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Dodo Roadshow: Perth Museum and Art Gallery

Perth Museum and Gallery

To mark our selection as a Finalist in the Art Fund Prize for Museum of the Year 2015 we’re embarking on a unique and ambitious tour of the country – the Dodo Roadshow.

Beginning at Land’s End on 8 June and concluding in John O’Groats one week later, the famous Oxford Dodo will visit more than 20 museums and galleries along the way. At each stop the Dodo will ‘interview’ one of the venue’s star objects.

Perth Museum and Art Gallery: St Madoes Stone

So, tell me about yourself – who are you and where do you come from?
I am a Pictish cross slab in very good condition, considering my age. For centuries I took pride of place in the kirkyard of St Madoes Parish Church, six miles east of Perth in the Tay Valley.

What is it that makes you so special?
I am so special because my embellishments are of both Pictish and Celtic origin reflecting my place in the region, which was ‘the cradle of Scotland’. My front face shows a Celtic cross with interlace and knot work patterns similar to those seen in the Book of Kells or Lindisfarne gospels. Above the beautiful cross I have leaping lions and on each side the cross is guarded by Pictish hunting dogs. On my reverse side there are three cloaked and hooded Pictish horse riders above three of the enigmatic Pictish symbols known today as crescent and v rod, a double disc and a z rod. Don’t ask me what they mean, I knew once but I have now forgotten.

Who looks after you in this place?
In Perth Museum and Art Gallery I come under the curatorship of Mark Hall along with all the other archaeological objects in the museum. On a day to day basis my surroundings are preened and pimped by the wonderful front of house team who polish the large mirror which shows off my Pictish side to make sure I look my best in photographs, and they tell my story as a star object to the visitors to the museum.

Do you remember life before the museum?
Before I came to the museum I stood in the churchyard of St Madoes Church. After many centuries I fell over but remained in the same place. In the 19th century I was raised again and didn’t come to the museum until the 1990s when I was given pride of place in the entrance hall.

What does the future hold for you?
I cannot see far into the future but I know that my place is secure (literally) within the entrance hall. I’m too big and too popular to move easily but it could be that the display around me may change.

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Dodo Roadshow: The Hunterian

Hunterian

To mark our selection as a Finalist in the Art Fund Prize for Museum of the Year 2015 we’re embarking on a unique and ambitious tour of the country – the Dodo Roadshow.

Beginning at Land’s End on 8 June and concluding in John O’Groats one week later, the famous Oxford Dodo will visit more than 20 museums and galleries along the way. At each stop the Dodo will ‘interview’ one of the venue’s star objects.

The Hunterian: Giant Irish Deer

So, tell me about yourself – who are you and where do you come from?
I am a giant Irish deer – they call me Megaloceros giganteus these days. I was found in a peat bog in Ireland, in Limerick I think, but I believe I had lots of relatives across Europe. I have been dead a long time! I was dug out of the bog more than 250 years ago.

What is it that makes you so special?
A Scottish doctor called William Hunter acquired me in the 18th century. He was interested in lots of things apart from medicine and he wanted to know more about moose or elk and me. He made a study of us all and even had the famous George Stubbs make a painting of the moose to help his study!

Who looks after you in this place?
I am looked after by two people – Neil Clark, the Curator of Palaeontology and Maggie Reilly the Curator of Zoology. That probably reflects the fact I have trotted between Zoology and Palaeontology displays over the years! I am a recent extinction after all (geologically speaking that is), though not as recent as you!

Do you remember life before the museum?
I don’t remember very long ago when I was alive, but like you I have been around a bit – after leaving Ireland, I lived in London for a while, then I was taken to Glasgow on a barge and then I was in the first Hunterian Museum down in the middle of Glasgow. Now, after a few years in the Zoology Museum, I am a big star in the main Hunterian Museum. I  have some friends with me now – the moose antlers. We sorted out the puzzle that William was interested in that I mentioned above.

What does the future hold for you?
I think I am probably going to still be on show to the public, though in the future there may be new Hunterian displays in a different building where even more people will be able to come and see me. I have been measured and studied in the past but as you say the scientists may have new things they want to learn so they know where to find me!


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Dodo Roadshow: Dove Cottage

Dove Cottage 850px
To mark our selection as a Finalist in the Art Fund Prize for Museum of the Year 2015 we’re embarking on a unique and ambitious tour of the country – the Dodo Roadshow.

Beginning at Land’s End on 8 June and concluding in John O’Groats one week later, the famous Oxford Dodo will visit more than 20 museums and galleries along the way. At each stop the Dodo will ‘interview’ one of the venue’s star objects.

Dove Cottage: William Wordsworth

So, tell me about yourself – who are you and where do you come from?
My name is William Wordsworth and I’m one of England’s most famous poets. I was born in the Lake District not far from here and this is my home in Grasmere, called Dove Cottage, where I lived with my sister, Dorothy, my wife, Mary, and our three children from 1799 to 1808. I once wrote that the garden at Dove Cottage was  “the loveliest spot than man hath ever found”; I think you could say the same about the whole of the Grasmere valley.

What is it that makes you so special?
My poetry is considered revolutionary because I chose to write about the lives of ordinary people and the challenges facing society using beautiful words from everyday conversation. Previously, poets used overly formal and complicated language which was too fancy for the average man. In the stories in my poems, I wanted to show that “men who do not wear fine cloaths can feel deeply” and show that they care about the world around them.

Who looks after you in this place?
I am looked after by lots of people and I am regularly dusted! I live in the museum, and almost all my manuscripts and published books are also kept safe here in a special library. My house, Dove Cottage, is well-loved too. Every day the staff at The Wordsworth Trust show many visitors around my house and there you can see items of my furniture, including the couch which features in my poem ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’. Each year the staff also spend a month between January and February delicately cleaning, mending and conserving all the items in the cottage.

Do you remember life before the museum?
My house is almost exactly the same. It has the same dark stone floors and wooden panels, and the furniture is mine too. Dove Cottage used to be an inn called the Dove & Olive Bough before I moved here and it still has open coal fires lit through most of the year. The garden which I once described as a “little domestic slip of mountain” has plants like my sister Dorothy grew, including flowers and vegetables. Before the large houses opposite Dove Cottage were built, you were able to see the lake from the first floor of the cottage.

What does the future hold for you?
When I was a younger man, I toured Europe, including a visit to France just after the Revolution and before the war with Britain began;  I was deeply affected by these conflicts. Issues like this and other themes that I have written about, such as the changes threatening society and the environment, and what it means to be alive in the world – are the same today as they were two hundred years ago. Through my writing I am able to provide a connection for people to the emotions they feel and to the natural world around them, encouraging a richer life.  I hope that in the future more people learn about my life and read my works so that it brings them a closer understanding of these important things.

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Dodo Roadshow: The Whitworth

IMG_0062
To mark our selection as a Finalist in the Art Fund Prize for Museum of the Year 2015 we’re embarking on a unique and ambitious tour of the country – the Dodo Roadshow.

Beginning at Land’s End on 8 June and concluding in John O’Groats one week later, the famous Oxford Dodo will visit more than 20 museums and galleries along the way. At each stop the Dodo will ‘interview’ one of the venue’s star objects.

The Whitworth: The Ancient of Days

So, tell me about yourself – who are you and where do you come from?

I’m The Ancient of Days, a watercolour at the Whitworth in Manchester. I was made by the great artist, poet and visionary William Blake in 1827.

What is it that makes you so special?

I was the last work of art that Blake made before he died. When he finished painting me he said, “There, that will do! I cannot mend it.” I also recently featured in a new work of art by the acclaimed artist, Cornelia Parker. With the help of the University of Manchester Nobel physicist Kostya Novoselov, she made a firework display called “Blakean Abstract” which was a pyrotechnical portrait of me.

Who looks after you in this place?

A lot of people. Curators show me to visitors in exhibitions and special viewings; conservators make me look my best; Visitor Assistants point me out to the public and keep me safe; and Learning staff show me to schoolchildren.

Do you remember life before the museum?

Yes, I was owned by the man who founded The Guardian newspaper, John Edward Taylor. He gave me to the gallery in 1892.

What does the future hold for you?

I travel internationally quite a lot as people all over the world want to see me, so more of that I expect, but I always enjoy coming home, back to the Whitworth.

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Dodo Roadshow: Stoke Museums

To mark our selection as a Finalist in the Art Fund Prize for Museum of the Year 2015 we’re embarking on a unique and ambitious tour of the country – the Dodo Roadshow.

Beginning at Land’s End on 8 June and concluding in John O’Groats one week later, the famous Oxford Dodo will visit more than 20 museums and galleries along the way. At each stop the Dodo will ‘interview’ one of the venue’s star objects.

Potteries Museum & Art Gallery: Ozzy

  So, tell me about yourself – who are you and where do you come from?
Whooo am I? I’m Ozzy, the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery’s famous slipware owl. I was made in Staffordshire around in the late 17th century, about 350 years ago – just as you were becoming extinct. Unfortunately I can’t tell you who made me – it was so long ago that I’ve forgotten and sadly he didn’t leave his signature or maker’s mark on me so no one knows now. I might look like an owl but I’ll let you into a secret – I’m actually a jug. Look round the back and you’ll see my handle. My head lifts off – but very carefully if you please – and then it becomes the cup for you to drink out of. Mind you, it’s been a long time since anyone had a drink out of me!

What is it that makes you so special?
I’m one of only a very few owl jugs made of slip-decorated earthenware to survive from the 17th century. I’m made of local red clay and my surface has been decorated by swirling together three colours of clay to give the effect of feathers. I was then glazed and fired. It took a really experienced and skilled workman to make me and I was expensive when I was made – that’s why I’ve survived. I wasn’t used every day like common pieces of pottery. I was cherished and only used for special occasions. For most of my life I’ve been on display – as I am today.

Who looks after you in this place?
So many people look after me. The curators put me on display and wrote a nice little label to tell everyone about me. The security staff patrol the galleries and make sure I’m safe and the cleaning staff make sure any finger marks are cleaned off my case every day. And of course my public visit me. They come from all over the world – I’m a celebrity you know.

Do you remember life before the museum?
Well, it’s been a long life and some of it’s a bit vague now, but I’ll never forget how I came back to Stoke in 1990. I’d been living on a mantelpiece a long way from here for quite a while when my owner put me in a box a carried me off to the Antiques Roadshow. It was all dark until a charming gentleman called Henry Sandon lifted me out. He was so excited to see me that everyone crowded around and suddenly I was being filmed for TV! The next thing I knew was that I was in a London auction house. I was a bit worried as I didn’t know where I would end up, but this museum bought me (with help from the V&A Purchase Grant Fund, The Art Fund and The Friends of the Potteries Museums) and I’ve been here ever since.

What does the future hold for you?
Life as a celebrity is very busy. Mr Sandon comes regularly to see me – he always says I’m his favourite find from the Antiques Roadshow. Lots of other TV companies have filmed me and I’ve been on the radio too. I’m the best-known piece of pottery in the Museum – and they’ve got over 40,000 pieces so it’s quite a responsibility. I have my own case at the start of the ceramics gallery and when the curators do tours they always start with me so I get to see lots and lots of visitors. People always want to hear about my life and about the pottery industry here and how I came back to Stoke. Some of them take me home as well – I’m a postcard in the shop.

I wish I could remember who made me – he’d be so pleased to think of how my career’s turned out…


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Dodo Roadshow: Compton Verney

Cedar 850px

To mark our selection as a Finalist in the Art Fund Prize for Museum of the Year 2015 we’re embarking on a unique and ambitious tour of the country – the Dodo Roadshow.

Beginning at Land’s End on 8 June and concluding in John O’Groats one week later, the famous Oxford Dodo will visit more than 20 museums and galleries along the way. At each stop the Dodo will ‘interview’ one of the venue’s star objects.

Compton Verney: Cedar of Lebanon

So, tell me about yourself – who are you and where do you come from?
I am a Cedar tree, known botanically as a Cedrus libani. My parents come from the Lebanon.

What is it that makes you so special?
I was planted here at Compton Verney when the famous gardener Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown redesigned the garden nearly 250 years ago.

Who looks after you in this place?
I’m looked after by a collection of experts, brought together by Head of Landscape and Gardens, Gary Webb.

Do you remember life before the museum?
I have enjoyed much care and attention over the decades, but some of my larger branches have been broken by storms. I still remember when the Verney family used to play beneath my spreading evergreen branches though; they are my fondest moments.

What does the future hold for you?
The future looks much brighter following my root aeration last summer, and of course the feed of seaweed; my leaves are looking greener already! I’m in good hands of course and even have a new rope barrier so my delicate roots aren’t squashed by the many visitors to Compton Verney.

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