‘It’s one of three volumes by Leonardo da Vinci.’ Secrets of the Museum s1e4, conservator
‘Stormtrooper armour used in Star Wars was reused … Held in place on the actor’s body with the velcro’ … Curator Keith needs to ensure this original costume is ready for its next role in the V&A’s new Theatre and Drama display … Other parts of the uniform were left a little wanting … ibid.
David Bowie is … Watching You Photograph: Brian Duffy 1973 printed on paper … ‘on the cover of Aladdin Sane.’ ibid.
‘It’s a national collection. It’s owned by everybody.’ Secrets of the Museum s1e5, conservator
The museum may have over seven miles of galleries but it only has room to display 25% of the collection. The rest lies in storage waiting for curators and conservators to put it on display. ibid.
After decades on the same site, the museum’s stores are being relocated to a brand-new high-tech home. ibid.
The V&A has over a million precious books … Every effort is made to keep them in pristine condition … William Shakespeare: this precious folio can now be sent out on loan for a new generation to enjoy. ibid.
Many of the objects at the V&A are one of a kind, unique pieces that have survived against the odds. Secrets of the Museum s1e6
Now, curators are preparing a special exhibition showcasing the car, an object famous for being mass-produced. But some of the vehicles that will be included in this display are one of a kind. ibid.
One of the most elaborate calls of all: Chevrolet Impala convertible 1962: Tipsy, shipped all the way from Los Angeles … customised and adapted in hundreds of ways. ibid.
One of the most precious collections in the museum … Cluster brooch: enamelled gold, spinel & diamonds c.1400-50. ibid.
Behind closed doors the work must go on. Inside the stores new discoveries are being made, fragile treasures are being restored, and the masterpieces brought to life, preserving the best of the old and the new. Secrets of the Museum s2e1
The red suit currently under repair at the V&A is the only one to survive Slade’s raucous gigs. ibid.
This 500-year-old wax was modelled by the great Renaissance master Michelangelo. ibid.
‘All objects are treated equally from the minute to the gigantic. Each gets the same level of care and attention.’ Secrets of the Museum s2e2, conservator
The V&A’s jewellery gallery is brimming with over 3,000 smaller objects. ibid.
In the Theatre & Performance department curator Kate plans to celebrate the world of Lewis Carroll. Secrets of the Museum s2e3
One rediscovery a few years ago made while reordering the stores is a rare set of ten Chinese paintings called The Ten Kings of Purgatory. Secrets of the Museum s2e4
Every day curators and conservators search the V&A’s archives and collections to find objects with new stories to tell. Secrets of the Museum s2e5
A red leather Despatch Box that once belonged to Sir Winston Churchill. ibid.
The very first dolls’ houses were made in the German town of Nuremberg which was known from the sixteenth century as the Toy City. It was home to all sorts of skilled craftsmen including toy makers. ibid.
In the gallery, telling the story of the Buddha’s image in Asia are unique treasures spanning almost two thousand years. Secrets of the Museum s2e6
Ireland’s museums are rich with treasure, precious artefacts that connect this land to its ancient past. Some are iconic, others overlooked but each one has a story to tell and a unique past in Ireland’s history. Alice Roberts & Gavin Hughes, Ireland’s Treasures Uncovered, BBC 2020
That treasure is the Tara Broach: the broach is on permanent display at the National Museum of Ireland … The original Tara Broach was made hundreds of years after the Celts. ibid.
The Bann Disc: This dates from the first century A.D. ibid.
Ireland’s most famous golden treasure: it is the Broighter Hoard, made up of seven gold ornaments … discovered in 1896. ibid.
Ireland’s museums are filled with artefacts, treasures emblematic of the iron age. ibid.
The hoard contained not only the lunula but two gold sun discs pulled from a bog together in Coggalbeg back in 1945. The Coggalbeg hoard sheds new light on our bronze age ancestors. ibid.
The treasure is St Conall Cael’s bell and the shrine that held it. ibid.
Everybody’s heard of the Book of Kells … 680 dazzling pages of illustration and calligraphy. In Medieval Europe it illuminated the story of Christ. ibid.
Waterford’s greatest artefact: the Great Charter Roll. ibid.
In June last year I got a tip-off from a reliable source promising to take me on a journey to recover painting stolen from the world’s biggest art theft, works that so far have been missing for thirty years. Thirteen works of art including three Rembrandts and a Vermeer were stolen. Their value is now estimated at around $1 billion. The Billion Dollar Art Hunt, John Wilson reporting, BBC 2020
Does a violent Irish gangsta hold the solution to a thirty-year mystery? ibid.
Boston, St Patrick’s Day 1990 when two men approach the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum, the finest in Boston, just after midnight … The two thieves in Boston stayed allegedly 81 minutes to chose their pieces. ibid.
In the six months after the new V&A museum in Dundee opened, half a million people walked through its doors … a signature building by the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma on Dundee’s waterfront could trigger the regeneration of this city spoiled by insensitive development in the 1960s. The Art of Architecture s1e3: Kengo Kuma ***** Sky Arts 2020
[Shackleton’s] Discovery came home to Dundee in 1986 around the time Kengo Kuma first visited Scotland. His impression of the landscape particularly in the cliffs stayed with him and 30 years later would influence his design of Scotland’s newest building. ibid.
In the heart of London is an incredible world: the Natural History Museum. Home to 80 million sensations of nature, from dinosaurs to whales, to giant squid to billion-year-old rocks. Now, our cameras have been allowed behind the scenes to meet the team keeping it up and running, welcoming up to five million visitors a year and bringing its unrivalled treasures to life. Natural History Museum: World of Wonder s1e1, Channel 5 2021
The Natural History Museum holds the greatest natural history collection in the world. Thousands of visitors flood through its doors every day to see everything from dinosaurs to ducks, sea monsters to giant sloths, and the star attraction that draws the biggest crowd is Hope – a giant skeleton of the largest mammal on Earth, the blue whale. Every visitor to the Museum will pass under this four and half ton, twenty-five metre long skeleton. ibid.
When you’re 134 years old like Hope your skeleton is fragile so needs to be kept under constant watch. ibid.
The most prized fossil in the entire museum: ‘This is Archaeopteryx. It’s probably the most important fossil of a dinosaur that there is anywhere in the world …’ At 147 million years old this bird-like dinosaur is so highly valued because it was the first fossil to reveal that every species of bird alive today evolved from dinosaurs. Archaeopteryx was discovered in Germany in 1861 and has been at the museum for over 150 years. ibid.
The Cocoon is crammed with over 20 million specimens, including 2.5 million flies reserved for scientific research. ibid.
The most famous dinosaur of all time. A possible new dino discovery. And a dark secret about our prehistoric ancestors … The Natural History Museum’s 28 galleries are crammed full of priceless showstoppers. Some of the biggest draws take centre stage in the spectacular main hall. Natural History Museum: World of Wonder s1e2
The museum holds one of the greatest dinosaur collections in the world and they are looked after by a team of experts. ibid.
But the most popular attraction in the history of the museum is Dippy the Dinosaur. ibid.
Guy the Gorilla: Guy is so treasured and so popular that he has his own protective glass case in a dedicated corner of the museum’s main hall. ibid.
These photographs [Mexican costume fleas] will now form part of an enormous digital archive project recording every single item the museum owns. ibid.
The Natural History museum is one of Britain’s top attractions. Every year millions of visitors flood in to get up close to the giant skeletons and the exotic creatures that fill this world-famous site. But of the thousands of extraordinary exhibits, by far the biggest draw are the dinosaurs. Natural History Museum: World of Wonder s1e3
The museum holds the skeleton of the first T-Rex ever discovered. ibid.
Darwin Tree of Life Project: to collect and store samples of every one of the 60,000 species of plant, animal and insect that survive in the British Isles today. ibid.