Date: March 26
Partners for the day: Neha (text) Jackie (images)
Site(s):
Museum(s): Ure Museum , British Museum
Principal Buildings/Monuments:
Time Spent on Each Site: Ure Museum from ca.10 to ca. 1 [ _3___ hours]British Museum from ca.3:30 to ca. 5:30 [ _2__ hours]
Weather: Sunny until mid-afternoon, then cloudy with passing rain
Today our group arose early in order to make the long journey up to the University of Reading to visit the Ure Museum. Our guest lecturer at the Ure Museum was Dr. Amy Smith, a Dartmouth Alum. Dr. Smith described her post as curator and her plans for improving the Ure Museum. She then provided the group with some hands on experience with ancient Greek pottery, which most of us never had the opportunity to handle before. Dr. Smith then met up with our group at the British Museum where she gave a lecture on the Hellenistic sculpture present in Gallery 22. The group then returned to the hotel for a quick change before heading out to see the opening night performance of Hecuba by the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Upon reviewing today’s events, the Ure Museum in particular stands out due to its current display system and plans for future renovation. Though small in size, the Ure Museum contained a large number of Greek pottery, including some well-studied pieces. The Ure Museum has benefited from its connections to other museums, specifically the British Museum, to obtain some rare pieces as well as amplify the size and scope of its collection. The Ure Museum thus has the second largest collection of Boeotian pottery outside Boeotia itself. The Ure Museum also contains a collection of pieces from Ancient Egypt. The Ure Museum’s current display system divides its pottery and other material among specific social, cultural, and historic themes such as death, symposium, and a general history of the museum. Much of the collection is limited to smaller vessels due to limited display room available. Many of the pieces either have small labels or lack them entirely. When provided, the information in the labels is neither in depth nor explanatory making them of little use to the general public.
The current display system of the Ure Museum is designed to work in a university setting for students of classics. Percy Ure, the founder of the museum, implemented this structure in order to allow students to gain first hand experience in handling and studying ancient objects, as our group was able to do today. However, as a result of this design structure, the Ure museum is not especially catered to the general public. Dr. Smith acknowledged this problem and described current plans for renovation of the museum to make it more accessible, particularly to the two to three thousand children that visit the museum each year. These plans include putting graphics into some of the cases to give viewers a better sense of what the case is about and using the display structure to highlight connections between Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt. Other plans include building a new façade for the building along with highlighting some new acquisitions. Though currently a work in progress, the renovation of the Ure Museum has the potential to attract a larger number of visitors to this museum.