Recently we worked with Penguin books, and the British Museum to pair reading groups up with their local museums. Throughout the autumn, reading groups read A History of the World in 100 Objects , were treated to exclusive talks from curators and invited to choose their favourite pieces from local collections.
You can find out more about the 100 objects chosen for A History of the World in 100 Objects "here ":http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/explorerflash/#/contributor/137/ and over the course of the next two weeks we’ll display the objects chosen by the groups on Reading Groups for Everyone.
Buxton Library Discussion Group and Buxton Museum
Scenes From The Life Of Christ (above)
Buxton Library’s Discussion Group had a private tour of the Revealing the World exhibition at Buxton Museum and Art Gallery in order to choose their object.
The object they chose is a mother of pearl carving depicting scenes from the life of Christ and was chosen because of its beauty and meticulously painstaking production. The carving made in Palestine, dates from the 18th Century and would have been an early tourist souvenir. The object was chosen because the group “loved the superb intricate carving and detail”, as well as the skill and “intricacy of the craftsmanship and reflection from the material”.
It is unknown when and how the object came to England. It was acquired by the museum in the 1970s before which it belonged to Randolph Douglas and was displayed in his museum The House of Wonders in Castleton, Derbyshire. Douglas was an extensive collector; he opened his House of Wonders in the early 1920s and it soon became an intriguing attraction for visitors, who were often guided around by torchlight.
Contributors: Annabel Wilson, Reader Development Librarian, Buxton Library and Anna Rhodes, Assistant Collections Officer, Buxton Museum.
