From left to right; two Mexican ceramic heads; 1977.15.1& .2; mummified ibis 1894.40.11894.40.1; figure of Buddha, Myanmar 1894.27.167;
tattooing apparatus, Myanmar 1884.27.41; mummified ibis in pottery vessel
1901.30.1 & .2; zither in the shape of a crocodile, Myanmar; 1938.34.58
As a member of the collections department I often have a
number of interesting objects for cataloguing and photography on my desk. The
objects out on this particular day were so for a number of reasons. The Mexican
pottery heads were for a photographic request. Scholars often require studio
images of objects for publication and research. I retrieve the object from
storage/display and get the object to our professional photographer. The
mummified ibises were out for a request to be sampled. Sampling requests for
scientific research have to be considered very carefully in consultation with
the conservation department. The zither, statue and tattooing implement from
Myanmar will go on loan for exhibition to The Linden Museum Stuttgart, Germany for the exhibition 'Myanmar - The Golden Land'. Before objects can be loaned we have to assess if they are suitable for travel
before the loan is approved they then have to be catalogued and condition
checked. These are just some of the elements of work, highlighted by the
objects on my desk on one particular day that goes on in the collections
department of the Pitt Rivers Museum.
Faye Belsey
Assistant Curator
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