formula found on statues, stelae, and other objects. 

As we approach the date of our celebration (7 October), a series of eleven videos documenting the Harrogate loan and the stories behind it will be released. These videos were beautifully captured and produced by Katie Greenhalf and Gary Lawson of This Film Production Ltd. The first video, which was filmed in February, deals with the Packing Up of the collection at Harrogate ready for transportation to Swansea. It features May Catt (Visitor & Cultural Services Manager) and Karen Southworth (Curator), who were instrumental in making this loan happen. We are grateful to all the staff and volunteers in Harrogate for their hard work in carefully packing up the collection and for answering regular emails about the objects!