Item of the Month - August 2009

The 21st August marked the anniversary of Sir Henry Wellcome’s birth in 1853. We could use this date to highlight many interesting moments in his life, as revealed through the personal and business papers of his held in the Wellcome Library, or to focus on any of the thousands of items in our holdings which he collected.

Instead, we’ve chosen to focus on the self-described origins of Wellcome’s interest in history, anthropology and collecting.

Born in 1853, the son of a farmer in the Mid West of the United States, Wellcome’s childhood was a rural one. Accounts of his life often focus on his contact with Native American culture, and the time spent learning about medicine in his Uncle’s drugstore.

Arguably though, the other key moment in the young Henry’s life took place when he was 4 years old. Over 70 years later - whilst giving evidence to a Royal Commission on Museums – Wellcome recounted this moment, when he was asked to describe how his interest in the history of medicine and anthropology was first awakened. He replied:

“...it was almost in my infancy. When I was four years old, I got my first object lesson from a Neolithic stone implement which I found; and my father explained to me the different periods of the Stone Age, and the great improvements of this late Neolithic period over the more primitive forms of their ancestors. He also explained to me that the perfecting of this late Neolithic implement meant more to those ancient peoples for their protection and as a means of gaining their livelihood than the invention of the electric telegraph or the steam railway engine meant to us. This excited my imagination and was never forgotten...”.
(Royal Commission at the London Museum on Friday 14th December 1928 (WA/HSW/OR/L.2))

Wellcome places a good of deal emphasis on this find, suggesting that this implement was the inspiration for his interest in history, which by 1928 had resulted in an astonishing array of objects – well on the way to the 1 million objects it’s been estimated he had amassed by his death in 1936.

As far as can be ascertained though, this childhood find of Wellcome’s was never exhibited at the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum, nor was it part of Wellcome’s personal effects when he died.

It doesn’t appear to be part of the Wellcome medical collection at the Science Museum, suggesting that this object may have been passed on to another institution (though given the slightly romanticised air of Wellcome’s account, we should wonder if the object ever existed at all).

If the object was as important to Wellcome as his evidence suggests, then if it wasn’t for this find, the Wellcome Library and Wellcome Collection might not even be in existence.

Is this too much influence for a small, primitive tool? Whilst it might be going too far to suggest this implement offers a complete explanation for Wellcome’s collecting habits, and somehow explains his personality, this elusive object illustrates the emotions and meanings collectors can ascribe to their holdings.

It also brings to mind another (albeit fictional) American businessman from the turn of the twentieth century who amassed a vast collection of objects (the key item of which was not retained).



(Wellcome’s collecting is the subject of the forthcoming An Infinity of Things: How Henry Wellcome Collected the World by Frances Larson (OUP, 2009) – more details on this book in future posts).

Gardening Does Not Need to Be Complicated

As we have worked our way through the crop plant challenges using the Handbook of Nature Study, I realized that many of you think that I have a really big garden with lots of space. It is so not true.

We live in town on a city lot with a yard that we share with a dog, two cats, a pool, a propane tank, and my husband's workshop.

My garden is my sanity refuge and although it is small, I tend it everyday for the pure joy of it. It does not take much to give your family a little green space in your yard somewhere. I have been greatly influenced by the Square Foot Gardening ideals and the principles behind keeping a garden that does not demand too much back breaking labor. The ideas are so simple that my children have been able to experience from a young age the joys of gardening.

Actually when we started off the Crop Plant Challenges a few weeks ago, I was worried that I would not have enough to talk about and share with you. I was wrong. I actually had more going on in my little space of a backyard than I originally thought.

Results of the Crop Challenges
Clover-Turns out I have a whole crop of clover in our backyard...unintentional nature study. :)
Green beans-We grow these every year so I was able to share our experiences with you for this crop. This is a great first garden plant because it is so easy to grow, even for children.
Corn-We have never been successful growing corn so I am a total newbie with this crop.
Strawberries-This is a successful crop plant in our garden, one of our favorites. These are easily grown in a small space in a strawberry barrel.
Cotton-No experience in real life at all but we learned a lot as we read and did research.
Pumpkins-We have had minimal success in the past with this crop plant but my dad is the pumpkin man! Thanks Dad!
Tomatoes-Another crop plant that we do on a regular basis....lots to share here.



I try to balance the need to grow everything from seed with practicality. I decided that I would opt this time for some broccoli seedlings from my favorite local organic nursery to get a jump start on my broccoli crop. See the two little seedlings in the front of the box? I bought a six pack of seedlings for under two dollars and they are all now happily tucked into various squares in our boxes. I actually planted one in a pot on the deck as well just so I could watch its progress. Applying the Square Foot Garden concepts, I now know that I do not need a whole row of broccoli but a few plants will do just fine.



In my 4 ft by 5 ft box I have three kinds of peppers, green beans, two tomatoes, three broccoli plants, a few radishes squeezed in here and there, and some marigolds. I just harvested my carrot crop which was very small but delicious. After harvesting the carrots, the square was ready to go for another veggie. Can you beat that for simplicity? I added a little compost, turned the soil over in the box, picked out the few little weeds popping up, and placed the broccoli right in the newly tilled space. The whole process took maybe ten minutes to plant six new seedlings.


Mr. B's box isn't all filled in but it is manageable for him at this point. The squash took over a big portion of the space, but he doesn't mind since he loves to eat the yellow squash and zucchini that it produces. Square foot gardening techniques have helped teach us not to plant too much and it has helped to keep our boxes virtually weed free. These are extremely low maintenance garden boxes.



Remember my list of garden things to do a few weeks ago? Well, I can cross one thing off already. I found two blueberry bushes at the nursery yesterday and they will be going into their new home later today. I am anxious to see how they grow in this spot and will perhaps add a few more next year if all goes well. Start small and work your way up!

Gardening is such a great source of nature study at its very best. You do not need to make a big garden in order to reap the benefits both spiritually and physically. Gardening gives you such a sense of well-being and it is something you can do as a family.

If veggies are not your thing, then grow flowers. If flowers are not your thing, grow herbs. If you like exotic things, grow succulents or cactus. It makes no difference what type of plant you choose to grow because the value is in process. Nurturing a plant, even indoors, is a unique experience.

Garden boxes that are easy to maintain make gardening accessible to many people. Simplicity is always the best way to go in my opinion, especially when you are new to gardening.

Look for this book at your library.

Summer Bride

London is as equally popular as Paris as a wedding destination. Traditional and eccentric, with Thames riverside architecture - 20th century London equilivant of beach huts, housing bikies like Boris. A beautiful sunny day and a large bunch of sunflowers. She really is a summer bride.
The last of my short summer images.

Think Small

This lattice-shaped image is the first ever close-up view of a single molecule. Scientists from IBM used an atomic force microscope (AFM) to reveal the chemical bonds within a molecule. 'This is the first time that all the atoms in a molecule have been imaged,' lead researcher Leo Gross said.

The researchers focused on a single molecule of pentacene, which is commonly used in solar cells. The rectangular-shaped organic molecule is made up of 22 carbon atoms and 14 hydrogen atoms. In the image above the hexagonal shapes of the five carbon rings are clear and even the positions of the hydrogen atoms around the carbon rings can be seen. To give some perspective, the space between the carbon rings is only 0.14 nanometers across, which is roughly one million times smaller than the diameter of a grain of sand.

'If you think about how a doctor uses an X-ray to image bones and organs inside the human body, we are using the atomic force microscope to image the atomic structures that are the backbones of individual molecules,' said IBM researcher Gerhard Meyer.

The team from IBM Research Zurich said the results could have a huge impact of the field of nanotechnology, which seeks to understand and control some of the smallest objects known to mankind.

Gray Market DVD --- Le Roi des Champs-Elysees

Discredited as he was in Hollywood by 1934, there was still enough residual fame in Buster Keaton’s name to interest producers outside industry mainstreams. Europe was mad for our sight-gagging comedians and spent more to look at them than domestic audiences. Chaplin’s foreign revenues were often leagues ahead of what he realized stateside, and Keaton was revered by French audiences whatever the reduced circumstances he’d come to on US shores. Euro producers came calling after ignominious dismissal from MGM left Buster unemployed but for a season of low-budget shorts at Educational. American majors might shun him, but starring feature work was but an ocean away (and here’s Buster shipboard with second wife Mae). Le Roi des Champs-Elysees was for Nero Films in France. It never had a United States release. There is no English language or dubbed version. There was a 16mm print that Bill Everson used to run for his class and occasionally loan to film cons. My seeing it initially was upon one of those rare occasions. Le Roi is a must for Keaton purists. His voice is substituted by an inexpressive double, but there’s so little dialogue as to make the switch unimportant. Buster was experienced with at least phonetic readings of varied tongues in Metro foreign versions he’d done previously, so it’s likely the comedian took a whirl at speaking French for Le Roi (lip readers say yes to that). Maybe producers decided as after-thought not to use his tracks, which is too bad because it would have enhanced the finished product. Le Roi floats among fans on DVD-R and each of them roll dice (or a ten-dollar bill) hoping copies scored off E-Bay or dealer tables will be watchable. The one I found turned out to be unusually nice, with overture and exit music (!). The feature runs not much over an hour. Buster performs routines traceable back to his silent shorts. He’s bound to have given plenty in a creative capacity, for much of the humor is unmistakably Keaton’s own. There’s plenty of street shooting as well with pedestrians reacting to a prominent American clown in their midst. I'd like to think Buster was accorded respect by Le Roi's French producers, as Von Stroheim would be when he traveled there to do Grande Illusion. Keaton looks healthy and from all appearance seems to have bucked up from the Metro descent. Perhaps he was energized by co-workers who recognized his genius long before we would. I’d say Le Roi surpasses then-recent Keaton features just for being his vehicle and not one to be shared with Jimmy Durante or other MGM comics (Polly Moran, Cliff Edwards) nibbling at margins. It was made for a price, but doesn’t look so cheap as Educational shorts coming before and after. Effort and energy is clearly put forth here, not only on Buster's part, but also by those in support both behind and in front of the camera. There’s a music score throughout that really helps, and a nice payoff to what’s actually a well-constructed little story. For lack of Hollywood polish, Le Roi’s a bit raggedy at times, but it’s no disgrace to Keaton and he acquits himself nicely throughout. Too bad a US release couldn’t be managed. Paramount seems to have handled it in at least some foreign territories, and doubtless considered distribution for here. Being they'd pass on Harold Lloyd’s The Cat’s Paw the same year, I guess the studio figured visual comedy was, at least for 1934, a dead issue.

Interactive Art

Each summer the water installation 'appearing rooms' by Danish artist Jeppe Hein is part of the summer fun on Southbank. You can leap from "room" to "room" as they appear and disappear and stay dry (if you are lucky). If you are a kid getting wet is what it's all about. That goes for the big kids as well.

Creative Youth

Continuing the summer theme of the past week.
As part of their summer season Steam Industry have co-ordinated with the Latin American youth forum, holding a number of creative workshops that provide an opportunity for young people to tell their stories of settling in a new country.

These young South American refugees got the opportunity to present their experiences (good, bad, and teenage dramatic) to the public at the Scoop (an outdoor theatre next to City Hall).

Outdoor Hour Challenge: Crop Plants-Tomato

We have come to the last of our crop plant challenges. This week we will be observing tomatoes. Since there is no section in the Handbook of Nature Study for the tomato, I found a couple of things that will help you share information with your children. You might like to read the article and watch the video in preparation for this challenge.

Excellent article on tomatoes at KidsGardening.com:
Plant of the Month: Tomato
http://www.kidsgardening.com/Dig/DigDetail.taf?ID=2073&Type=Art



Do you need a tomato tutorial? Here is a simple YouTube video to help you get started.

Here is the link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkW1wqq7tUg

Outdoor Hour Challenge
Crop Plants #7
Tomatoes

Inside Preparation Work
1. Read pages 20-21 “Gardening and Nature Study”. This small section will remind you of the value of keeping a garden or at least a small box or container with a few plants to observe.

2. Make sure to get fresh tomatoes to observe during your follow-up time. The ideal way would be to pick them from your own garden but buying them at the grocery or at your local farmers market will work just as well. If you can, have on hand two different kinds of tomatoes to compare during your follow-up time: cherry tomato, plum tomato, beefsteak tomato, green tomato, or different heirloom varieties.

Outdoor Time 3. Make sure to spend 10-15 minutes outdoors in your backyard or a near-by park. If you have tomatoes or other crop plants growing in your garden, make sure to spend some time observing the plants, insects, birds, or other living things that visit from time to time. Collect a few leaves or flowers to put in your press and then in your nature journal. You might check on your seasonal tree to see if it has changed since your last observation.

Follow-Up Activity
4. Take a few minutes to talk about anything your child found outside that was interesting. Use the Handbook of Nature study, previous challenges, or local field guides to learn more information. Give you child a chance to express in their own words something they experienced outdoors.

5. If you have a real tomato to observe and taste, you can make a journal entry to record a sketch or thoughts about the tomato. (If you purchased the Crop Plants notebook pages, you will have a page to record your observations.)

Here are some journal ideas to get you started:
If your tomato has a stem and leaf, make sure to sketch those in your journal.
Measure the size of your tomato with a measuring tape.
Compare different tomatoes.
Cut your tomato crosswise and observe the seed pattern.
Describe the texture of the tomato skin and the inside flesh of the tomato.
Take time to observe the smell of the tomato and record your description.
Remove some seeds and compare them to other seeds you have studied during the crop plant challenges. (size, shape, location, color, texture)
Make a watercolor painting of your tomato or just its cross-section.


New for this series of challenges are custom made notebook pages for each crop plant we will study. I have designed simple to use pages that will complement each challenge and will be an easy way to start a nature journal. Each of the eight notebook pages is in full color, but they are just as great in black and white. These notebook pages can be purchased for $2.50.

SAMPLE

As usual, you can complete the challenges without the notebook pages or you can use freebies from the top tab of my blog.

When Noir Hurts

Of all film noir, Where Danger Lives delivers the sharpest kick in the head. Or should that be poker to the head? Either way, keep a Valtrex on hand for the migraine you’ll get watching. Never have I so felt an actor’s pain as when Robert Mitchum takes a blunt blow from cuckolded husband Claude Rains at the RKO thriller's first act crisis point. They’re fighting over sultry Faith Domergue. Bob clutches his presumably caved-in skull and goes the torturous rest of the picture half-comatose. My own head jangled for seeing Where Danger Lives the first time some years back. I took it out this week in hopes of time hardening me for a rematch (some movies are like tribulations we look to overcome). There’s such a thing as noir getting too uncomfortable. It’s tough staying with any film where your lead gets seriously injured and presses on despite it, especially with tormentors unrelenting, plus homicidal Domergue to impede. The posters said Mitchum In Action!, but for once that’s misleading, as he’s effectively sidelined early on and that’s harrowing for viewers looking to his character for a way out of the jam. Should there be a sub-genre called Handicap Noir? If so, Where Danger Lives is its very definition. I so wanted Mitchum to find an elixir, but as his intern character explains, this is a concussion and will only get worse (nice how the below lobby card captures it). A happy ending comes more unexpected here than in any noir I can recall. Were it not for that upbeat fade, Where Danger Lives would be well nigh unbearable for me.

RKO’s were the inkiest noirs, unseemly in fact beside creamy gray scales with which Metro and Paramount moistened their dark puzzles. Dreadful things always seem likelier to happen at RKO. Was it because Howard Hughes had taken charge, or did jailbird Mitchum increase our anxiety? Patrons walked a wilder side when buying tickets to Where Danger Lives and others like it. WDL is nasty, intense, and throws off vibes I don’t get from the competition’s noirs. Does that make RKO’s better? Some fans say yes. They often tread a narrow ridge between fun and bummer noir. Hughes laid paw prints on everything once he closed the buy. You could go bug-eyed reading print accounts of his kooky ways. Maybe that’s too whimsical a term, for Hughes to my impression seemed dangerous as sociopaths gumming up works for Mitchum and kindred noir folk. He was in fact a cobra not to be crossed (I’ve sometimes wondered if Hughes ever had a man killed). Actresses who claimed to have dodged his lure (and that’s just about every one in HH’s orbit) were for saving face and reputation before interviewers and autobio readers, but my guess is, if Hughes wanted you, he got you. That much money and power would have been hard to resist for anyone hoping to advance or preserve a career. Mitchum appreciated Hughes for standing by him in the marijuana bust. Both were lepers in a way after Bob got out of stir. Maybe that was license for Hughes to throw caution aside and make his kind of noirs (including the unforgettable His Kind Of Woman). Mitchum now drew customers tantalized by his convict persona and all the more believable casting as marginal types. It was like he was telling us, Sure, man, I’ve been in jail. Hasn’t everyone? Mitchum may have been the first star to make incarceration seem cool, but how long could he have maintained stardom on such a disreputable treadmill? Even Holiday Affair seems noirish for its drab and black-etched look (which is maybe in part why I like it so much). Mitchum’s rerouting into color and then wide vehicles didn’t come a moment too soon.

Mitchum wore the same gray suit like cowboys donned Stetsons. It was his look and a simple one that needed not change or variation. His noir characters seemed never defined by what they wore. Costume changes would probably have been an unwelcome distraction. Faith Domergue is the sole focal point in terms of dress. I imagine her being personally clad by Hughes to his very particular specifications. Here was one producer who shaped actresses not to expectations the public had, but to ones that were his alone. With money being Hughes’ to burn, what did it matter if audiences embraced his ideals of female presentation? Domergue is so carefully handled as to achieve at least a good seeming performance, sort of like singers to come being juiced up with stagecraft and audio enhancements. She seems more confused than wicked, but for all that, Domergue’s is ideal casting, especially as partner to Mitchum’s eternal dunce with regards wiles of women. Every decision he makes in Where Danger Lives is a wrong one. He’s like the coyote returning for another go at the Road Runner. You spend all the film wishing someone could smarten him up. Mitchum and Domergue lam it for Mexico after Bob thinks he’s killed Claude Rains. They turn on the radio and it’s always right when announcers report progress in manhunting them. John Farrow directs all this artfully and goes for remarkably long and unbroken takes. There’s drawn out tension in and around a getaway car that shows Farrow knew plenty about desperate straits and those plunged into them. I’ve read of the director’s own roustabout and uncertain background, that suggesting a man ideally suited to random happenstance of noir. Can film-schooled, experience-deprived modern pretenders ever hope to properly direct this kind of subject? If you like coffee table noir that meets every desire historians arouse, here is one made to order. Do the stills shown here entice? For me, they're aesthetic equals of the film itself. Its three-sheet (above) would hang nicely in any rec room hip to noir, reflecting well upon tastes of the owner. This one sold for $6,325 (not to me!). That’s buying a lot of cool. Are high-end collectors disappointed when they finally get around to seeing movies such stunning graphics represent? Where Danger Lives may have been a letdown for audiences zoning out on doom-laden crime thrillers, as Summer 1950 was a crowded marketplace for noir (Overall outlook is spotty, said Variety). WDL’s negative cost of $948,000 ended up overshooting anemic domestic rentals of $840,000, with scant relief of $450,000 foreign. The final loss was $450,000.

Get involved with the 2010 Aesthetica Creative Works Competition: Just 3 days left to enter your work!

There are just 3 days left to enter your work to the Aesthetica International Creative Works Competition. Hard copies of the 2009 Aesthetica Creative Works Annual have now sold out, but digital downloads of the 2009 Aesthetica Creative Works Annual are available through our online shop.


• The Aesthetica Creative Works Competition seeks entries of Artwork, Photography & Sculpture, Fiction and Poetry
• Three winners will be awarded £500 each
• Additional prizes include an Olympus E-420 SLR camera and a boutique holiday for two
• All finalists will be published in the Aesthetica Creative Works Annual, in stores December 2009
• Entry to the 2009 Aesthetica Creative Works Competition is £10
• This allows you to submit up to 5 images, 5 poems or 2 short stories
• Closing date to receive Creative Works is 31 August 2009
• Please click here for Competition FAQs • For full details please visit www.aestheticamagazine.com/submission_guide.htm



The Aesthetica Creative Works Competition is internationally recognised for identifying new artists and writers and bringing them to international attention. Previous finalists have achieved success and recognition with accolades including: writing commissions from Channel 4, selection to represent Australia in the Florence Biennale, exhibitions at DACS (London), John Martin Gallery (London), Flores Fine Art Gallery (New York), inclusion in the International Drawing Competition exhibition (Poland) and the National Geographic International Photographic exhibition. The Aesthetica Creative Works Competition represents the scope of creative activity today, and provides an opportunity for both new and established artists to nurture their reputations on an international scale.

[Image credits: Carrie May, Shivashtie Poonwassie, Hannah Lobley, Sonia Oliveira - all work from finalists of the 2008 Aesthetica Creative Works Competition]



What are you waiting for? Get your entries to us today!

Skywatch Friday - Gull

Images of summer continue. Until I lived in London I associated gulls with the beach. Now I include the river Thames. They seem to know exactly which tourists will have some lunch to share.

Don't forget to visit other skywatchers around the world.

Forthcoming events

News of a pair of forthcoming public events, which draw on the expertise and skills of two members of Wellcome Library staff.

On Thursday 24th September, Dr Lesley Hall, Senior Archivist, is speaking at ‘Sex: A Victorian Mystery’, a Wellcome Collection event to tie in with the Exquisite Bodies exhibition. The evening aims to bring together visual, historical and literary perspectives, in order to illuminate Victorian contradictions to sex and sexual health.

And on Thursday 22nd October, William Schupbach, Curator, Paintings, Prints and Drawings, will give a lecture entitled ‘Physicians and scholars: libraries and learning in 17th century medical portraits’, at an evening event at the Royal College of Physicians, 'Secrets of 17th Century Portraiture’.

Cooling off in the Fountain

Summer images continue. The fountains at Trafalgar Square became paddling pools on hot days.

I will be away for the bank holiday but summer images will continue.

The Pazyryk Rug

Illustration: The Pazyryk rug, c500bc.

The Pazyryk rug is the oldest surviving example of a complete rug discovered so far. It was probably produced in the 5th century BC by the nomadic Scythian people and was discovered by the Russian archaeologist Sergei Rudenko in a Scythian burial mound in the late 1940s.

The rug itself was probably a funereal item and could well have been woven for that specific purpose and so was probably never used. The grave was that of a prince and so the rug itself would probably have been of the highest standard that was available at the time.

The rug is nearly symmetrical in shape with the length being slightly longer than the width, the actual measurements of the rug being 2m x 1.83m. The design is made up of concentric squares separated by various borders. The central panel is made up of what is assumed to be symbols that represent the sun. This is surrounded by a border of winged griffins, which is then in turn surrounded by another border filled with antlered deer. There is then a small border of abstract floral motifs, which is then followed by a border of horses being alternately led and ridden by their riders. This border has the horses travelling in the opposite direction to that of the earlier antlered deer. There is then a final border of winged griffins, which then completes the rug.

Like many traditional carpets and indeed many forms of textile, symbolism is abundant and can often be either misinterpreted or misunderstood. For example, the griffins are often thought to represent some form of guardian whether in life or the after life, while stags can represent wisdom and long life. However, we will probably never fully understand the symbolism involved within the pattern of the rug.

Illustration: The Pazyryk rug, close-up, c500bc.

Interestingly, the rug itself was preserved due to the grave being robbed at some point in the past. Because the seal of the grave was opened, moisture got into the grave goods and the rug was frozen into a solid ball of ice, thus preserving it until its rediscovery by Sergei Rudenko.

The discovery of the Pazyryk rug caused a sensation at the time and has changed our perception of the history of woven rug design. It had long been thought that early rugs and carpets would have been fairly primitive in both construction and design, so it came as a surprise to find a rug over 2500 years old that had this level of sophistication and finish. It was also discovered that the rug was constructed using the traditional Turkish knotting system, which strongly implies that the nomadic Turkish tribes who occupied central Asia two millennia ago, share an unbroken tradition of rug making with that of more modern traditions.

The sophistication of the Pazyryk rug informs us that a high level of design and construction had been achieved by the 5th century BC. It would have taken generations to achieve this level, which implies that this level of rug making must go back much further than the 5th century.

The rug itself is now housed and fully displayed at the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. There are also good reproductions of the original design that are available to buy. The best one that I have come across can be found online at The Magic Carpet, an image of which is shown below. It gives a good indication of the high standard that was achieved by the makers of the original Pazyryk rug.

Illustration: The Pazyryk rug. The Magic Carpet, Nevada City, California.

Further reading links:
Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg
The Magic Carpet
The pazyryk: A 2500 years old knotted rug found in an icegrave in the Altai, its uses and origin
Frozen Tombs of Siberia: The Pazyryk Burials of Iron-Age Horsemen
Archaeological Collections of the Hermitage: Pazyryk Burials, Egyptian Collection of the Hermitage Museum, Pereshchepina Treasure, Kul-Oba
Kurgans: Pazyryk Burials, Kurgan, Noin-Ula Kurgans, Mamayev Kurgan, Merheleva Ridge, Kul-Oba, Thracian Tomb of Aleksandrovo Kurgan, Black Grave
Scythians: Anacharsis, Pazyryk Burials, Indo-Scythians, Kharahostes, Apracaraja Indravarman's Silver Reliquary, Tocharians, Saka, Kamuia
Costume and Textiles Pazyryks Altai. / Kostyum i textil pazyryktsev Altaya.
The Pazyryk felt screen and the barbarian captivity of Ts'ai Wên Chi
Ancient Horsemen Of Siberia (Time Travelers)

Cooking in the City

The Wellcome Library has recently acquired the "Book of Receipts for Cookery and Pastry 1732 & c." (MS.8687) started by Sarah Tully, who married Richard Hoare of the London banking family in 1732, and continued by other hands, presumably following her early death in 1736. The early pages of this volume are written out in a very fair hand and it seems quite likely that this was done either by Sarah Tully herself or a relative as a preparation for her wifely duties in running her husband’s household. Richard Hoare later became Lord Mayor of London and was knighted in 1745.

The volume contains the usual mixture of medical, household, veterinary and culinary recipes, and includes, pasted inside the front cover advertising broadside, printed in English in Venice, for the famous theriaca fina or Venice treacle, a honey- or molasses-based composition thought efficacious against poisoning, sold at the "Aquila Nera" [At the Sign of the Blak Eagle] in the Merceria San Salvatore.

The culinary recipes indicate a cosmopolitan and sophisticated household. Some connection with India, or at least the East India Company, is suggested by recipes for "A Loyn of Mutton Kebob’d" "pilau after the East Indian Manner", "currie powder" and “Indian pickle”. There is some evidence for European travel or contacts, with instructions on how "To make mackrony' [macaroni] - including "Parmason cheese", specified, and to prepare "Fromage Fondu". There are also details of how "To make Chocolate as prepared for the King". Whether these somewhat exotic items were actually prepared within the Hoare household may possibly be revealed by consulting the archives of C. Hoare and Co., private bankers, which include ten boxes of bills and receipts relating to Richard Hoare’s household expenditure, 1727-1754.

The medical recipes include "An Excellent rect. [receipt] for ye heartburn brot from Italy by the Duke of Shrewsbury", "Dr Radcliffe's Specifick for the Cholick"; "A Tincture for the Gout or Cholick in the Stomach" also ascribed to Dr Radcliffe, and "Mrs Masham's universal Purge" - which may or may not reflect the after-effects of the rich and exotic dishes described.

Canary Wharf Film Festival 2009

One of our partners this year, Canary Wharf Film Festival, opens next week with a bang. Established in 2007 to break down the barriers between creativity and commerce by showcasing the best of UK and international filmmaking talent in one of the UK’s most iconic and well-known locations. The festival also aims to alter preconceived notions of Canary Wharf and highlighting it as London's newest creative hub; highlighting it as a filming location and tourist destination, while fostering a creative local and sustainable community.


The programme for this year has a particular focus on budding filmmakers, as well as asking the public to Shoot Canary Wharf and a new commission provides an incredibly moving and insightful look into London’s Docklands and Waterways of yesteryear. Opening on 3 September, CWFF’s programmes include Next Generation, Nearby: East End Docks and Green Sundays which all give something back to London’s East End and are totally free!

The Next Generation Programme, with support from the Canary Wharf Group, is providing aspiring filmmakers the opportunity of a life time as part of the festival’s aim to give up and coming filmmakers a helping hand to set them on their way. CWFF have been running free filmmaking workshops - in collaboration with Chocolate Films – throughout the summer for East London students interested in learning about the filmmaking process, teaching skills from storyboarding right through to the editing process, and their final cuts will be featured at the festival.


Young filmmakers will also be given the opportunity to pitch their film idea to a panel of experts for the chance to win an invaluable training course at the Central Film School. Pitchers will receive crucial tips to equip them with the tools need to successfully pitch ideas in the future. Plus local East End boy and director of the British hit Shifty, Eran Creevy, will be talking to festival goers about his experiences in the film industry, how he climbed the film ladder and what it was like working with Asher D and brands like Nike.

The Nearby: East End Docks programme will provide a look at one of the worlds most famous industrial areas of yesteryear, paying homage to an industry which laid the foundations for London’s business quarter. The programme will take place at the Museum of London Docklands and will provide a snapshot of the Docklands and Waterways that made London a super power in the trading world.



Green Sundays is another free offering from the CWFF showcasing the areas green credentials with a string of films, discussions and a cycling tour along East London’s Regents Canal. CWFF have delved into the archives to track down films, which address issues on pollution and contamination of the Thames and turning waste into animal feed in East London.

The Green Sundays Discussion will be another highlight of the festival addressing issues around the creative industries and sustainability. The discussion is one for the diary with a panel including Ben Todd (Arcola Theatre), Clement Mariotte (Bash Creations) and Sally Wilton (Lexi Cinema).

Olivia Bellas, Festival Director, says: “This year is by far one of the best programmes which we’ve had and are the most exited about since the festivals launch. Each year the programme gets better and with so much going on this year we’re going to have our work cut out in 2010."

Completing CWFF 09’s programme is the CWFF 09 Big Film Quiz, Between the Eyes, London Living, Shoot Canary Wharf, and the return of the Golden Canary Awards Show, recognising the festivals standout filmmakers in front of the industries finest.CWFF 09 runs from 3-7 September 2009, with films being shown at a wide range of locations, including Cineworld West India Quay, Museum in Docklands and the East Wintergarden.

CWFF is well worth the visit this year. www.cwff.org.uk

Coming Soon At Aesthetica -

We have always had a commitment to independent filmmakers, launching soon will be the Aesthetica Film Competition, which will support up and coming filmmakers with opportunities for screenings and prize money. Check www.aestheticamagazine.com for more details.