Norfolk Museums Service
Norfolk Museums Service (NMS) is a galleries and museums service based in Norfolk. It was established in 1974 when the County and District of Norfolk agreed to delegate their museum powers to a Joint Committee to manage their diverse group of museums and to care for important collections within the ownership of the County and District Councils through a countywide Museums Service.[1]
It is supported by the Art Council England. The Norwich Castle is specified in the Designation Scheme administered by the Art Council England. The Service has been highlighted by the The Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee as a 'hub model' for the country,[1] and it is an Art UK Founder Partner.
Museums[edit]
The Norfolk Museums Service is responsible for ten museums spread across Norwich and Norfolk.
| Museum | Location | Website |
|---|---|---|
| Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery | Norwich | Norwich Castle |
| Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse | Gressenhall, Dereham | Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse |
| Lynn Museum | King's Lynn | Lynn Museum |
| Ancient House | Thetford | Ancient House |
| Cromer Museum | Cromer | Cromer Museum |
| Time and Tide Museum | Great Yarmouth | Time and Tide Museum |
| Elizabethan House Museum | Great Yarmouth | Elizabethan House Museum |
| The Tolhouse | Great Yarmouth | The Tolhouse |
| Strangers' Hall | Norwich | Strangers' Hall |
| Museum of Norwich at the Bridewell | Norwich | Museum of Norwich at the Bridewell |
Collections[edit]
Norfolk Museums Service possess outstanding collections ranging from early prehistory to contemporary art. It hosts 3.5 million artifacts, which are of fundamental importance in telling the history of Norfolk. Key are the collections scattered in all ten museums of Archeology, Natural History, Fine and Decorative Arts.
Highlights of the Collections[edit]
The painting was commissioned presumably around 1663 either by Sir William Paston (1610-1663), or by his son Robert Paston (1631-1683). The identity of the artist is also unknown, however it is likely that it was a Dutch artist working in a studio at Oxnead Hall.[2]
The artwork can be placed within the mid-seventeenth century Dutch still-life tradition, with elements that conform to the genre of vanitas. Still-life paintings usually feature one or two objects which are artists' stock items, included only for their symbolism. On the other hand, the majority of the objects represented in The Paston Treasure were all real, as they correspond to an existing item in the inventories of the Pastons'. Therefore, not only it was commissioned as a memento mori, but also as a record for the family's wealth and own collections.[3]
The painting debuted in America with an exhibition held at the Yale Center For British Art. Now it is currently in display at the Castle, in The Paston Treasure Riches & Rarities of the Known World exhibition curated by Francesca Vanke, which reunites for the first time in 350 years the painting with some of the objects depicted.
The Happisburgh Handaxe
The handaxe is made out of flint, and measures 12.2 cm x 7.8 cm.[4]
The discovery of this Lower Palaeolithic handaxe in 2000 in Happisburgh, Norfolk, transformed our understanding of early human occupation in Britain.[5] Dated and shown to be from 550,000 to 700,000, it is now the oldest human-made object in North Europe, doubling the known duration of human occupation in Britain.[4] Analysis of pollen in the silt allowed the archeologists to build a picture of temperate woodland with pine, alder, oak, elm and hornbeam in evidence at the time the handaxe was made.[5]
Cavalry Parade Helmet and Visor
Found in the River Wensum at Worthing in 1947 (helmet) and 1950 (visor), these two Roman objects are dated back to the first half of the 3rd Century AD.[6] They are an important testimony of the presence of Roman army personnel in central Norfolk during the later years of Roman Britain.[6]
The helmet is made from a single sheet of gilded bronze, highly decorated as to represent a feathered eagle's head on the crest, foliate-tailed beasts on either side and a plain triangular front panel with feather borders on either side at the top, with the lower ends terminating in birds' heads.[7]
The visor mask compliments the helmet by carrying similar repousse decoration, depicting Mars on one side and Victory on the other.[6]
Interestingly, these two objects are not a fitting pair, although they can be considered together as each would have originally had been coupled with a similar complementary object.[6]
Spong Man
This unique Anglo-Saxon ceramic figurine was found in 1979 in Spong Hill, North Elmham, Norfolk.[8]
The figure is shown sat on a chair decorated with incised panelling and is leaning forwards with head in hands wearing a round flat hat. It is likely to have once sat on the lid of a pagan funerary urn and is a unique object in North Western Europe.[8] Although it is labeled 'man', it is unclear whether it represents a man or a woman, as there are no distinctive anatomic details.[8]
Exactly why this figurine was created is still a mystery, being the earliest Anglo-Saxon three-dimensional figure ever found. It may be a representation of a deity whose identity is now lost, but it is still a great artifact that reminds us how little we know about religion in this early migration period across northern Europe.[9]
Collaboration with Other Museums[edit]
Partnership between the museums and galleries as been a significant matter for the Norfolk Service. Of particular importance have been the collaboration with The British Museum, Tate and Imperial War Museum. Currently the Norwich Castle is partnering with the British Museum in the Gateway to Medieval England Project.[10]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Knights, Emma. 2016.
- ↑ Vanke 2018, p.8
- ↑ Vanke 2018, p.8-9
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Davis; Pestell. 2015. p.25
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 norfolk.musuems@norfolk.gov.uk, Norfolk Museums Service. "Object: Handaxe (axe)". norfolkmuseumscollections.org.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Davis; Pestell. 2015. p.51
- ↑ norfolk.musuems@norfolk.gov.uk, Norfolk Museums Service. "Object: Sports helmet (helmet)". norfolkmuseumscollections.org.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 norfolk.musuems@norfolk.gov.uk, Norfolk Museums Service. "Object: Funerary urn (collection)". norfolkmuseumscollections.org.
- ↑ Davis; Pestell. 2015. p.62
- ↑ Correspondent, Emma Knights Arts. "Event celebrates ambitious project to transform Norwich Castle's keep".
Bibliography[edit]
- Vanke, Francesca. (2018), The Paston Treasure Riches & Rarities of the Known World, Norfolk Museum Service
- House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport. Committee Countries of Culture: Funding and support for the arts outside London Fourth Report of Session 2016–17
- Norfolk Museums
- Norfolk Museums Service defends security records despite continuing thefts
- Nelson's captured French Tricolor Flag displayed again
- Norwich Castle: Plans for Museum's Keep unveiled
- Knights, Emma. 2016. Norfolk Museums Service highlighted as great example of partnership working in new national report
- Knights, Emma. Event celebrates ambitious project to transform Norwich Castle’s Keep
- Norfolk Museums Collections Online Catalogue
- Davis, John A., Pestell, Tim (2015), A History of Norfolk in 100 Objects, The History Press
External links[edit]
- Official Website
- Norwich Castle
- The British Museum Partnership Galleries
- Museum of Norwich at the Bridwell at Google Cultural Institute
- King's Lynn Museum at Google Cultural Institute
- Norfolk Museums Service in Art UK
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