WHAT SHOULD MILITARY MUSEUM LOOK LIKE

IainN · 22nd May 2006, 10:29 PM

I have a few observations from my personal experiences and what I've found to like and not like.

Firstly with display cases, I have found display cases which are mounted flush against the walls of the room to be quite aggravating. As an enthusiast I do not want to be limited to seeing only one side or view of a piece. Light is extremely important not only for viewing but for taking photos. To few museums take into account that many visitors will want to take photos. The only way to allow for this is to have as much natural light as possible in the display area. My suggestion for display is to place the cases in the middle of the hall, making the pieces viewable from all sides, mount pieces where applicable on clear plastic mounts without solid backgrounds (what I mean is to avoid the type of display were the sword is mounted on say a red fabric background). From the couple of pictures you posted it appears that your building already has windows in some of the halls? This is wonderful I think, to often arms&armor displays are dimly lit. In general I like galleries that feel open and airy and allow me to decide my viewing angle. Having a selection of couches or benches in the gallery is also always appreciated.

With regards to materials to be displayed I would put a heavy focus on creating displays with mannequins, costumes, and props when possible, I like seeing a "scene". Perhaps a large display along these lines could be the centerpiece of each gallery with additional cases displaying accompanying artifacts. Personally I think it helps bring pieces to life to see them in context and helps generate interest from the general public who would otherwise find them somewhat boring. For exceptional pieces however, I personally appreciate "stand alone" displays for maximum viewing where the piece is not at a viewing disadvantage from being in context (such as belted at the side of a mannequin). Decorating the galleries themselves to go with the theme of the objects on display might also be a consideration. I like the feeling of changing time periods and places when I move from one room to the next, rather than having the same old "museum room" feel to every gallery.

In terms of written material to be displayed with the pieces one thing I wish museums would do is give more detailed descriptions. To often a piece is only accompanied by a small card giving the dating of the piece, country or tribe of origin and little else. Using period illustrations and photographs to accompany the description would also be very nice to see.

I'm looking forward to seeing this thread develop, I think some very useful and insightful ideas will come out of it.

I'm actually planning to be in Krakow this fall so I'm rather excited hear about the items on display and what direction the displays might go. I'm certainly planning on making a visit, from the photos the museum already looks quite nice.

Rick · 22nd May 2006, 11:05 PM

Wolviex , I would like to share with you pictures from the History of Steel exhibition but I cannot at present without Antonio's permission .
I would strongly suggest that you PM him with your questions or ask him to participate in this thread ; museum display is Antonio's career so I think you would find his input invaluable .
Sooner or later the website for History of Steel will be available to see but I cannot tell you when .

Here is the website from his last exhibition Masters of Fire
http://www.arscives.com/mastersofire/Default.htm

VANDOO · 22nd May 2006, 11:18 PM

PLANNING A MUSEUM THAT COVERS EVERYONES INTRESTS IS VERY DIFFICULT. A EXPERT ON PERIOD UNIFORMS AND ACCOUNTERMENTS WOULD BE CONTENT TO GO FROM CASE TO CASE STUDIEING THE DIFFERENCES FROM PERIOD TO PERIOD. YOUNG PEOPLE AND THOSE WHO HAVE NO KNOWLEGE OR INTREST IN SUCH THINGS MIGHT BECOME MORE INTERESTED IF YOU HAD A FEW GROUPS OF MANIKINS MIXED IN SHOWING COMBAT BETWEEN ENEMYS FROM THE PERIOD WITH SOME BREIF DESCRIPTIONS OF TACTICICS, ARMAMENTS AND FAMOUS BATTLES. A MUSEUM I VISITED NOT TOO LONG AGO HAD SEVERAL SUCH TABLEAU ONE WAS ZULU WARRIORS VS. BRITISH TROOPS. PICTURES OF BATTLES ARE ALSO INTERESTING TO ALL VISITORS.
I LIKE THINGS GROUPED TOGETHER BY PERIOD AND LIKE TO SEE THE WEAPONS OF THE ENEMY AS WELL AS THE HOME COUNTRYS. I LIKE DISPLAYS THAT ARE WELL BALANCED AND DISPLAYED NOT CLUTTERED. I ALSO LIKE TO SEE AS MANY EXAMPLES OF DIFFERENT WEAPONS AS POSSIBLE WHICH CAN BE DONE WITHOUT LOOKING CLUTTERED IF ARRANGED IN PATTERNS AS IN OLD MUSEUM EXHIBITS. WHAT THRILLS A SCHOLAR OR COLLECTOR USUALLY DOSEN'T IMPRESS THE GENERAL PUBLIC SO IT TAKES SOMETHING SPECTACULAR TO STICK IN THEIR MEMORY. I SAW THE EXHIBIT FROM THE ARMORY AT GRATZ AND THEY HAD A PARTIAL ROOM AS WELL AS PICTURES OF THE ARMORY WHICH ALOWED YOU TO SEE JUST HOW IT LOOKED AS WELL AS HOW LARGE IT WAS.

SPACE , ROOM AND FUNDS ARE ALWAYS LIMITING FACTORS AS TO WHAT YOU CAN DO BUT YOU DO NEED SOME IMPRESSIVE EYE CATCHING DISPLAYS TO MAKE A LASTING IMPRESSION. I LIKE THE WAY THE MUSEUM LOOKS IN YOUR PICTURES, I WILL THINK ON OTHER POSSIBLE SUGGESTIONS.

wolviex · 23rd May 2006, 07:51 AM

Thank you very much!
I'm happy we all agree that scenes with mannequins are attractive. On present exhibition uniforms are shown one by one standing still, and it's good for expert but common people get used to bored very quickly after seeing two, three cases. On mannequins, as we agreed, all becomes to life, and expression as well as perception is quite different. Of course this makes some problems. Each uniform needs mannequin made individually, there are also technical problems. Arms, legs have to be made as separate parts to make it possible to put, often very tight uniform, on mannequin.
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!

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.

wolviex · 23rd May 2006, 08:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VANDOO

I ALSO LIKE TO SEE AS MANY EXAMPLES OF DIFFERENT WEAPONS AS POSSIBLE WHICH CAN BE DONE WITHOUT LOOKING CLUTTERED IF ARRANGED IN PATTERNS AS IN OLD MUSEUM EXHIBITS.

I agree with that, I belive you mean i.e. panoplies full of weapons on the wall . I like it too and I believe there will be some

especially if there is to many common weapons to show individually in showcases.

22nd May 2006, 11:18 PM	#3
VANDOO (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: OKLAHOMA, USA Posts: 3,138	PLANNING A MUSEUM THAT COVERS EVERYONES INTRESTS IS VERY DIFFICULT. A EXPERT ON PERIOD UNIFORMS AND ACCOUNTERMENTS WOULD BE CONTENT TO GO FROM CASE TO CASE STUDIEING THE DIFFERENCES FROM PERIOD TO PERIOD. YOUNG PEOPLE AND THOSE WHO HAVE NO KNOWLEGE OR INTREST IN SUCH THINGS MIGHT BECOME MORE INTERESTED IF YOU HAD A FEW GROUPS OF MANIKINS MIXED IN SHOWING COMBAT BETWEEN ENEMYS FROM THE PERIOD WITH SOME BREIF DESCRIPTIONS OF TACTICICS, ARMAMENTS AND FAMOUS BATTLES. A MUSEUM I VISITED NOT TOO LONG AGO HAD SEVERAL SUCH TABLEAU ONE WAS ZULU WARRIORS VS. BRITISH TROOPS. PICTURES OF BATTLES ARE ALSO INTERESTING TO ALL VISITORS. I LIKE THINGS GROUPED TOGETHER BY PERIOD AND LIKE TO SEE THE WEAPONS OF THE ENEMY AS WELL AS THE HOME COUNTRYS. I LIKE DISPLAYS THAT ARE WELL BALANCED AND DISPLAYED NOT CLUTTERED. I ALSO LIKE TO SEE AS MANY EXAMPLES OF DIFFERENT WEAPONS AS POSSIBLE WHICH CAN BE DONE WITHOUT LOOKING CLUTTERED IF ARRANGED IN PATTERNS AS IN OLD MUSEUM EXHIBITS. WHAT THRILLS A SCHOLAR OR COLLECTOR USUALLY DOSEN'T IMPRESS THE GENERAL PUBLIC SO IT TAKES SOMETHING SPECTACULAR TO STICK IN THEIR MEMORY. I SAW THE EXHIBIT FROM THE ARMORY AT GRATZ AND THEY HAD A PARTIAL ROOM AS WELL AS PICTURES OF THE ARMORY WHICH ALOWED YOU TO SEE JUST HOW IT LOOKED AS WELL AS HOW LARGE IT WAS. SPACE , ROOM AND FUNDS ARE ALWAYS LIMITING FACTORS AS TO WHAT YOU CAN DO BUT YOU DO NEED SOME IMPRESSIVE EYE CATCHING DISPLAYS TO MAKE A LASTING IMPRESSION. I LIKE THE WAY THE MUSEUM LOOKS IN YOUR PICTURES, I WILL THINK ON OTHER POSSIBLE SUGGESTIONS. Last edited by VANDOO; 23rd May 2006 at 12:57 AM.

23rd May 2006, 03:25 PM	#6
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.

22nd May 2006, 10:29 PM	#1
IainN Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 31	I have a few observations from my personal experiences and what I've found to like and not like. Firstly with display cases, I have found display cases which are mounted flush against the walls of the room to be quite aggravating. As an enthusiast I do not want to be limited to seeing only one side or view of a piece. Light is extremely important not only for viewing but for taking photos. To few museums take into account that many visitors will want to take photos. The only way to allow for this is to have as much natural light as possible in the display area. My suggestion for display is to place the cases in the middle of the hall, making the pieces viewable from all sides, mount pieces where applicable on clear plastic mounts without solid backgrounds (what I mean is to avoid the type of display were the sword is mounted on say a red fabric background). From the couple of pictures you posted it appears that your building already has windows in some of the halls? This is wonderful I think, to often arms&armor displays are dimly lit. In general I like galleries that feel open and airy and allow me to decide my viewing angle. Having a selection of couches or benches in the gallery is also always appreciated. With regards to materials to be displayed I would put a heavy focus on creating displays with mannequins, costumes, and props when possible, I like seeing a "scene". Perhaps a large display along these lines could be the centerpiece of each gallery with additional cases displaying accompanying artifacts. Personally I think it helps bring pieces to life to see them in context and helps generate interest from the general public who would otherwise find them somewhat boring. For exceptional pieces however, I personally appreciate "stand alone" displays for maximum viewing where the piece is not at a viewing disadvantage from being in context (such as belted at the side of a mannequin). Decorating the galleries themselves to go with the theme of the objects on display might also be a consideration. I like the feeling of changing time periods and places when I move from one room to the next, rather than having the same old "museum room" feel to every gallery. In terms of written material to be displayed with the pieces one thing I wish museums would do is give more detailed descriptions. To often a piece is only accompanied by a small card giving the dating of the piece, country or tribe of origin and little else. Using period illustrations and photographs to accompany the description would also be very nice to see. I'm looking forward to seeing this thread develop, I think some very useful and insightful ideas will come out of it. I'm actually planning to be in Krakow this fall so I'm rather excited hear about the items on display and what direction the displays might go. I'm certainly planning on making a visit, from the photos the museum already looks quite nice.

22nd May 2006, 11:05 PM	#2
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,339	Wolviex , I would like to share with you pictures from the History of Steel exhibition but I cannot at present without Antonio's permission . I would strongly suggest that you PM him with your questions or ask him to participate in this thread ; museum display is Antonio's career so I think you would find his input invaluable . Sooner or later the website for History of Steel will be available to see but I cannot tell you when . Here is the website from his last exhibition Masters of Fire http://www.arscives.com/mastersofire/Default.htm

23rd May 2006, 07:51 AM	#4
wolviex Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Poland, Krakow Posts: 418	Thank you very much! I'm happy we all agree that scenes with mannequins are attractive. On present exhibition uniforms are shown one by one standing still, and it's good for expert but common people get used to bored very quickly after seeing two, three cases. On mannequins, as we agreed, all becomes to life, and expression as well as perception is quite different. Of course this makes some problems. Each uniform needs mannequin made individually, there are also technical problems. Arms, legs have to be made as separate parts to make it possible to put, often very tight uniform, on mannequin. 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!