Museum Of London Research Articles

War Horse, Whistlejacket, and an anatomist.

During my stay in London, I had a chance to enjoy the National Theater production of “War Horse,” played at the New London Theatre located in the West End. [Correction added on 29 August 2020, after initial online publication. Information about the National Theatre production was added.] This famous play is the story of a young boy and his beloved horse, which has been requisitioned by the army to fight in World War I. The life-sized puppet was manipulated by three puppeteers—the head, the heart, and the hind—who worked together to make the character of the horse come alive on stage. The puppet was made by the Handspring Puppet Company in Cape Town, South Africa, of cane, leather, and synthetic fiber, and an aluminum-reinforced spine. [Correction added on 29 August 2020, after initial online publication. The puppet manufacturer was added.] With life-like accuracy, the puppeteer operators articulated the limbs of the horse and communicated its emotions (Figure 1). I was so impressed, because the skeleton and joints of the limbs as well as the spine were anatomically very similar to a real horse. In order to achieve this life-like effect, the skilled craftsmen who constructed this incredible puppet had anatomical knowledge of horses. For detailing equine anatomy, Ruini's Anatomia del Cavallo was a first, foundational text (Ruini, 1618), followed by Snape's The Anatomy of an Horse (Snape, 1683), and Stubbs' illustrated book The Anatomy of the Horse (Stubb, 1766), which is still in print today (Figure 2). Stubbs dissected horses to learn about their anatomy for his illustrations and paintings. He rented a farmhouse for study and dissection. The horses were sacrificed by cutting the jugular vein, and the blood vessels were injected with tallow. The carcass was lifted with a tackle of hooks and bars attached to the ceiling; the horse's feet were arranged on a wooden plank beneath. He removed the skin, prepared the muscles layer by layer toward the skeleton, and sketched them (Fountain, 1968; Vincent-Kemp, 1985). In the National Gallery, I saw a very famous oil painting entitled “Whistlejacket” (1762) by Stubbs. The scale and pose was typical of an equestrian portrait, although without the rider. This horse has a dynamic personality and glowing vitality (Figure 3). It is obvious that Stubbs could paint horses in realistic detail because he had great knowledge of their anatomy. He could see the muscles, bones, and joints under the skin and their actions from the sketches he made during dissections. As a plastic surgeon and a teacher in resident training program, I considered the role of anatomy for surgeons and surgical trainees. On reading the top-cited paper in the first 25 years' history of Clinical Anatomy, I realized the importance of anatomical dissection cannot be overemphasized in medical education. In that paper, 57% of the residency program directors responded that residents need a refresher in gross anatomy upon arrival, 29% thought that they were adequately prepared, whereas 14% felt they were seriously lacking. The residency programs indicated that residents need to arrive more proficient in clinical applications, general knowledge, and cross-sectional applications (Cottam, 1999). I was worried that about half of the anatomy departments are not consisted of training teachers of anatomy (gross anatomy, histology, embryology, and neuroanatomy) (Albertine, 2012). The gross anatomy is no longer a free-standing course representing anatomy-for-anatomy's-sake, but rather is now strongly clinically oriented in many schools (Carmichael, 2012). Artists need knowledge of anatomy for painting animals or human beings in realistic detail, and surgeons need precise understanding of anatomical details for successful operations. Stubbs could see the horse muscles and their actions during his dissections, and so too can surgeons recognize the critical structures such as vessels or nerves through anatomical knowledge obtained from surgery or dissection. Though there are many texts and atlases showing surgical and radiological anatomies for students and trainees, I do believe nothing can replace the anatomical dissection. We thank the Handspring Puppet Company (London) for giving permission to reproduce the artwork War Horse and 3 puppeteers, which this company created. The puppeteers in the photograph (2013) of Joey, taken in the Victoria and Albert Museum's John Madejski Garden (London), are Nicholas Hart (head), Stuart Angell (heart), and Thomas Goodridge (hind). We also say thank you for permissions from the National Theater of London and the Victoria and Albert Museum of London to reproduce the same artwork. Likewise, we thank The British Museum of London for permission to reproduce the artwork The Anatomy of the Horse (1766) and the National Gallery of London for permission to reproduce the artwork “Whistlejacket.” [Correction added after initial online publication. The Acknowledgments section was added.]

Aging Predicts Decline in Explicit and Implicit Memory: A Life-Span Study

Explicit memory declines with age, but age effects on implicit memory are debated. This issue is important because if implicit memory is age invariant, it may support effective interventions in individuals experiencing memory decline. In this study, we overcame several methodological issues in past research to clarify age effects on implicit memory (priming) and their relationship to explicit memory (recognition, source memory). We (a) recruited a large life-span sample of participants (N = 1,072) during a residency at the Science Museum in London, (b) employed an implicit task that was unaffected by explicit contamination, and (c) systematically manipulated attention and depth of processing to assess their contribution to age effects. Participants witnessed a succession of overlapping colored objects, attending to one color stream and ignoring the other, and identified masked objects at test before judging whether they were previously attended, unattended, or new. Age significantly predicted decline in both explicit and implicit memory for attended items.

The Potency of Design in Holocaust Exhibitions. A Case Study of The Imperial War Museum’s Holocaust Exhibition (2000)

Holocaust exhibitions are known for their unique iconography, often constructed by means of exhibition design. This article focuses on how visitors construct meaning based on display choices made by exhibitions designers. It presents insights from an audience research study which was conducted with young visitors of The Holocaust Exhibition at the Imperial War Museum in London. It addresses how design choices impact on the visitor’s engagement and understanding of the Holocaust Exhibition. By drawing on visitor comments, this article shows that design plays a significant role in shaping visitors’ understanding of the Holocaust, as well as their level of engagement, focus and emotional response. It further makes several practical suggestions, informed by visitor feedback, regarding the development of new Holocaust exhibition designs.

Displaying marginalised and ‘hidden’ histories at the Imperial War Museum London: The Second World War gallery regeneration project

Using Imperial War Museums’ redeveloped Second World War Galleries as a case study, this provocation discusses the ways in which refocussing outmoded British narratives to a transnational viewpoint and using the interpretive framework of ‘total war’ can help us to deliver new, authoritative and multifaceted narratives where ‘hidden’ histories can be displayed, and scrutinised, in plain sight.

Emergence of Indian Film Industry in the International Markets

The Indian film industry serves as the second movie capital of the world next to only Hollywood, supporting the livelihood of over 60 lakh people. Madame Tussauds museum in London, which has the wax statues of celebrities from across the world, has included as much as 9 Indian Bollywood stars since 2000, which indicates the growing acceptance of Indian movie stars in the International level. Yet, Indian cinema which has been positioned in the international market merely as a commodity for a long time, has started emerging out into a unique product with clear identity and packaging, gaining international crossover appeal. There is a definite improvement in the interest of foreign investors on the Indian film companies. The article aims at exploring the factors which contribute to the recent developments of Indian film Industry leading to the improvement in its International appeal and attempts to identify the disorders which plague its establishment in International market and develop a conceptual framework, which would provide ample inputs to the various stakeholders of the industry.

Interpretation of the image of the Goddess Tara by Zanabazar compared to that by his predecesors and followers (from Sri Lanka to Siberia)

In continuation of the study of the art heritage of Zanabazar (1635–1723), we have traced the connection between the textual and art systems of the Buddhist cult ofTaragoddess. This goddess was of particular importance for the master Zanabazar. In his turn, Zanabazar was recognized as the incarnation of the great Tibetan scholar Jetsun Taranatha (1575–1634), whose name means “Protected byTara”. Undur-Gegen Zanabazar had deep spiritual relationship with the Savior Goddess both from his previous incarnations as well as directly transmitted by his teachers, especially the IV Panchen Lama Lobsan Choiky Gyaltsen (1570–1662). The article deals with outstanding sculptural images of Tara by Dzanabazar and also by the artists of earlier times and by the followers of his style who came fromSri Lanka,Nepal,Tibet,Mongolia, Buryatia. The actual objects are currently preserved in various collections throughout the world. Among them that of the British Museum in London, the Metropolitan and the Rudin Museums in the United States, the Potala in Lhasa, the State Hermitage and the Russian Ethnographical Museum in St. Petersburg and Mongolian museums of Ulaanbaatar. Specific examples show how the canonical Buddhist standards of iconography were implemented under the influence of different regional ethnic craft traditions. The works by famous Buddhist artists, such as Sonam Gyaltsen (16th cent.), Choiing Dorje (1604–1664) as well as little-known Buryat masters of the late 19th century were used to compare with the masterpieces by Zanabazar.

The South Kensington Museum’s purchase of the Altarpiece of St George

Abstract Documents relating to the acquisition by the South Kensington Museum in London of the Altarpiece of St George in 1864 offer (beyond their obvious relevance for studies of International Gothic painting in Valencia) a clear view of the competitive environment in which collections were shaped and curated in this great institution, then recently founded and dedicated to the education of the public taste. The role of the antiques trade in transactions of this type was important, for it was there that the purchase and sale of high-quality artistic pieces of uncertain origin was managed. Moreover, the new perception and increasing appreciation of Hispanic medieval art in Europe in the mid-1800s emerge clearly from this acquisition.

Priests Petitioning the Police (P.Brit.Mus. EA 10650)

Summary The article contains the edition and discussion of a rarely encountered form of petition (ꜥn-smy) from the Ptolemaic Fayum, which today is kept by the British Museum in London. The text was submitted by a lesonis of Soknebtunis to the chief of police in Mouchis. The document concerns a dispute between two priests from two different localities, Kerkeneith and Tebtunis, over agricultural lands and a harvest. The text is not only an addition to the small corpus of such petitions but also informs about juridical, economic, and religious life in the Fayum under the Ptolemies. It furthermore sheds light on business connections among members of various crocodile priesthoods in the Fayum.

“Holding Living Bodies in Graveyards”: The Violence of Keeping Ethiopian Manuscripts in Western Institutions

“Holding Living Bodies in Graveyards”: The Violence of Keeping Ethiopian Manuscripts in Western Institutions

Review of subtribe Pterellina Rohdendorf, 1967 (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) of Middle East with descriptions of twelve new species

Summary Based on a revision of large recent collections housed at the Natural History Museum (London), Tel Aviv University and in the private collection of Yu. Verves and L. Khrokalo (Kyiv, Ukraine), new distributional data and an updated list with comments of 28 species of Middle Eastern Sarcophagidae of the subtribe Pterellina are presented. Seventeen of them are recorded for Israel, 11 for Egypt, four for Iran, two each for the Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, and one each for Jordan and the UAE. No data are known for the territories of Bahrain, Cyprus, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Syria and Yemen. Twelve species new to science are described, including nine from Israel (Chaetapodacra montana n. sp., Eremasiomyia bicolor n. sp., E. deserta n. sp., E. fuscata n. sp., Protomiltogramma bidentata n. sp., P. serrata n. sp., Pterella hermonica n. sp., P. indigens n. sp., P. zefatica n. sp.), two from Egypt (Chaetapodacra griseola n. sp., Eremasiomyia alba n. sp.) and one from Saudi Arabia (Protomiltogramma arabica n. sp.). The male of Eremasiomyia nigra Rohdendorf, 1935 is described for the first time. One new combination of specific name is proposed ‒ Protomiltogramma immunita (Villeneuve, 1923), n. comb. Original keys for the identification of genera and species are proposed. An annotated list of all world genera and species and compiled data on larval habits of Pterellina are included.

In their shoes: using fashion objects to explore the duration and complexity of wartime experiences

ABSTRACT Experiences of conflict rarely adhere to the historical confines of defined dates. Although the Second World War was officially brought to a close on 2 September 1945, the emotional legacy of the conflict lingered. Drawing on objects from the Museum of London, this article investigates how fashion objects can be used to highlight the long-term impacts of conflict. By looking at how people reused, saved, and fetishized wartime objects in peacetime, it shows how emotional reactions of hope, disappointment, and lingering resentment manifested themselves through practices of dressing, as well as demonstrating the uneven impact of conflict across class and gender boundaries.

توثیق الغزال من خلال لوحتین جداریّتین محفوظتین فی المتحف البریطانیّ(عصر سرجون الثانی وآشوربانیبال) The realism in portraying deer through two murals preserved in the British Museum (the era of Sargon II and Ashurbanipal)

إن التنقيبات الأثرية التي جرت في العراق في القرن التاسع عشر الميلادي التي شملت قصور الملوک الآشوريين، کشفت عن عدد کبير من النقوش البارزة المحفورة على لوحات حجرية من المرمر، کانت تزين جدران قاعة العرش، والقاعات المهمة في القصر، حيث کان من أبرزها مشاهد حربية ومشاهد صيد، صورت فيها العديد من الحيوانات، من بينها الغزلان التي هي موضوع دراستنا. إن هذه اللوحات الجدارية، لم تعد اليوم موجودة في أماکنها الأصلية، إنما وزعت على متاحف عديدة من العالم أبرزها: المتحف العراقي في بغداد، المتحف البريطاني في لندن ومتحف اللوفر في باريس. سيشمل بحثنا دراسة لوحتين جداريتين تعودان إلى العصر الآشوري الحديث. أولى هذه اللوحات تعود إلى عصر سرجون الثاني (705 - 721ق.م.)، حيث عثر عليها في قصر خورسباد، وهي محفوظة حاليا في المتحف البريطاني، وقد نقش عليها مشهد صيد يظهر فيه الغزال محمولا على أکتاف الصياد. أما اللوحة الثانية فتعود إلى عصر آشوربانيبال (627 - 668) ق.م.، وقد عثر عليها في القصر الشمالي في نينوى، محفوظة في المتحف البريطاني، تشمل هذه اللوحة على مشاهد عدة من بينها مشهد يصور مجموعة من الغزلان في وضعية المشي خلال مشهد صيد، ومشهد ثان يصور غزلان مصابة بالسهام. سنتناول في هذه الدراسة تحديد نوع الغزلان المصورة وتوثيق تصويرها في هاتين اللوحتين الآشوريتين، ومدى مطابقتهما مع التصاوير الواقعية لهذه الحيوانات في وضعيات مماثلة، وصولا إلى تقويم مدى نجاح الفنان في توثيق الغزلان ، وما الذي ميز الفنان في عصر سرجون الثاني عن الفنان في عصر آشوربانيبال؟ The excavations of Assyrian palaces that took place in Iraq, in the 19th century, revealed many motifs engraved gypsum alabaster slabs that were decorating the throne room and the major halls of the palaces. Most of these motifs illustrate combat scenes or hunting scenes that portray many animals, including deer, which are the focus of our study. These motifs no longer exist in their original places. They are located now in several museums around the world, such as the Iraqi Museum in Baghdad, the British Museum in London and the Louvre in Paris. Our research includes a study of two murals dating back to the modern Assyrian era. The first one dates back to the period of Sargon II (721 - 705 BC), where it was found in the Khorsabad Palace and is currently preserved in the British Museum. A hunting scene in which deer appears on the shoulders of the hunter has been engraved it. The second mural dates back to the Ashurbanipal period (668 - 627 BC). It was found in the Northern Palace in Nineveh and also preserved in the British Museum. This painting includes several scenes; one of the scenes portrays a walking group of deer during hunting, and another scene represents deer affected with arrows. In this study, we will address several issues. First, we will determine the type of deer portrayed. Then, we will compare the documentation of deer in the two Assyrian murals. Besides, we will discuss the extent of their conformity with their original appearance in similar real situations. Also, we will check whether the artist succeeded in documenting the deer or not. Finally, we will determine what distinguishes the artist in the period of Sargon II from the artist of the Ashurbanipal period?

Paul Coldwell, Picturing the Invisible


 
 
 Paul Coldwell’s recent exhibition at the Sir John Soane’s Museum in London was an example of ‘serious play’ (the Renaissance concept of serio ludere, as Edgar Wind explained, involves the discovery of profound truths through a playful investigation of commonplace experience). Taking his cue from the show’s setting – the basement kitchens of the famous architect’s grand house in Lincoln’s Inn Fields – Coldwell imagined how the unknown cooks and servants who laboured there, out of sight and beyond the pale of cultural history, might have perceived their master’s lofty endeavours. The resulting, fascinating display of sculpture, 3D and digital prints, film and printed ceramics, can be described as an imaginative feat of ventriloquization. If Coldwell is correct, then the view from ‘downstairs’ encompassed affectionate irony, gentle parody, and a good dose of humane understanding. As someone whose ancestors were in service to the celebrity soprano Adelina Patti at the now ‘haunted’ Crag-y-Nos Castle in South Wales, the tone of possessive pride combined with subtle satire conveyed by Coldwell’s proxy creations seems instinctively right to me.
 
 

A Life in Objects

Abstract Brian Tarran visits the Florence Nightingale Museum in London for a preview of its bicentenary exhibition

The bees of the genus Centris Fabricius, 1804 described by Theodore Dru Alison Cockerell (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

In this paper the primary types of Centris bees described by the British entomologist Theodore Dru Alison Cockerell deposited in the Natural History Museum (London) and the Oxford University Museum of Natural History (Oxford) in the United Kingdom, as well as in the United States National Museum (Washington), American Museum of Natural History (New York), the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University (Philadelphia), and in the California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco) in the United States were studied. To stabilize the application of the name C. lepeletieri (= C. haemorrhoidalis (Fabricius)), a lectotype is designated. The study of the primary types allow proposing the revalidation of C. cisnerosi nom. rev. from the synonymy of C. agilis Smith, C. nitida geminata nom. rev. from C. facialis Mocsáry, C. rufulina nom. rev. from C. varia (Erichson), C. semilabrosa nom. rev. from C. terminata Smith and C. triangulifera nom. rev. from C. labrosa Friese. Centris bakeri syn. nov., C. bimaculata carrikeri syn. nov., C. fusciventris matoensis syn. nov., C. heterodonta syn. nov. and C. elegans grenadensis syn. nov. are proposed as a new junior synonyms of C. varia, C. claripennis Friese nom. rev., C. caurensis, C. dentata Smith and C. elegans Smith, respectively. Centris ruae is withdrawn from the synonymy of C. transversa Pérez and proposed as a new junior synonym of C. nitida Smith. In addition, a lectotype for C. buchholzi Herbst (= C. wilmattae) is designated. Information on the repository of the lectotype of C. lepeletieri and images of most primary types studied here are also provided.

The mitogenome of a Malagasy butterfly Malaza fastuosus (Mabille, 1884) recovered from the holotype collected over 140 years ago adds support for a new subfamily of Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera).

Malaza fastuosus is a lavishly patterned skipper butterfly from a genus that has three described species, all endemic to the mainland of Madagascar. To our knowledge, M. fastuosus has not been collected for nearly 50 years. To evaluate the power of our techniques to recover DNA, we used a single foreleg of an at least 140-year-old holotype specimen from the collection of the Natural History Museum London with no destruction of external morphology to extract DNA and assemble a complete mitogenome from next generation sequencing reads. The resulting 15 540 bp mitogenome contains 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, and an A+T rich region, similarly to other Lepidoptera mitogenomes. Here we provide the first mitogenome also for Trapezitinae (Rachelia extrusus). Phylogenetic analysis of available skipper mitogenomes places Malaza outside of Trapezitinae and Barcinae + Hesperiinae, with a possible sister relationship to Heteropterinae. Of these, at least Heteropterinae, Trapezitinae, and almost all Hesperiinae have monocot-feeding caterpillars. Malaza appears to be an evolutionarily highly distinct ancient lineage, morphologically with several unusual hesperiid features. The monotypic subfamily Malazinae Lees & Grishin subfam. nov. (type genus Malaza) is proposed to reflect this morphological and molecular evidence.

Annotated catalogue of chameleon types in the collection of the Natural HistoryMuseum, UK (NHMUK) (Reptilia: Squamata: Chamaeleonidae).

We provide a list of type specimens of chameleons present in the collection of the Natural History Museum in London for the first time, including their associated collection numbers. Currently the collection contains 54 primary types (29 holotypes, two lectotypes and 23 syntype series plus two syntypes where the type status is in doubt) as well as numerous secondary types for 12 species (nine paratype and three paralectotype series). Type material present in the collection represents 39 valid chamaeleon taxa.

W trosce o polskość dzieci i młodzieży z okresu drugiej wojny światowej w Nowej Zelandii

The aim of the article is to present the issue of retaining the national identity among the youngest Polish exiles living in New Zealand. To present that issue, methods appropriate for the history of education were applied. The basis of the research were the materials stored in the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London. As a result of the archival research, at the invitation of the Prime Minister Peter Fraser, a group of Polish children arrived in the settlement of Pahiatua in New Zealand. They were mainly orphans with their carers. The exiles were provided with good living conditions. School children were prepared to return to free Poland after the war, they attended Polish schools in the settlement and the older ones attended New Zealand schools run mainly by the Catholic Church. The moment Poland found itself under the Soviet influence and the power was taken by the communists, the exiles from Pahiatua did not want to return to the enslaved country. They decided to stay in the friendly New Zealand. In that situation, the issue of retaining their national identity arose, along with the need to provide them with education, profession and work. The concept of resisting the policy of depriving the young generation of their national identity was in the focus of the Polish authority in London. It was also a matter of great concern of the teachers and carers in the settlement of Pahaiatua. Many initiatives were taken which aimed at retaining the Polish identity among children and youth living in New Zealand, who gradually started work in the unknown environment. The conducted activities to retain the Polish identity bore positive results. The Polish identity wasretained not only by the exiles but also by their children and grandchildren, who, not knowing the language of their ancestors, cultivate national traditions and remember their roots. As a result of the presented deliberations, we may draw a conclusion that the conduct of the Polish authority in exile in the analysed issue was appropriate. In such a situation one should act similarly and always consistently.

Soho Typescripts: handmade obscene books in post-war London bookshops

ABSTRACT Soho Typescripts were a distinctive type of handmade pornography associated with London’s Soho in the 1950s and 1960s. Thousands were produced, but only a proportion survive today. This article presents the first dedicated study of Soho Typescripts based on examination of 50 typescripts from the British Library, a private collection and recent acquisitions by the Museum of London. The article summarizes their distinguishing characteristics and discusses their circulation within an alternative economy regulated though informal alliances between bookshop owners and police. Retail innovations allowed a widening cross-section of men to purchase illustrated home-produced books from post-war bookshops. Retailers positioned Soho Typescripts within a spatial hierarchy, categorizing them with folk-sexological labels: ‘Fladge’, ‘Straight’, ‘B/W’, ‘Les’ and ‘Fem Dom’. Common themes of typescript fiction included teenage girls, lesbianism, sadomasochism and interracial sex. Soho Typescripts are under-represented in institutional collections. Consequently, the significance and reach of these hand-crafted commercial products may have been underestimated.

The Parthenon Marbles in the British Museum

In the early part of the 19th century sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens were removed from the Acropolis under the direction of the Earl of Elgin, then the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, which at the time included Greece. The sculptures were brought to Britain, finding their way to the British Museum in London in 1816, where they are viewed by millions of museum visitors annually. A debate long has simmered as to whether these Parthenon Marbles, which date from the 5th century BCE, should be returned to Athens or remain in the United Kingdom. Elements of the debate include questions about: the legitimacy of the initial relocation of the statuary; the quasi-legal impact of more than 200 years of British stewardship; the risk-mitigating role for dispersal of art; and, the influence on other art and museums of any precedent that might be established by return of the Parthenon Marbles.This paper surveys the arguments on both sides of the debate. A Law-and-Economics lens is employed to examine the “property dispute” surrounding the Marbles. Coase-like reasoning is applied to the question of the “highest-valued” location of the Marbles, supplemented with behavioral economics concepts involving cultural identity and endowment effects. The paper concludes by offering some contours for a potentially Pareto-improving agreement that would result in the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles in Greece.