I must apologise to our visitors at Cliffe Castle for the hammering and banging of late but rest assured, it isn’t anything paranormal and just me using a nail gun for the first time!
I’m in the middle of making a plinth for a Samurai sword and it’s a noisy business. In between sawing panels of formaldehyde-free MDF and testing swatches of fabric for PH neutrality, I’m trying to negotiate the complexities a new piece of equipment – the nail gun! (Thank goodness for YouTube!)
Making a plinth
The blame for all this activity firmly sits with my volunteer, Ernest, a life-long admirer of all things oriental and the volunteer Collections Researcher who is adding his limitless knowledge to our records. As I type he’s up to his bandana in Netsuki!
Our Japanese collection is beautiful but as Ernest says, there’s always a rabbit hole waiting to invite you down inside. Just when you think you have memorised the names for the patterns formed by martensite as the blade is quenched, you find another two.
Menpo and Kabuto from an Edo period armour
Ernest and myself were asked to contribute to the ASIA exhibition at Cartwright Hall, preparing objects for display from the Foster Collection and making a custom mount for an Edo period armour. With the armour becoming a firm favourite with the public it quickly became apparent that we aren’t the only Japan-o-philes out there.
When a space became available in the exhibition programme at Cliffe Castle we both jumped at the opportunity to show case the fabulous Japanese collection that has captivated us both.
Sageo and acer lead Saya
The ‘Art of the Samurai’ opens on January 20th 2024 at Cliffe Castle Museum and its only just dawning on us what a lot of work we have let ourselves in for. What with research and writing panels, cleaning objects and making mounts and then installing we are going to have a busy few months ahead.
So you may hear a lot more banging at Cliffey and see two shadowy figures darting around the galleries, but don’t worry. It’s not poltergeists, just Dale and Ernest getting ready for January!
Daikoku with Rats
