Natural Sciences Collections Association

By Ameena Mughal, Intern at Leeds Museums and Galleries on the Voices of Asia projectHajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, is the last and fifth pillar of Islam and occurs in the last month of Dhul Hijjah, which is in the twelfth month of the Islamic Calendar. Muslims around the world of different ethnicity, status and class gather together and pray to Allah. The first member of my family to perform Hajj was my great grandfather in 1976, then later my grandparents and my own parents.  My grandmother first went to Hajj in 1985 and acquired many objects including a wall hanging of the Kaaba which was given to my parents as a gift. 
It is a large red velour wall cloth showing the Masjid al-Haram of Mecca with the sacred Kaaba stone.  The Kaaba meaning cube in Arabic is an ‘ancient stone structure that was built and re built by Prophets as a house of monotheistic worship’. Muslims do not worship the Kaaba, and its environs, instead it serves as a focal and unifying point for Muslims. The wall cloth illustrates Muslims performing Tawaf which is where pilgrims walk seven times around the Kaaba whilst reciting prayers and there are five different types of Tawaf, three of which are performed during Hajj. 
Mecca is the most important city to Muslims: it was the birthplace of Prophet Muhammed (pbuh), the place of the divine revelation, as well as the location of the holy pilgrimage of Hajj. There are three different types of Hajj: Hajj Al-Tamattu, Hajj Al-Qiran and Hajj Al-Ifrad. Many Muslims in Britain including my family perform the Hajj Al-Tamattu, this is where pilgrims perform Umrah first and then perform Hajj however two different Ihrams are worn.  Umrah is an extra pilgrimage and can be performed during anytime of the year.  If a pilgrim just completes Umrah they do not perform the rites at Mina, Muzdalifah, and `Arafat which one would do during Hajj. A Muslim must perform Hajj at least once in their lifetime, if they can afford to.
The first stage of the pilgrimage is preparation; one must bathe themselves and be covered in the white garment of the Ihram. An Ihram is a garment that consists of two un-sewn white plain cloths that must be worn by a male pilgrim.  A pilgrim before beginning their pilgrimage must be in the state of Ihram which is ensure that pilgrim is pure.  For example a pilgrim will not be allowed to engage in marital relations, shave or cut their nails, use perfume or scented oils and are not allowed to fight or argue. Many pilgrims return to using traditional teeth cleaning sticks, called miswak, rather than use their modern toothbrush and toothpaste. This bundle of miswak sticks are Hajj souvenirs, and were donated recently by Nahid Rasool.
Pilgrtims must also express their intention of performing Umrah and Hajj by reciting the Talbiyah which translates into ‘Here I am O Allaah, (in response to your call), here I am. Here I am, You have no partner, here I am. Verily all praise, grace and sovereignty belong to You. You have no partner.’   This declaration is significant as at Hajj a pilgrim must seek redemption and ask Allah to keep them on the path of righteousness. They then perform Tawaf Al-Qudum which is also to show their intention for Hajj. Once a pilgrim has performed Hajj, it strengthens their bond to Allah and Islam, and upon their return to their home, they must take steps in becoming a better Muslim. 
A very fond childhood memory of mine is eating dates and drinking Zamzam water once my father had returned from Hajj and my mother would always recall the story of Hajar’s search for water for her son Ismaeel (Ishmael). Therefore on the first day of Hajj, pilgrims have to perform Sa’y and this is the passing between the hillocks of Safa and Marwah.  Hajar was sent away to the desert and in Mecca her baby Ismaeel (Ishmael) became very weak and Hajar ran seven times between the two hills of Safa and Marwah in search of water.  Allah then sent Angel Jibreel (Gabriel) who struck the ground from that spot to which clear water came gushing out and today is known as the Zamzam well. Pilgrims remember Hajar’s agony, her strong bond with her child and how Allah heard her cry for mercy and helped her.  This marks the end of Umrah and pilgrims then wear their second Ihram, make their intention for Hajj by reciting the Talbiyah, as well as perform Tawaf and Sa’y as they have previously done for Umrah.This box of Ajwa dates was also presented by Nahid Rasool, as an example of a Hajj souvenir. She comments: Dates were one of Prophet Muhammad's favourite food, and we also believe that if you have eight of these Ajwa dates every day, you will have good health.

One of the five pillars of Islam is to pray five times a day therefore pilgrims must ensure that they read all prayers. After performing Sa’y, pilgrims go to Mina and perform their prayers before leaving for Arafat on the second day. Pilgrims perform Wuquf at Arafat, where they pray at the Mount of Mercy, reflecting on their lives, seeking redemption. A Muslim comments ‘that standing at Arafat was extremely emotional and overwhelming’, and as well as mentally enduring, Hajj is also physically enduring. On the second day some pilgrims climb Jabal Rahmah where the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) delivered his last sermon and once the sun has set pilgrims leave for Muzdalifah. There they collect forty nine pebbles which they will throw at the three pillars of Jamarat over the next few days. 
On Eid al-Adha pilgrims set off to Mina where they perform the stoning (ramy) in which they must hit each of the three pillars of Jamarat with seven pebbles going from east to west.  This is done because it is said that devil appeared to Prophet Ibrahim (pbuh) at three different stone heaps and that he tried to tempt and misguide him.  Thus Angel Jibreel (Gabriel) ordered Ibrahim (Abraham) to throw stones at the devil so that he withdrew from him. The three pillars represent the devil however the largest stone signifies his temptation of Ibrahim (Abraham) against sacrificing his son Ismaeel (Ishmael), the middle stone illustrates the temptation of Ibrahim’s wife Hajar to induce her to stop him and lastly the small stone symbolises the persuasion of Ismaeel (Ishmael) to avoid sacrifice.  The aim of this is to dispose of the devil and become closer to Allah. According to a Muslim woman ‘performing stoning made me realise I can stop myself from doing bad things and I can say no to temptation’.  Hajj teaches discipline and provides millions of Muslims with strength and guidance.
Another pillar of Islam is to give Zakat (charity) therefore once the stoning has been performed; an animal such as a sheep or a goat is sacrificed as commemoration of Prophet Ibrahim (pbuh) willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael. Another duty is that men have their hair shaved off and women have a lock of hair cut off. They then proceed to Masjid al Haram in Mecca to perform Tawal Al Ifadah and this is a formal rite of Hajj in Mecca. Pilgrims also perform Sa’y, drink Zamzam water and they no longer have to wear the Ihram.  During the last days of Hajj pilgrims go back to Mina and will stone the three pillars, and return to Masjid Al Haram and perform their last seven circuit circumambulation of the Kaaba which is known as Farewell Tawaf and this is the completion of Hajj.  
It is difficult for many non Muslims to understand the journey of Hajj but it is both mentally and physically rewarding, the view of the Kaaba overwhelms many Muslims, the beauty of Mecca and the unity of people is outstanding. During Hajj Muslims display strength, kindness, commitment and harmony and pilgrims gather from many different cultural backgrounds to worship Allah.  It is truly mesmerising to see the equality and, the bond between Muslims, as one individual explains ‘I do not think I will be able to describe the appreciation of being amongst a large gathering, in which we are all engaged in the same activities to achieve the same goal.’ 
During the recent Ahlul Bayt Islamic Society display in Parkinson Court at the University of Leeds, (23-24 April 2012), visitors were able to see a model of the Kaaba, as well as the items illustrated here. From 21 May to 1 June 2012 Leeds Museums' Hajj items will be part of a larger Islamic display for schools at Leeds Grand Mosque on Woodlea Rd. The star Hajj item is this fragment of Kaaba cloth given to Hussein, King of Hejas (Arabia) in 1917, to a Mr Fox as a diplomatic gift.
In the forthcoming ‘Voices of Asia’ displays, which will be installed in the World View Gallery at Leeds City Museum from 2014 onwards, one of the focuses will be Faith and Worship.  Islamic items will be shown, as part of a series of Faith installations enriched by the involvement and personal comments from each Leeds faith community.  The above Kaaba covering cloth fragment will definitately be shown, and these newly acquired Hajj souvenirs.  In the autumn of 2012 we plan to run a discussion forum for this project, to bring together the communities who want to take part and open up the debate on which topics to highlight.  If you are interested in participating please contact the curator, Antonia Lovelace, or by e-mail at antonia.lovelace@leeds.gov.uk
Ameena Mughal

Stichting Ebenist is an organisation of conservation professionals in the Netherlands and their conferences in relation to wood and furniture conservation are established now as the premier such event globally, attracting an international audience, similarly speakers. The theme for the 2012 conference is Reproduction and Reconstruction in Furniture Conservation. Delegates for the upcoming conference will be getting a Temple Newsam double whammy: a paper on the re-construction of the Queen Anne State Bed, from Ian Fraser, Temple Newsam's furniture conservator:And a paper from Temple Newsam's retired senior curator Anthony Wells-Cole into the research and virtual re-construction that he has been working on in relation to the 17th century Japanese lacquer columns and mouldings of the Temple Newsam lacquer secretaire, and upright piano, both supplied in the 19th century, and kept in the Chinese Room. The Japanese lacquer columns and mouldings once formed part of a highly elaborate balustrade in the bedchamber of Amalia van Solms, wife of the Stadholder of The Hague. They lived in Huis ten Bosch, a palace in The Hague, The Netherlands. Commissioned by the occupants, and probably the first European commission of Japanese lacquer work, the components arrived in the 1630s, were installed and stayed there until the Napoleonic Wars. French troops overran the Low Countries, and Huis ten Bosch was ransacked. The Japanese lacquer components, war booty, start turning up in the furniture trades in London and Paris in the 19th century, and being added to pieces of furniture. A fascinating backstory, and one of the aims of Mr Wells-Coles's research has been trying to visualise what the bed balustrade looked like in Huis ten Bosch. Of outstanding quality, the scenes depicted on the columns tell the ancient story "The Tales of Ise".


The Tales of Ise
Stichting Ebenist 11th International Symposium

With everyone getting ready for this year’s jubilee celebrations, images of the Queen and royal family are everywhere. Even our own City Museum is hosting a wonderful exhibition of photographs of the Queen taken by renowned photographer Cecil Beaton – kindly on loan to us from the V & A.

Recently, I have been looking at communications for some outreach work coming up, and, I have been noticing more and more pictures of the Queen at different stages in her life, so I thought I would share just a few with you.

Today, I have been looking at an edition of the ‘Radio Times – Journal of the BBC’ published in March 1946. On the front cover is a photograph of H.R.H. The Princess Elizabeth, who was due to attend the launch of a new aircraft carrier. For those of us who can’t remember any other reigning monarch, it is almost hard to recognise her from the familiar face of today.

(LEEDM.E.1975.0163.0002.1)

Just like today, advertisers have been keen to use images of the Queen around special dates and occasions to boost their product sales. For example, we have a chocolate box from around 1953, made by Cowan’s, with a picture of the newly crowned queen.

(LEEDM.E.1975.0050.0002.c)




We also have a ceramic pomander from 1977, the year of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee, still complete with its Woolworths price tag (a bargain at 85p!). We have items relating to most royal anniversaries, weddings and jubilees in the collection, some of which date back to Queen Victoria, which goes to show that the souvenirs on offer for Kate and William last year and the Jubilee this year are just the latest in a long tradition.

( LEEDM.E.1977.0049.0010)



Perhaps the most familiar images of the Queen are those that take part in everyday life – the queens head on coins and stamps. Most people living in the UK will be familiar with the stamps and coins of today, but even these have changed a little over the years as the Queen has matured. The final image I’ve included is of a stamp from early in the Queen’s reign – from 1957.  It was part of a set of stamps based around a portrait by photographer Dorothy Wilding, which were in use until the late 1960s.

(LEEDM.E.1958.0033.0061)

John Barran & Sons

As a volunteer at Leeds Museum Discovery Centre, I get the chance to work some of the fascinating objects within the vast collection. Recently, I came across a box containing this small but very special collection of childrenswear.


The group of six smocks and one coat were produced between 1910 and 1920 by John Barran & Sons – a pioneering Leeds-based firm which manufactured ready-to-wear clothing. John Barran moved to Leeds and set up business as traditional tailor and clothes dealer in 1842. In the early 1850s, he opened a shop on Briggate, where he stocked reasonably priced ready-made menswear as well as clothing for children.



The rapid growth of the ready-to-wear tailoring business was made possible by technological developments; such as sewing by machine and advances in the process of pattern cutting. Barran’s expansion of the manufacturing side of his business helped the Leeds tailoring industry evolve to produce larger quantities of better quality garments.


From an early stage Barran took a special interest in childrenswear. Clothing manufactured for boys became a major part of the business and John Barran &Sons Ltd. eventually went on to become makers of school uniforms. Orders for ready-to-wear miniature suits and coats arrived from as far as Canada, Australia, South Africa and South America.


John Barran was so well known for producing these garments especially for children, that he came to be recognised as ‘The little boy’s tailor’.

By Shauni Sanderson

"Straighten your tie and do it up properly, tuck in your shirt, and stand up straight! And get a haircut." These are the boring messages that parents have to give to teenage boys, until the penny eventually drops, and they realise that they are not going to get far in life looking like messy idiots. The furniture in the collections cannot do their equivalent of these sorts of things for themselves, so when they get sent out on loan for exhibition, or some kind of media exposure, it is important that they are looking at their best. BBC4 is  making a new series about craftsmanship in wood, and one of the parts is on the Age of Chippendale. My retired colleague James Lomax, Curator Emeritus of Temple Newsam House, has been advising the programme makers, and on 23 April James and the BBC will be filming at Nostell Priory, a house near Wakefield, that contains one of Chippendale's great commissions. A chair at Temple Newsam House, whose design is clearly taken straight from Chippendale's Director, will be taken to Nostell Priory for one of the discussion points. Some simple woodwork repairs were needed before it could go, but it was the condition of the upholstery that warranted attention most, as shown in the pictures below.
Re-upholstery was the only option, and it was also the opportunity to fit a  more appropriate top cover, a moire patterned wool, a lovely rich red.

Various stages of the reupholstery are shown below; the horsehair stuffing was re-used, after having had a spin in the washing machine







Repaired, cleaned, polished, and everything tucked in, ready for the BBC cameras.

Posted by Ian Fraser

While completing my degree in Classics at Leeds University, I am privileged to work as a volunteer with some of Leeds Museums and Galleries' collection of ceramics from the ancient world held in store at Leeds Museum Discovery Centre. These include over a hundred items found in Cyprus, in a wide range of shapes and sizes, which are well represented the Ancient Worlds gallery in Leeds City Museum.
As interesting as the Cypriot ceramics themselves are, so are the routes by which they came to the Museum’s collection. These often reflect the development of the Museum itself, which grew out of the collections of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society.
The Society’s collection of antiquities was enriched in 1876 by the purchase of Cypriot artefacts collected by Thomas Backhouse Sandwith. Sandwith was the British Vice-Consul in Cyprus from 1865, and during his time on the island he developed a deep interest in its history and culture. He amassed a considerable collection of artefacts, some of which he brought to England. Unusually for the time, as well as collecting he also studied the ceramics in some depth, and eventually published an article in Archaeologia (the journal of the Society of Antiquaries of London), ‘On the different styles of Pottery found in Ancient Tombs in the Island of Cyprus’ (1877).
Keen to find out more about Sandwith’s collection, I was delighted to discover that this article includes beautifully detailed hand-drawn illustrations of some of his finds by one of the Society of Antiquaries’ skilled draughtsmen. The article is accompanied by only 26 illustrations of ceramics, and unsurprisingly the three artefacts in the Museum known to have been purchased from Sandwith’s collection are not among them. However, I was surprised to recognise the triple vessel illustrated on plate IX, as very similar to one in the Leeds collection I had studied only weeks earlier:

Illustration from Sandwith's article (detail, plate IX)
Juglet from the Leeds Museums and Galleries collection (LEEDM.D.1964.0305)
They are both examples of the intriguing composite ‘juglets’ which take the form of two or three small individual vessels joined together at the neck. The Leeds Museum juglet is made of blackened buff ware, consisting of three cone-shaped vessels joined in a single neck, with a central panel of punched decoration and one handle. This fits closely with the illustration to Sandwith’s article. There is some damage to the rim, which is not visible on the Sandwith illustration, but this could have occurred at any time since the article was written in the 19th century.
There are few additional ‘biographical’ details available about the Leeds Museum vessel. If it is the same juglet illustrated in Sandwith’s article, it may have come into the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society’s collection as part of the recorded acquisition, or perhaps could have been bought at one of the sales of Sandwith’s collection by someone in Leeds and subsequently donated to the Museum. Whether or not this is what happened, the juglet’s context, both within the range of ancient Cypriot ceramics and in the history of the Leeds Museum, adds to its interest.
Author:  Anna Reeve, Volunteer at Leeds Museum Discovery Centre

For vernacular furniture anoraks (like me) the upcoming exhibition of early Windsor chairs at West Wycombe Park, Buckinghamshire, will be a treat.


Temple Newsam House acquired, as part of the Roger Warner Bequest, one of the earliest surviving Windsor chairs, from the first half of the 18th century. It has been lent to this exhibition but prior to its being despatched today to West Wycombe Park, I undertook some minor remedial works to loose joints, cleaned and wax polished it too.

















Of technical interest are the breakages to the outside curve of the bentwood arm. First, though, I need to explain a little about bending wood, and chairmaking. Many woods can bend quite well if heated to the right temperature, about boiling point. The most common way of plasticising the wood is in a steam box. A piece of wood to be bent to form an arm, or back, in hot steam might need about an hour. Once taken out of the hot steam it needs to be bent quickly around a former, to take up the desired curve. The wood on the inside curve gets compressed, and on the outside it gets put under a lot of tension, and stretches, which stresses the wood considerably. That is unless the outside curve is supported during bending with a metal strap that prevents the outside curve from stretching. It is quite likely that the arm here was bent without any supporting strap, which might have been common practice at that time. In any event, a weak point eventually failed under usage, and a metal strap was screwed over the outside curves where the wood is splitting.













It is a fault not seen so much on later Windsor chairs, as the craftsmen making these were on a learning curve, and figured out eventually a way to avoid creating a weakness at the bend. The Windsor chair is such a quintessentially English design, quite lovely, practical and comfortable. But it is also an engineered product, materials and methods of working that lent themselves to speedy construction, and a durable product. Elm for the slab seat because its interlocked grain resists splitting. Ash for the bentwood arm, and spindles, because ash bends well, and is very flexible. The wood for the arms and spindles was always riven, or split from the log, too. Riven wood is stronger because the splits follow the grain, and the longer the grain the stronger the wood. The legs were turned from unseasoned, or green, wood (not dried). Green wood is easier to cut and shape on the lathe, because it is not as hard. This is important when one considers that most lathes back then, pole lathes being an example, were powered by the operator, treadle operated. The stretchers were made from dried wood. As the legs shrunk, as they dried, the joints between legs and stretchers would actually become an even tighter fit. There is some clever thinking going on behind the humble Windsor chair.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQBQZqVFM1o
Posted by Ian Fraser

It is because sometimes small, seemingly innocuous, innocent and meaningless things take some time to reveal themselves for what they really are that I find myself writing about the fabulous, inspirational qualities of a small song thrush and an "Obama for President" t-shirt because I believe these items to be the most recent items in the collections which may have changed the future for two people in Leeds.
We recently took an enquiry from a life coach who asked if we had any birds "which don't move" in order to try and help a client with, what transpired to be, a crippling fear of all things avian. With special permission to allow the gloved client to stroke the taxidermy (sufficiently robust specimens only), we embarked on a journey of discovery into what it was about birds which caused the problem.
Needless to say, on account of not wanting to completely terrify anyone, we did not go into the museum store but instead, I spent a happy hour going backwards and forwards extracting various specimens including a badly painted iguana (to see if staring, black eyes in other creatures was the problem) and some bird skulls (to show how different bird beak equipment is adapted to the primary function of finding food in order to stay alive).

As someone who regularly suggests to children that the things in LMDC store may come to life at night, this was one time I kept my mouth firmly shut, watching the counsellor ply her trade and was very glad that there was no sign of tweeting, flapping, ruffling or pecking, enabling the client to move (from their own reckoning) from a 9/10 fear rating a the start of the session to a 5/10 at the end.
I must admit that seeing a grown adult recoil with such horror when the birds were first put down on the table in front of them was a sobering and uncomfortable experience tempered only by the thought that his was an odd but extremely worthwhile use of the collections. Watching as the client was slowly able to relax, move the bird closer and eventually reach out a gloved hand gently to stroke the feathers and appreciate some of the beauty of the shapes, colours and patterns was, for me, a "Kodak" moment.
The visit to Disco was one small part of a ten-part plan of therapy and I  felt honoured to have been allowed to be part of a possibly life-changing moment in someone else's life.
Similarly but at the other end of the scale, I was recently on outreach at Armley Christ Church Primary School discussing with children (9 or 10 years old) why on earth the museum lady brought out a modern American t-shirt depicting Barack Obama when the topic was supposed to be about Africa!
Some time later, after lots of “I think it’s because he might be famous…” (the image showing him holding a microphone probably made the children wonder whether or not he’d been on X Factor), we eventually got to the gentleman’s job title, mentioning his epithet of being the FIRST man of African-American heritage to be President of the United States.

Blank faces. So what.
I asked if anyone knew what they used to do to / think of / how they used to treat black people in America.
All eyes studying the tables.
I asked if anyone had heard of the story of Rosa Parks…only to be bombarded with children proudly telling me all the details of the story from what turned out to be the topic of their last lesson. Did we think there might be a link between the two?
Nothing.
And then the penny dropped (at least for some people) and the light bulbs blazed as they remembered what they’d been taught about slavery, slave ships, sugar plantations and the Slave Trade Triangle.
Success (I think)!
It was only after the end of the session, however, that a young lady who had spent most of the session trying really hard to answer questions said thoughtfully:
“Perhaps, do you think that might mean I could be the next black, lady Prime Minister?”
I for one shall certainly be watching the future candidates lists very carefully. Leeds Museums and Galleries: providing inspiration from t-shirts and taxidermy!

The daily lives of elite people living in country houses between 1650 and 1850 were governed by rigorous codes of social etiquette. What you did, what you wore and who you did it with and what you did it in were subject to scrutiny. The architectural landscape of domestic spaces within country houses was designed to facilitate the rituals of elite social practice. Furniture and objects in silver, porcelain and pottery were designed and used to facilitate these social rituals Beds and bedrooms where people were made, born and died have a particularly rich social history of their own.

The next exhibition at Temple Newsam tells the stories of beds and bedrooms in Britain between 1650 and 1850. However, one exhibition isn't enough to cover such a great subject. There are just too many stories to tell.
So, between June 21st and 22nd we are holding a conference which is explores, the social history, material culture, conservation and interpretation of beds and bedrooms. This has all been done in colloboration with The University of Leeds Museum Studies department. They have a pretty decent blog too. http://www.museumstudiesleeds.blogspot.com/

To find out more and to book yourself a place email: temple.newsam.house@leeds.gov.uk

http://museumstudiesleeds.blogspot.co.uk/

This simple little ditty was one of many aspects of English culture that my lovely grandmother, from the East End of London, brought with her to Canada, where I grew up. Without fail she would say this to each of her grandchildren, when we were little, whenever we stayed, after a bedtime story.


In fact her advice about lying on your back was crucial in getting the user's view of the tester of the Queen Anne State Bed, which is why I have invited my grandmother here, at least in spirit.













The Princess, in the classic fairy story "The Princess and the Pea" would have seen something similar. Given the discomfort she felt from the pea, and lack of sleep as a result, she probably got fed up with the view! As part of the Bedtime Stories project and exhibition Temple Newsam's learning and access officer, Shelley Dring, has been very busy, diligently devising, delivering and commissioning literacy initiatives, such as the one pictured below.
Storyteller and actor, Chris Cade, is reading from "The Princess and the Pea" to a visiting school group, using the Crimson Bedroom, and the restored Queen Anne State Bed, for the backdrop. Chris is, simply, a wonderful storyteller. I listened in for a while, and from the exchanges between Chris and the children, it was clear that everyone was enjoying the experience. I freely admit that not only did I enjoy it too, I was almost on the point of tears of joy, remembering the time when my children were little, and remembering how much I enjoyed reading to and with them. The joy and satisfaction becomes complete when they have managed to turn the key of literacy, and a vast vista of books becomes accessible to them. It gets even better when they in turn become teachers to their siblings.

The Chris Cade literacy workshop, and activities like it, may not be the beating heart or brains of service delivery, but I think it is a glimpse into its soul.

http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/03/02/world-book-day-lets-get-children-reading/

http://www.newstatesman.com/books/2012/03/children-reading-literacy

Posted by Ian Fraser

Daniel Scott-Davies, Archive and Heritage Manager of the Scout Association, has kindly sent through some details of the Asante chest in the Baden Powell collection, to compare with the one on loan to Leeds by the Prince of Wales' Own Regiment of Yorkshire. The Baden-Powell collection chest has very similar chased and beaten motifs visible on its dark brown copper alloy lid, including birds, circles and possibly elephants.

Two bronze or copper alloy loops for attaching locks can be seen on this photograph of the front, where the designs continue. The base seems to project out from the sides at the bottom, and the biggest surprise, evident from the third photograph of the chest when open

is that this chest does not appear to have any wooden European chest core. The underside of the beaten metal work shows clearly on the inside of the lid, and the back.  The description of this chest in the Baden-Powell records is:

"A King’s coffin of an Ashanti Chief made out of brass, 1ft x 1ft x 2ft. Accompanied by a note in Baden-Powell’s own hand about the coffin and burial of an Ashanti King. When the King died the body would have been set out on an ant hill to have the bones picked clean. They would then have been broken up and gilded with the gold he had acquired in his lifetime. Any surplus would have been placed in the coffin and then placed on a mound in the Kings House".

Baden Powell's description of the use of the chest is framed and stored separately. Like the Yorkshire regiment chest this coffin was acquired empty in 1896, as Baden-Powell also took part in the fourth Anglo-Asante war.

Hopefully we can examine the Baden-Powell chest in more detail later this year, and then make a full comparison between it, the one shown in Leeds, and the one in the British Museum.

The Changing Times of Gold Jewellery and Fashion in South Asian CultureA personal comment from Ameena currently an intern on the ‘Voices of Asia’ project at Leeds Museum and Galleries.
In South Asian culture it is customary for the bride to receive gold jewellery in her dowry, as it gives them a ‘measure of economic independence’ and represents their status among the Asian Community. However, jewellery represents much more than this especially to South Asian women. To my mother it was more of a sentimental notion; it deepened the bond between mother and daughter. As on the onset of her wedding, her mother gave her a 24 carat gold set with a deep red, brown carnelian heart shaped stone and gold cutwork around the outer part of the stone. The ring also has a red carnelian stone but is circular and has the same cutwork detailing on the outer part. This set is extremely valuable to my mother not just because it is gold but because of the sentimental value. My grandmother had bought the stone in Saudi Arabia whilst on a religious pilgrimage in 1985 and later, on her arrival in England had the stone set in gold by Asian jewellers on Whetley Hill, Bradford. This set was then given to my mother on the day of her wedding.  The stone, the design was carefully chosen, the heart shaped locket illustrated the strong relationship between mother and daughter and although my mother was leaving her family to be married it showed that the connection with her own family would still be there through this gold set. In later years, my grandmother set the same stone in gold for herself this further suggests that the stone symbolised the relationship between my mother and grandmother.
In Islamic tradition much of the jewellery has a precious stone in it, for example in this gold set it is red carnelian but also turquoise, amethyst, and sapphires are very popular in Saudi Arabia. As according to Muslim belief, stones possess mystic properties and therefore have often been used to inscribe astrological religious or magical inscription on the surface of the stone. Therefore, Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) stamped his foreign letters with a personal seal using a seal ring made out of carnelian stone. Furthermore, the red carnelian is also referred to as the ‘Medina Stone’ and to many South Asians it is known as Aqeeq.  Precious stones are used in the elaborate jewellery of the Mughals, their jewellery was a blend of Islamic, Persian and Hindu influences and more importantly their era changed the design and trends of jewellery in South Asia. For many South Asians today jewellery is seen as a form of insurance and the Mughal’s used their gems as a form of portable wealth. It was used during ‘military campaigns’ as well as bargaining chip with other foreign countries.  My mother’s gold jewellery is influenced by the styles and design of the Mughal period, for instance the deep intense bold carnelian stone, as the Mughal’s adored different bold stones such as emerald and ruby in their jewellery. Also, the heart shaped design is very similar to the yellow heart shaped diamond locket that was given to Mumtaz Mahal by Shah Jahan the Mughal Emperor. This set was remodelled in 2007 when my mother thought it had become a bit outdated. The earrings are no longer dangly and the style of filigree mount has also been changed. The gold set was changed in Pakistan because the jeweller was a part of my families extended network as my mother quotes ‘he is the only jeweller we can trust to give us the same amount of gold and that the purity of the gold will stay the same.’ There are strong kinship networks amongst the South Asian community in both Pakistan and England.  For example my grandmother went to this jeweller and then later my mother and aunty. Traditional gold jewellery sets like this one binds families together as well as illustrate the strong ties to their native country. The price of gold has soared over the years and it has become difficult for many people to buy gold. Furthermore, many newer designs contain more beaded work rather than being just gold. These earrings were given to Leeds Museums and Galleries by Mr Abad Ali and were made in 1975. This design is known as Karanphul jumkha, made of gold wire and is 22 carat gold. The upper part of the earring is in shape of a five petal flower (phul) with pink glass set in the centre. The lower part is a semicircular dome form known as jumkha which means a bunch of flowers. The pendant fringe at the bottom of the dome is known as jhumna. This is a classical Mughal design which is often interpreted in a variety of styles. The beauty, fragrance and attractiveness of a flower in jewellery represent romance in South Asian culture which is similar to the symbolism of the heart shaped stone in my mothers’ gold set.  To South Asian women, jewellery reflects their identity and connects them to their native country. As the design of the earrings and my mothers’ set have been influenced by the Mughal period and South Asian culture. From the 1950s following the influx of South Asians in Britain, jewellery designs developed further, mixing both eastern and western culture.  For instance, at an Asian wedding now, many brides tend to wear more artificial jewellery rather than traditional gold as shown in Asiana magazine.  This is because of a number of reasons, one being the artificial jewellery is more affordable, it can be matched with any outfit and therefore can be wore again. Times have changed; there is a more of contemporary, practical take on traditional styles gold of jewellery, thus creating a new style of jewellery.

With the generous help of The Friends of Leeds City Museums, we have recently purchased a silver snuff box. We already have several in the museum collection, but this one stood out – not for its decorative qualities – but because it was owned by J. Hainsworth.




Hainsworth was a police inspector in Leeds, having been appointed by the Watch Committee. He is referred to in Leeds trade directories relating to 1837, 1839, 1842 and 1843. To the modern citizen, this is nothing new or exciting – we have police all over the city. The difference with Hainsworth and his contemporaries is that they were the original police. The Leeds City Police force was first formed in 1836, with as few as 20 day officers and a chief constable. The force disappeared in 1974, when it underwent a merger to become part of the West Yorkshire Metropolitan Police.

By 1841, the Leeds City Police had reached 133 officers. The book ‘The Leeds Police 1836-1974’, lists for 1841 “the arms, accoutrements, clothing and other necessaries for the Day Police”:
“1 Constable’s staff, 1 pair of handcuffs, 1 walking stick (note, this is paid for by the Constable himself), 1 dark blue top coat, 1 blue dress coat or body coat, 1 black stock or collar and clasp, 1 box of Crumb’s yellow, 1 button brush, 1 oil cape case, 2 pairs of shoes per annum, 1 pair of blue pantaloons, 2 pairs of white drill pantaloons, 1 hat, 1 armlet to denote when on duty (note: the armlet is not worn by the Inspector but only by the Sergeants and Policemen), 1 printed book on instructions, 1 leather waist belt, 1 pair of white cotton gloves, 1 button stick”
Most items on the list are familiar, but others such as Crumb’s yellow are more of a mystery. We have not found out exactly what it is, but are leaning towards a cleaning substance as it is listed next to the button brush. There were also 40 cutlasses available if needed, but these were more for appearances than everyday use.


A 1974 postcard from when the Leeds City Police were merged with other forces.  It represents a policeman from the period 1836-1860.
The sorts of incidents dealt with by Hainsworth have been recorded in the local press. Not every crime was recorded in this way, but the occasional report appears in the Leeds Mercury or other local papers from the time. For example, this piece, taken from the Northern Star and Leeds General Advertiser, April 27th 1839, goes under the heading of Sunday gambling:

Three young men were brought up at the Court House, on Monday, charged by the churchwardens of the parish with having been found gambling on the previous day, in a lane in Burmantofts. Inspector Hainsworth stated that one of them, on his approach, drew a knife from his pocket, with which he threatened to stab any one who should lay hands on him. They were reprimanded by the Bench, and liberated on entering into their own recognizances for their good behaviour for six months.”
Whilst there are undoubtedly familiar aspects to this statement, there are some obvious differences. Nowadays, football matches are just one of the many organised sports played on Sundays, with people being able to bet as they are any other day of the week, and I doubt that any criminal would be let off on a good behaviour bond for threatening a modern police officer with a knife.
As well as small incidents like the one above, there were far more serious issues that Hainsworth and his colleagues would have had to deal with – for instance in August 1842, they had to deal with the Holbeck and Hunslet Chartist Riots. Around 1,600 special constables were sworn in to assist the regular police, alongside soldiers from the Yorkshire Regiment and 17th Lancers and even horse artillery. They had to contend with a mob travelling from one mill to the next, where violent disturbances quickly followed.

Events came to a head when Chief Constable Read managed to beat most of the mob to a mill on Dewsbury Road, and locked a few inside the mill whilst ensuring the others could not get in. A large number of the special constables then caught up with the mob where the Riot Act was read, the crowd told to disperse and 38 people were arrested. Sentences for those convicted ranged from being bound over to keep the peace, to being deported for several years.


An example of a police sword from the museum collection - probably a little after Joseph Hainsworth's time as it was used in the 1889 Gas Riots.
Overall, some aspects of modern policing would be unrecognisable to their predecessors such as Hainsworth, but in some ways the challenge remains the same – maintaining law and order and keeping the people of Leeds safe and riot free.
Written by Nicola, researched by our placement student Hollie Scott from Leeds Trinity University College.



Ellen Terry as Portia (Merchant of Venice),
sketched by Jim Dodgson (Kester),
a member of the Leeds Savage Club.
This was probably during her 1902 tour. The renowned Shakespearean actress Ellen Terry (1847-1928) visited Leeds many times during her career and performed with her stage partner Henry Irving at the Leeds Grand Theatre on many occasions.

We have a number of items in the Leeds museum and gallery collections relating to this great actress and they feature in the new "Performance" exhibition now open at Abbey House Museum (until December 2012).  The display includes a beautiful cream silk dress which was reputedly designed for Ellen Terry and was worn by the actress K.L. Langstaffe when playing Desdemona in 1898.  It was originally made by a top London dressmaker, Alice Mason of 4 New Burlington St. and has been lovingly conserved by Jacqueline Hyman of Heritage Science Services (http://www.textilerestoration.co.uk/).   Jacqueline says that she felt a personal connection to the dress as she was working on it because her great-grandfather had owned a theatre in Leeds and actually knew Ellen Terry, naming Jacqueline's grandmother Ellen in her honour.

Textile conservator Jacqueline Hyman
making final adjustments to the Ellen Terry
dress for display at Abbey House.
Leeds Grand Theatre, New Briggate, Sept. 8th 1881,
Henry Irving and Ellen Terry's performance of "Hamlet"
Medallion of Ellen Terry, 1936 (plaster)
by Albert Toft (1862-1949)



Trawling through the industrial collection's accession registers this morning, I have managed to unearth the hidden story behind one of the many unprovenanced decorative Victorian tea services we have in our stores.

The story highlights the fact that although women and girls may have formed a good percentage of the workforce in many industrial mills and factories, they were not supposed to continue to work once they married.

Miss Emma Bradley (the donor's grandmother) worked for John Barran & Son Ltd. as a tailor and machinist until her marriage.  It was the practice of the firm to retire female workers when they married and this tea set was the firm's gift on this compulsory retirement.

John Barran was a pioneer in the manufacture of ready-to-wear clothing.  He started of as a traditional tailor in 1842 but soon expanded his business on an industrial scale, taking advantage of new technology such as the sewing machine.  In 1856 he had a factory with 20-30 sewing machine and in 1858 he introduced the use of a bandsaw to cut cloth.  By the 1870s he had 2,000 machines and by 1904 he employed 3,000 people.

Wool cuttling machine for folding cloth from John Barran & Sons Ltd,
on display at Leeds Industrial Museum (Armley Mills)
Female Learners Certificate of Employment
 issued by John Barran & Sons Limited, Leeds
to Amy Evelyn Brown in 1912. 
On display in The Leeds Story, Leeds City Museum

Shoes are a necessary part of our lives and have been for thousands of years. The earliest known shoe found in Minnesota, US is over 8,000 years old! Early shoes were made for their practicality. The wearer was not particularly concerned with how well the shoes complimented their outfit, the drier their feet were kept was of far more concern.


As time wore shoes began to take on greater importance as they indicated the level of a person’s social and economic status. They were the ultimate accessory to compliment one’s outfit and changed almost as frequently as they do today. The more elaborate and decorative the shoe, the more their practicality and ability to be worn easily diminished. From medieval men’s ‘poulaines’, shoes with such long pointy toes that laws needed passing to limit their size to the ‘platforms’ of the 1970s, shoe styles have significantly varied.

Black synthetic platforms bought in 1974 for £10.99 and worn by a 16yr old Leeds girl
During the seventeenth century the development of a proper heel and arched sole became the shoe fashion ideal. In France during the reign of Louis XVI (1638-1715) high heels became very popular for men. Having shapely legs became a dominant fashion feature for both men and women and having beautifully decorated shoes to accentuate those legs was of the up most importance.


Female silk brocade shoes with pattern, 1730-1740

By the nineteenth century shoes began to differentiate between left and right. Before that shoes had been made as ‘straights’. The fashion mood became more sober and women’s shoes had more subdued colours. The feet were expected to look small and delicate as befitting ‘gentle birth’ and women were encouraged to ‘pinch their feet into small shoes’. During this time shoes also began to be mass produced in factories rather than in small shoemakers’ shops meaning that cheaper shoes were more widely available. Outdoor sports also began to have an impact on the types of shoes produced.


Black patent leather slip on shoes with blue silk embroidery, 1865-1875
Moving into the twentieth century, the wars dictated the fashion of shoes. During WW2 the ‘peep toe’ shoe, considered frivolous and potentially dangerous was banned until the end of the war. The subcultures that appeared in the 1970s such as punk greatly influenced shoe fashions and shoes were produced that reflected this.

Leeds Museums’ collection has examples of shoes made by famous designers such as Walter Steiger and Vivenne Westwood. As well as high street names like Dolcis and Bally. These shoes were bought and worn by Leeds inhabitants.


Red satin shoes made by Dolcis, 1960


Walter Steiger evening shoes bought for dancing, 1980-1985
Nowadays shoes come in many varieties to go with the changing seasons, different outfits and all kinds of activities. How many pairs of shoes do you have?

By Georgie Cash