Covid-19: The secret life of museums during lockdown
By Francesca Gillett
image captionJames checks the wet collection including a very rare hairy anglerfish (centre)
Museums and art galleries are closed but inside their walls, a select few people are busy at work. Curators, conservators, cleaners, art handlers and security guards are among those caring for the nation s treasures during lockdown. I ve absolutely loved it, says James Maclaine, senior fish curator at the Natural History Museum. Obviously I have missed my colleagues but the peace and quiet has been really nice. Walking into an area like our central hall and having that majestic space all to yourself is such a privilege, he says. And amid the pandemic, it can feel like a sanctuary.
Share
A few toppled bluestones are visible at the prehistoric stone circle of Waun Mawn in Wales. A. Stanford/M. P. Pearson
et. al.,
England’s Stonehenge was erected in Wales first
Feb. 11, 2021 , 7:01 PM
Around 3200 B.C.E., Stone Age farmers in Wales’s Preseli Hills built a great monument: They carved columns of unspotted dolerite, or bluestone, from a nearby quarry, then thrust them upright in a great circle aligned with the Sun. Exactly what the circle meant to them remains a mystery. But new research reveals that several centuries later, their descendants took down many of the giant stones and hauled them 200 kilometers to the Salisbury Plain, where they created what is still the world’s most iconic prehistoric stone monument: Stonehenge.
<strong>The long read</strong>: For almost a year our small clinic has been struggling with the horrors of the coronavirus pandemic. So being able to give our staff and most vulnerable patients their first doses of the vaccine has been a real turning point
The Great British Art Tour: the fairy folk who made the house stink
The Riders of the Sidhe, 1911, H114.3cm x W175.2cm by John Duncan (1866-1945). Photograph: Dundee Art Galleries and Museums Collection (Dundee City Council)
The Riders of the Sidhe, 1911, H114.3cm x W175.2cm by John Duncan (1866-1945). Photograph: Dundee Art Galleries and Museums Collection (Dundee City Council)
With public art collections closed we are bringing the art to you, exploring highlights from across the country in partnership with Art UK. Today’s pick: Dundee’s Riders of the Sidhe
AnnaRobertson,fineandappliedartmanager,LeisureandCultureDundee
Wed 10 Feb 2021 01.00 EST
Last modified on Wed 10 Feb 2021 04.22 EST
Major UK museums to collaborate with Fiji Museum
To mark Fiji’s 50th anniversary of independence, the Fiji Museum and four major museums in the UK have been discussing to collaborate over knowledge exchange about historic Fijian artefacts held in the UK.
From:
8 February 2021 Civavonovono (composite breastplate of whale ivory and pearl shell); early 19th century, 28cm; Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology (Z 2730). This chiefly breastplate belonged to Tanoa and his son Seru Cakobau, both Vunivalu of Bau, and very likely was presented by Cakobau in 1875-76 to Sir Arthur Gordon, the first resident Governor of Fiji, who later donated it to the Cambridge museum. Fiji Museum has several high-quality breastplates of this type, some of them currently on display in Los Angeles (photo courtesy of Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology).