8 Historic London Shopfronts | Heritage Calling

Raven Row, 56 Artillery Lane, London E1

London streets are lined with colourful shops, clamouring for our attention. Many are of considerable age, and have survived for our enjoyment only through careful maintenance by generations of sho…

Source: 8 Historic London Shopfronts | Heritage Calling

Ballooning in Bowler Hats: Early Images From Victorian Skies | Heritage Calling

We have recently acquired the earliest surviving aerial images of England, discovered last year at a car boot sale. They were taken between 1882 and 1892 from a balloon by photographer and ballooni…

Source: Ballooning in Bowler Hats: Early Images From Victorian Skies | Heritage Calling

Study, conservation and display of a rare pair of curtains from Late Antique Egypt | British Museum blog

Project curator Amandine Mérat gives us an overview of the historical background of the curtains, whilst conservators Anna Harrison and Monique Pullan describe work carried out in order to prepare them for display…

Source: Study, conservation and display of a rare pair of curtains from Late Antique Egypt | British Museum blog

Spicy stories: the case of a clove boat model | British Museum blog

Originally posted on British Museum blog.

Since closure of the temporary exhibition Connecting continents: Indian Ocean trade and exchange, the exhibited objects, including a model boat made from hundreds of dried cloves, have been returned to storage. However, out of sight does not mean out of mind…

The world of clove models is a mysterious one: little is known about these exciting, unique and strongly scented objects. This leaves us with questions such as what are they, where did they come from, when and why? Very little was known about the British Museum’s clove boat model before it was displayed, including its origins. Research was thus carried out to start to piece together information, but many questions are still unanswered. Intrigued by these objects research continues and you are invited to be a part of it!

Through this blog I will highlight what we currently know about these models before moving on to explore what we are yet to…

via Spicy stories: the case of a clove boat model | British Museum blog.

Conservation of a Clove Boat

British Museum blog

Verena Kotonski, Specialist Conservator (Organics), British Museum

In November 2014, my workbench temporarily turned into something close to a shipyard when a model boat made of cloves arrived in the Organic Artefacts Conservation Studio. Every object that goes on temporary or permanent display at the Museum receives a thorough condition check and, if necessary, conservation treatment before its installation in an exhibition. The clove boat was to be included in the exhibition Connecting continents: Indian Ocean trade and exchange, in which it was to be displayed for the very first time.

I have come across many weird and wonderful objects over the years, but never a boat made of cloves! I was particularly looking forward to unpacking this object from its storage box to see what it looked like. When I opened the box, an almost overpowering smell of cloves was released, which was somewhat of a surprise as this…

View original post 1,394 more words