Visit to
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
with the largest public collection of Pre-Raphaelite Art in the world. Wonderful!
Most of my photos suffered from reflected light unfortunately!
La Donna della Finestra. Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Unfinished oil on canvas.
John Everett Millais, The Blind Girl. 1854-6. Oil on canvas.
The Sorceress Medea, Gabriel Dante Rossetti.
Also well worth a look is the exhibition of 'The Staffordshire Hoard'. Photographs aren't allowed. There's a short informative film clip to sit and watch and on show are examples of fragments found at the site near Lichfield. Visitors have the opportunity to handle a replica of a Saxon sword and dagger to experience their weight!
Currently on show too and 'a must to see' is
'STYLE AFRICA'
A journey through the textiles of West Africa, created by a team of young exhibition designers. It explores the traditional and contemporary textiles and clothing which form an essential part of West African culture.
31st. March - 2nd. September 2012.
Activities, events and talks - wax print bracelets, Adinkra printing, Kente cloth weaving and guided tours of the exhibition.
A journey through the textiles of West Africa, created by a team of young exhibition designers. It explores the traditional and contemporary textiles and clothing which form an essential part of West African culture.
31st. March - 2nd. September 2012.
Activities, events and talks - wax print bracelets, Adinkra printing, Kente cloth weaving and guided tours of the exhibition.
Example of Woven Cloth.
Using vibrant woven, printed, dyed and embroidered cloth from Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, the exhibition focuses on textile techniques and the ways in which clothing can communicate identity and individual style.
The light and airy Edwardian Tearoom on the premises is to be recommended too. The ambiance is friendly and both morning coffee and lunch were excellent!
Going back to the art on show - the paintings are amazing but don't you just love the frames too!
The museum has an array of worldwide textiles and fashion. For example these 19th. century North American beaded moccasins.
and these 19th. century Tanana people beaded gloves.
The patterns on this barkcloth tablecloth from Polynesia are simply gorgeous.
These lovely bobbins are part of a display of English lacemaking.
There's much, much more to see of course. I'm planning a return visit very soon!
Aren't we lucky to have all these treasures on our doorstep? I used to go to the museum nearly every week when I was younger. The PreRaphaelites were the main attraction but upstairs was the Natural History collection which I loved and there was also a whole room dedicated to Ancient Egypt. The mummy wrappings fascinated me - especially those of a cat and a sacred ibis! Those rooms are currently being renovated and are closed to the public. It'll be exciting to see what they've done to them!
ReplyDeleteWe're certainly very lucky to have so many treasures available to us locally. The Museum's Natural History collections upstairs are partly closed due to renovation but there are still many of the Ancient Egyptian artefacts on show including the mummified cat, sacred ibis and snake! 'How on earth was a snake mummified?' I hear you ask - rolled up into a ball is the answer!
DeleteThanks for sharing your visit!
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