WHAT SHOULD MILITARY MUSEUM LOOK LIKE

IainN · 23rd May 2006, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolviex

IainN: I really appreciate your contribution, and I agree with most what you wrote. But reality is cruel and many things are just impossible or very hard to get. DAYLIGHT is great, as natural source. But unfortunatelly it is deadly for many objects like textiles, paper and lately even Japanese lake. So it is not possible to keep it on many exhibitions. Present exhibition is full of daylight (thought because of uniforms it shouldn't be) and there is other problem of reflections on showcase glass - you can hardly see what is inside, and taking pictures is just a horror. So artificial light is the only solution, I think.
As you, I like to have possibility to see objects from all possible sides, and I wouldn't like to change it because many objects on present exhibition is presented that way. But some of them are "mounted on a red fabric background"

We have already very detailed objects descriptions - well don't we have almost perfect exhibition already?
Anyway plans are quite big, money is first thing and there is always lack of it, but I believe the next few years will let us to make one of the greatest arms and armour exhibition in Europe

Regards!

Hi Michal,

I understand that issues surround having natural light on the displays, correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression it was not an issue so much for wood and iron/steel? Perhaps displays of just weaponry could be exhibited in the naturally lit areas? However you obviously have the technical knowledge to know what's possible here. I'm just a museum goer.

My only other thought right now is perhaps looking into anti-reflection glass? A quick google search brought up this company http://www.denglas.com/, but perhaps you are already considering this. Unfortunately I believe it is quite expensive.

As I said before, I'm quite looking forward visiting Krakow this fall, is the Muzeum Narodowe W Krakowie the museum under discussion?

Mark · 23rd May 2006, 03:25 PM

You have a great project going here, Michal.

Expanding on IaianN's suggestion of walk-around cases - a set up such as there is presently, while maximizing the use of the space and making possible "front-and-back" display, makes for very poor traffic flow IMO. You end up bumping into people going in and out of the alcoves, even with a fairly light crowd. I suggest orienting the cases length-wise (or at least allow room to go completely around a horizontally-oriented case), so that one can walk up and down isles (or zig-zag). I would not exclude the use of wall cases for those items that are essentially the same front and back (such as banners, and many swords). Panolpies are interesting and dramatic, but I find that sometimes they are overwhelming if they are too large, and/or placed too far way to see well the individual pieces. To me the most important thing is to be able to press my face up against the glass for a few minutes and really study the piece.

Lighting. I don't know enough about the physics of it, but I know that it is the UV which is the most damaging to things like leather, cloth and ivory. The heat generated by direct sunlight is another issue, but that can be addressed with cooling I think, or as I see you have already done, by making windows semi-opaque, which makes for better lighting anyway). Can the damaging effect of sunlight be eliminated, or at least lessened, by putting a UV filtering coating on the windows, and using UV filtering glass (or coating) on the display cases? Otherwise, I agree that the windows need to be covered. Wood can be seriously damaged, both by fading and on a basic structural level, by UV light. You should see the hardwood floors in my house where I haven't put in shades yet.

I like the mix of content you propose, but don't have any specific suggestions, since I don't know much at all about the area/period isn't. I can say that I like to see things displayed in an historical way, so that you can see the evolution or development of weapons almost as a progessing story, in addition to the variations present in a particular period. And part of what I mean is that as much as possible have the spectrum of items of a particular type displayed this way (for example, sabres together to show their progression, showing the changing uniform types, harness, etc.). Having some full mock-up displays pulling everything together could be a way of showing how all of the equipment would work together - like a mannequin or stand of a fully-armed infantryman, or a mounted Hussar - but I would not use this as a way of presenting any basic material since the individual items get lost somewhat the mix. I like Barry's suggestion that the weapons of enemies also be displayed in the same context.

There are some photos of the set-up of the History of Steel exhibition in the sticky thread above, and Antonio has posted some more photos/links on his forum here. You can see the idea of the traffic flow, though they did use a wall-mounting approach. Everything is arranged by general culture/geographic area, and within each section the items are grouped in a logical progression of style and form, within each cultural sub-class as much as possible, and to show how they might have influenced each other. For example, Andrew, Ian and I arranged the Continental Southeast Asian section by grouping the items according to the most distinct cultural divisions - Burman, Kachin, Shan/Tai Yuan, Southern Thai, Cambodian, etc., then within each division arranged the items as best we could according to age and/or to show a progression or inter-relationship of style. Wherever possible, stylistic transitions between the divisions was emphased. I think the lighting for the exhibition was very well done - having the room quite dim and the displays lit against a black background so that the focus is completely on them without distractions, and making them appear to almost float in the space.

23rd May 2006, 03:25 PM	#2
Mark Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 987	You have a great project going here, Michal. Expanding on IaianN's suggestion of walk-around cases - a set up such as there is presently, while maximizing the use of the space and making possible "front-and-back" display, makes for very poor traffic flow IMO. You end up bumping into people going in and out of the alcoves, even with a fairly light crowd. I suggest orienting the cases length-wise (or at least allow room to go completely around a horizontally-oriented case), so that one can walk up and down isles (or zig-zag). I would not exclude the use of wall cases for those items that are essentially the same front and back (such as banners, and many swords). Panolpies are interesting and dramatic, but I find that sometimes they are overwhelming if they are too large, and/or placed too far way to see well the individual pieces. To me the most important thing is to be able to press my face up against the glass for a few minutes and really study the piece. Lighting. I don't know enough about the physics of it, but I know that it is the UV which is the most damaging to things like leather, cloth and ivory. The heat generated by direct sunlight is another issue, but that can be addressed with cooling I think, or as I see you have already done, by making windows semi-opaque, which makes for better lighting anyway). Can the damaging effect of sunlight be eliminated, or at least lessened, by putting a UV filtering coating on the windows, and using UV filtering glass (or coating) on the display cases? Otherwise, I agree that the windows need to be covered. Wood can be seriously damaged, both by fading and on a basic structural level, by UV light. You should see the hardwood floors in my house where I haven't put in shades yet. I like the mix of content you propose, but don't have any specific suggestions, since I don't know much at all about the area/period isn't. I can say that I like to see things displayed in an historical way, so that you can see the evolution or development of weapons almost as a progessing story, in addition to the variations present in a particular period. And part of what I mean is that as much as possible have the spectrum of items of a particular type displayed this way (for example, sabres together to show their progression, showing the changing uniform types, harness, etc.). Having some full mock-up displays pulling everything together could be a way of showing how all of the equipment would work together - like a mannequin or stand of a fully-armed infantryman, or a mounted Hussar - but I would not use this as a way of presenting any basic material since the individual items get lost somewhat the mix. I like Barry's suggestion that the weapons of enemies also be displayed in the same context. There are some photos of the set-up of the History of Steel exhibition in the sticky thread above, and Antonio has posted some more photos/links on his forum here. You can see the idea of the traffic flow, though they did use a wall-mounting approach. Everything is arranged by general culture/geographic area, and within each section the items are grouped in a logical progression of style and form, within each cultural sub-class as much as possible, and to show how they might have influenced each other. For example, Andrew, Ian and I arranged the Continental Southeast Asian section by grouping the items according to the most distinct cultural divisions - Burman, Kachin, Shan/Tai Yuan, Southern Thai, Cambodian, etc., then within each division arranged the items as best we could according to age and/or to show a progression or inter-relationship of style. Wherever possible, stylistic transitions between the divisions was emphased. I think the lighting for the exhibition was very well done - having the room quite dim and the displays lit against a black background so that the focus is completely on them without distractions, and making them appear to almost float in the space. Last edited by Mark Bowditch; 23rd May 2006 at 03:44 PM.