Museum Redisplay: Working on Watercraft

I am currently part of a team working on a new display of model boats. I feel privileged to be part of this creative process and thought you'd enjoy an insight into the display taking shape.

Conservators, Andrew and Jem, have examined each of the models, carrying out any necessary treatments before the boats go on display. Thanks to their patience and skill, I've often seen a dramatic transformation in the appearance of the models.

Below you can see two of the models Jem has recently researched so he could accurately position the sails.

Model reed boat, or balsa, like ones used on Lake Titicaca in Bolivia and Peru
PRM 1891.2.1 © Pitt Rivers Museum

Model skin-covered boat, or umiak, like ones used by Inuit people in Greenland
PRM 1884.81.40 © Pitt Rivers Museum

Keep an eye on this blog page and I will continue to share the display process with you.

When it is finished you will be able to see this display in the Court Gallery, on the ground floor of the Museum. The boat models will be housed in a brand new case, which has been possible thanks to the DCMS/ Wolfson Foundation's Museum and Galleries Improvement Fund.

Zena McGreevy
Senior Assistant Curator

Caring for the Collections: A Model Boat

I am currently working on upgrading the Museum's model displays on the ground floor (Court Gallery). I work closely with the Conservation Team, who check the condition of the objects, and carry out any necessary treatment before they go on display. I catalogue each object in detail, take photographs of each one, and write the new display labels.

During this process we discovered a beautifully made model of a rowing boat from Malta. The carved wooden hull has been neatly painted and the model includes painted oars, a painted metal lamp, a wooden bucket and baler, a metal anchor, and decorative silks drapes hung over the cabin area.

Detailed model of a Maltese rowing boat, PRM 1908.5.1 © Pitt Rivers Museum

Originally given to the Museum in 1908 the drapes are now faded and extremely fragile, the damage caused by past exposure to the UV rays in natural light . In addition the anchor, which the Conservators did a spot test on to identify the metal, is made of lead that is seriously corroded.

Close ups showing the faded and fragile silk drapes (left) and the corroded anchor (right) © Pitt Rivers Museum

As you can imagine staff in the Museum are extremely busy and Conservation would need to spend many hours to stabilise the silk on the boat before it could go on display.  Consequently we are going to house the rowing boat in a custom made storage box within the reserve collections.

Even if the decision is made not to include a model in the new display I still catalogue each one in detail. I add any information and photographs to the appropriate record on the object database. These form the basis for the online object database, which is regularly updated. This ensures you can access all the known information, plus see what the objects look like, on the Museum website.

Part of the cataloguing process involves clearly numbering each detachable part of the boat with the appropriate unique identification number. This enables each part to be described in detail and means even if they become separated - for whatever reason -  each part can be accurately identified and linked to the correct information.

The accession number written on
one of the oars © Pitt Rivers Museum

We number objects by applying a layer of reversible acrylic adhesive in solvent - often called paraloid - which looks like clear nail varnish. We then write the number using a rotring pen, before applying another layer of the acrylic adhesive.




As I have just catalogued and photographed the Maltese rowing boat this seemed an ideal opportunity to show you this particular model. Described as a daisa, in the information written down when this was given to the Museum, this appears to be a model of a traditional water taxi used to carry passengers and their baggage. To propel the boat a man stood facing forward pushing on the two oars, rather than sitting down to row.

One of the distinct features when you look at the boat is the height of the stem and the stern. The shape of these - as well as being decorative - provided a means of support for passengers to easily board and disembark.

Carved hull with high stem and stern © Pitt Rivers Museum

I hope you have enjoyed looking at and reading about this beautifully made model.

I will continue to keep you informed about the redisplay of the models with regular posts so keep following this blog.

Zena McGreevy
Senior Assistant Curator

Visiting Researchers

© Zoe Rimmer

My name is Zoe Rimmer and I am a proud member of the Tasmanian Aboriginal community with 11 years’ experience in museum curation and cultural heritage management. Over this time I have had the privilege of working with the Tasmanian Aboriginal community to help protect, preserve, and revitalize our cultural practices and heritage. I am particularly passionate about how museum collections can be utilized by Indigenous people to maintain, revive and elaborate on cultural practices through effective and meaningful engagement between institutions and Indigenous communities. 

Through a Churchill Fellowship I have recently had the unique opportunity to travel overseas to explore the ways that museums outside Australia are engaging with Indigenous (source) communities and to look at different methods used to present Indigenous cultures to international audiences.

Over 9 weeks through May, June and July 2014, I travelled to the US, Canada, UK and France and embraced the opportunity to experience new directions, methodologies and outcomes in museum cooperative partnerships with Indigenous communities. Somewhere between the 12 flights, 62 hours in the air, 1,900kms by train, 1,200kms by car, 1,000kms by camper van and at least 1 ferry ride – I managed to take 4500 photos and visit 35 museums, art galleries and cultural centers. Not all of these institutions were strictly related to my research but I found that even on my days “off” I was going to museums and art galleries. I think I have developed a serious addiction, and of course I bought home several extra kilos of catalogues and museum publications.

I was absolutely blown away by some of the largest cultural institutions in the world, had unforgettable experiences at some of the smallest and met countless inspirational people along the way. Since I’ve been home EVERYONE has asked me what the best part of my trip was and I think I give a different response every time, as there were just so many. Visiting the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford, wandering the galleries, experiencing the uniquely curated cabinets and going behind the scenes to meet Pitt Rivers staff was certainly one of the highlights of my trip. 

Model canoe PRM 1893.50.14 © Pitt Rivers Museum

Searching for the Tasmanian Aboriginal canoe models and the precious marina shell necklace on display in the Pitt Rivers galleries and having the opportunity to view the rest of the Tasmanian Aboriginal collection of necklaces and baskets was an exciting and emotional experience as these objects are a real and tangible link to our ancestors. The Tasmanian model canoes are very rare objects and are significant to the Tasmanian Aboriginal community as they are three of only eight known surviving models from the 1840s (the other five are held by the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery). The reed canoe models are particularly special as they are the two known to be made of this material. The bark canoe models at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery have been used by the Tasmanian Aboriginal community to help revive the practice of making full size bark canoes. 

Model boats, left PRM 1893.50.13, right PRM 1893.50.15 collected by John and Jane Franklin in the 1840s
© Pitt Rivers Museum

Basket PRM 1884.44.24 © Pitt Rivers Museum

For the Tasmanian Aboriginal community, ancestral stories, ceremony, ritual and spirit are embodied in shell stringing and basket weaving practices that extend back for many generations, far beyond living memory. In 2009 the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery toured an exhibition called tayenebe, which was the culmination of 6 years of traditional basketry revival within the community. Since 2010 I have been working on a similar revitalization project with shell necklaces stringers and over the next 12 months will be developing a touring exhibition titled kanalaritja: String of Shells for which we are hoping to secure some international loans. Shell stringing requires an intimate knowledge of ‘sea country’ and the time consuming and painstaking skill of collecting, cleaning and stringing shells is one of the oldest continuous cultural practices of Tasmanian Aborigines dating to at least 1800 years ago. The pearlescent but scarce marina shell and the delicate and unique nature of these necklace makes them very sought after items.

Meeting with the wonderful staff at Pitt Rivers was also a great opportunity to learn about some of the amazing collaborative projects they have undertaken

Shell necklaces PRM 1886.1.1577,
1923.87.332 and 1923.87.333
© Pitt Rivers Museum

with Indigenous source communities, as well as their numerous local community engagement projects. I was particularly inspired by the ‘Blackfoot Shirts Project’ and the ‘Globalization, Photography, and Race: the Circulation and Return of Aboriginal Photographs in Europe’ project.  The numerous Community outreach and engagement programs including the ‘Twilight Takeovers’ and the upcoming ‘Need/Make/Use Day’ were also particularly interesting (I wish I was still in Oxford to attend this day!).

My Churchill Fellowship experience has reaffirmed my belief that museums can and do make a difference, and now that I am home I am excited to apply the ideas and inspiration I have gained. I am particularly excited about the opportunity to connect more Tasmanian Aboriginal people with our cultural material in international institutions and to expand our own curatorial practices to include more contemporary cultural expressions. I will be forever grateful to the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust for providing me this opportunity and to the Pitt River Museum and staff for being such great hosts during my visit. wulika, nayri nina-tu (goodbye & thank you).

Zoe Rimmer
Curator, Indigenous Cultures
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery