Film Diary

Artisans of Memory: Behind the scenes of an amulets project

This series of short films follows the progress and practices of those connected with the Small Blessings project as they unravel the stories surrounding these curious objects.

 

  

 

Introduction - In this episode we hear about the two main areas of activity in the project - improved documentation and public access - and expected outcomes.

 

 

 

Induction - New members of staff are welcomed to the Museum and get to grips with the task at hand

 

 

 

The Stores - We go behind the scenes to see where the amulets had been kept at the Museum's storage facility, alongside thousands of other artefacts in 'reserve collections'.

 

  

 

Cataloguing - In this episode, the new staff are trained how to create records for objects, learning about museum accession numbers and the art of describing an object in words.

 

 

 

Conservation - Up to ten percent of the amulets catalogued and examined during the project have needed conservation treatment and here we meet some of the people involved in this crucial aspect of museum work.

 

 

 

Technology - This episode looks at how the project has enabled the Pitt Rivers to experiment with mobile devices and social media.

 

 

 

Display - As a PRM technician puts together a case display of amulets in the Museum, collections staff travel to London to check and retrieve some amulets that have been on loan for an exhibition.

 


 

 

 

Reaching Out - Our education and outreach staff explain how they take a topic such as amulets and use it to engage different audiences, from children to adult community groups.