York Museums Trust Blog

Find out more about these fascinating, legendary fossils.
Whitby Snakestone
The folklore of snakestones in the Whitby area dates back to at least the 16th Century. In “Britannia”, 1586, William Camden records stones from Whitby which “if you break them you find within stony serpents, wreathed up in circles, but generally without heads”.
Legend has it that when the abbey at Whitby was built it was infested with snakes. The Abbess of the time, St Hilda turned them into stone at which point they lost their heads. In later years local fossil dealers sometimes restored their heads by carving them onto ammonites found on the shore. This is one such example. In this case the ammonite is Hildoceras bifrons, the scientific name in memory of St Hilda.

In store, Geology Collection, Yorkshire Museum

We are relaunching ‘Collections Snapshot’. We will regularly look at the story behind interesting objects from our collections. Our first object is:

Victoria Cross

In store, Castle Museum, Military History Collection

This was awarded to Lieutenant Humphrey Osbaldston Brooke Firman, Royal Navy, for bravery after his death on 24th April 1916.  On this night, in Mesopotamia, he lead an attempt to bring supplies to the force. However, they were brought under heavy artillery fire at Kut-el-Amara. Lieutenant Firman and several of his crew from the ‘SS Julnar’ were killed, while the survivors and supplies were captured.
Recently, on 24th April 2008, a Service of Dedication took place for a memorial plaque commemorating Lieutenant Firman, at the War Memorial in New Malden. We were unable to lend the medal for the ceremony but we provided large scale copies of an image of the medal. This was much appreciated by the Memorial Committee.

This lovely armchair is made from oak and was made in one of a group of workshops operating in the Leeds area at this time. The decoration is Elizabethan in style and so perhaps a bit old fashioned for the time of its production. The chair was probably made for one of the new breed of Yorkshire gentlemen whose fortunes were based in the affluent towns of the West Riding, at the centre of the English clothing industry.

This group of furniture makers produced various forms at this period including chairs, chests and cupboards. Their work is characterised by its extremely good workmanship and decoration.

The distinctive design features of these workshops which can be seen in this chair include the double-scrolled pediment crest with earpieces, and the carved back panel with the diamond motif complete with pennant-like terminals.

This is probably one of the most celebrated types of bowls produced by Lucie Rie – the dribbly iron glazed rim is a famous design feature of her work.  It’s a large bowl (over 28cm in diameter) and has warped slightly due to its size.  Rie threw her pots with very thin walls and then made them even thinner by cutting back the pot with a razor.

The bowl, along with 42 other pieces, was given to us by the collector Henry Rothschild (1913 – 2009).  Rothschild was a hugely influential figure in the British crafts scene and founded the Primavera gallery in London in 1945.

Rothschild had a particular affection for bowls and described this bowl as his favourite, his “Desert Island Disc pot”.

Lucie Rie (1902 – 1995)

Bowl 1949 is on Display in the new Gallery of Pots at York Art Gallery.

This battery powered portable record player was made by Baird Ltd. in 1960 and is shown here with the original packaging. 

The black plastic base and gold metal stylus, arm and lid measures just 22cm in length and 11cm wide, but it can play both single and LP records.

The speed is produced by two drive wheels; one is triggered when the arm is in position for a single, providing 45rpm and the other wheel operates at 33rpm when there is an LP on the record player.

Three small feet open out from the base when the player is operating.  This allows it to stand above the surface and gives room for sound to come from the speaker underneath.  The record is held between the closed lid and the base.

The player was advertised as weighing less than 2lbs and operating on 1.5 volt batteries.  It sold for 15 guineas.

info by Katy

by Felicity Aylieff (b.1954)

This monumental pot is a new acquisition; it is 2m tall and weighs in at 250kgs!

It was made by Aylieff when she was resident artist in Jingdezhen, China, working at Mr Yu’s Big Ware Factory. Jingdezhen is known as the porcelain city and they make all sorts of things in porcelain, from tableware to lampposts.

The pot was made by two potters working together on a wheel, throwing it in sections that were then joined together. It was originally about 3 meters tall when made, but has shrunk during drying and firing. Aylieff decorated the pot with floral patterns in blue and white to capture the essence of traditional Chinese pottery.

info by Helen

(the pot was purchased by York Museums Trust with the support of the MLA/V&A Purchase Grant Fund and The Art Fund, 2008).

by John Storey after Nathaniel Whittock

This is a large coloured lithograph showing York as it apparently appeared in the mid-19th century. The level of minute detail is impressive (click on the picture for a better look), down to boats moored on the river bank and people walking in the Museum Gardens. It is fascinating to look at the way York has changed, particularly the railway station, which was originally inside the city walls.

I could study it for hours – it is well worth a look in the flesh.  The lithograph can be seen in the exhibition “A Different View” in the Little Gallery at the Art Gallery until July 2009. 

Info by Jenny, reference R1946

Gaming counters have been used in Europe for gambling since the early 1700s.  The practice originated in China and these ones were made there for the western market. 

The counters were often intricately carved and sets could be ordered with a customer’s initials or other special mark.  These personalised sets could contain 200 or more counters, and taking into account the return sea voyage, it could take two years from placing an  order to receiving the goods. 

The different shapes and sizes represented different monetary values.  In Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen refers to Lydia talking ‘…incessantly of fish lost and fish won.’

This acrylic on canvas painting by Brian Graham (born 1945) is the latest acquisition for the fine art collection. Graham’s artistic inspiration comes from the ancient landscape and archaeological sites. He is fascinated with the physical practice in archaeology of layers and uncovering these layers to discover new things. This is echoed in his artistic practice – he is an intuitive artist and responds to his materials, allowing their potential to evolve. For this painting, Graham was inspired by Star Carr, an archaeological site near Scarborough.

The painting can be seen in the exhibition “Out of the Shadows” 20 September until 25 January 2009.

Info by Jennifer – ref YORAG 2008.9

John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) was the most famous and fashionable portrait painter of his day. Born in Florence, the son of a Philadelphia doctor, he settled in London in 1885 and enjoyed an international reputation.

This beautiful drawing exemplifies Sargent’s confident draughtsmanship, his marks are full of energy and are made both with charcoal, and with the eraser.

The sitter, Lady Helen Vincent (1866-1954) was born Lady Helen Duncombe, daughter of the first Earl of Feversham of Duncombe Park, Yorkshire. In 1890 she married Edgar Vincent, later Viscount d’Abernon, and together they formed an important art collection.

During the First World War she trained as an anaesthetist treating 13,000 patients, all of whom survived the anaesthetic.

YORAG R2516 – Info by Jackie & Jenny