Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

B.I · 26th May 2005, 05:59 PM

it seems i've hit a real nerve, and its good we all share the same views.
thank you michal for your insight, and none of us would dream this could ever happen in your museum :-)
jens and i discussed this some time ago, when the V&A put their weapons away. but, their reasons were valid and the main criteria of every museum is to keep the doors open, and in doing so they have to cater for the popular demands.
i hope no-one feels that all english museums are like this. far from it. the main institutions are passionate about their conservation and the pieces, even in storage, are well looked after.
however, every town has a museum of sorts, and every city has a number of them. with smaller cities, the museums tend to share teams. most will not have an arms or military department. and so, any arms or militaria will be thrown under the jurisdiction of another department. the head of this department/curator will be just as keen to look after what they have, but as its not their field of knowledge/possibility of being on display/funds or team to look after them they eventually fall into disrepair.
each piece i pulled out i showed to the curator, who promised it would be looked into, which i believe. but, the impression i got was the rest would have a long wait.
also, another point that was made. i'm sure the museum will gladly give the collection to another museum, but who is going to take it? the major institutions have enough trouble looking after their own. smaller museums dont have the time/space or experience to house these pieces so they are stuck with them.
also, majore pieces were sold off years ago, that i'm sure now woul dbe looked after and displayed. i know of a number of collections that dont exist anymore, that had items that were of national importance. at the time, however, no one was interested.
also, there is no way someone can walk off the street and offer to conserve them. i know from my own experience, there are enough collectors who claim to know what they are doing and destroy weapons in a shoddy attempt to restore them. (please know, i'm not hinting at forum collectors, but the novice at arms fairs). so, maybe less damage would occur in leaving them as they are in the hope that someone in-house can be persuaded to show an interest.

a good example, but will have to be a little vague. i know a museum with a large collection of arms. in the department i am interested in , there is no head, but it is overseen by other departments who, although very competent, dont have a real interest in the pieces in this part of the collection. there is a guy in administration, that has a personal passion for part of history, that runs alongside my own interests. and so, he spends all his spare time researching the arms collection, which includes updating the inventory, helping with the conservation and putting up with me now and then :-)

so, we can only hope to inspire, conspire and collude with all others with the same interest and hope things change for the better.

26th May 2005, 05:59 PM	#17
B.I Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 485	it seems i've hit a real nerve, and its good we all share the same views. thank you michal for your insight, and none of us would dream this could ever happen in your museum :-) jens and i discussed this some time ago, when the V&A put their weapons away. but, their reasons were valid and the main criteria of every museum is to keep the doors open, and in doing so they have to cater for the popular demands. i hope no-one feels that all english museums are like this. far from it. the main institutions are passionate about their conservation and the pieces, even in storage, are well looked after. however, every town has a museum of sorts, and every city has a number of them. with smaller cities, the museums tend to share teams. most will not have an arms or military department. and so, any arms or militaria will be thrown under the jurisdiction of another department. the head of this department/curator will be just as keen to look after what they have, but as its not their field of knowledge/possibility of being on display/funds or team to look after them they eventually fall into disrepair. each piece i pulled out i showed to the curator, who promised it would be looked into, which i believe. but, the impression i got was the rest would have a long wait. also, another point that was made. i'm sure the museum will gladly give the collection to another museum, but who is going to take it? the major institutions have enough trouble looking after their own. smaller museums dont have the time/space or experience to house these pieces so they are stuck with them. also, majore pieces were sold off years ago, that i'm sure now woul dbe looked after and displayed. i know of a number of collections that dont exist anymore, that had items that were of national importance. at the time, however, no one was interested. also, there is no way someone can walk off the street and offer to conserve them. i know from my own experience, there are enough collectors who claim to know what they are doing and destroy weapons in a shoddy attempt to restore them. (please know, i'm not hinting at forum collectors, but the novice at arms fairs). so, maybe less damage would occur in leaving them as they are in the hope that someone in-house can be persuaded to show an interest. a good example, but will have to be a little vague. i know a museum with a large collection of arms. in the department i am interested in , there is no head, but it is overseen by other departments who, although very competent, dont have a real interest in the pieces in this part of the collection. there is a guy in administration, that has a personal passion for part of history, that runs alongside my own interests. and so, he spends all his spare time researching the arms collection, which includes updating the inventory, helping with the conservation and putting up with me now and then :-) so, we can only hope to inspire, conspire and collude with all others with the same interest and hope things change for the better.