We needed an identity that could reflect what's special about our product, capture ITV's humanness and warmth and make the brand feel alive. We needed a logo that could wrap itself around a broad range of content rather than feel like a corporate badge.
Our creative platform was born from the fact that at ITV, we don't just make TV programmes, we capture life in all its glory and put it centre stage for everyone to enjoy. The new identity needed to bridge all these areas.
ITV is home to the biggest and best loved shows and talent in British popular culture; we reflect and enhance British life and at times define it. We've never told anyone who we are or why we matter. As a result, their affection was with our shows, not the brand. We were a faceless corporation without a heart.
Our brief was to create an identity that could build an emotional connection with the nation and turn them from pure viewers into fans of ITV, not just our programming.
We required a unique and approachable identity to reflect ITV's position as a human and friendly broadcaster 'at the heart of popular culture'. We based the marque on handwriting, its curves signalling an intimacy with audiences without jeopardizing the organisation's status as large and corporate.
The logotype was divided into five segments: each of which 'picks' a different colour from its background. The ability to pick colours from the background allowed the logo to compliment its surroundings. This creates a unique innovation where no two logos are ever alike.
By Week 5 of the rebrand, 52% like or love the new logo. Prompted Awareness of the new logo is now on par with the weekly reach of ITV. Reactions are really positive; it is seen as modern and eye catching. Just over half of those who were aware of a change to ITV, either loved or liked it. When compared with other broadcasters' logos, ITV's was seen as modern, colourful, bright and attractive while BBC, Channel 4 and FIVE were stronger for being boring, old fashioned and dull.
Type of entry: Graphic Design & Design Crafts;
Category: Large Scale Logo and Visual Design;
Advertiser: ITV;
Product/Service: ITV NETWORK;
Agency: ITV CREATIVE London, UNITED KINGDOM;
Executive Creative Director: Phil Lind (ITV Creative);
Head Of Design: Neill Pitt (ITV Creative);
Head Of Design: Mark Gouldie (ITV Creative);
Designer: Jason Ford (ITV Creative);
Designer: Joe Lewis (ITV Creative);
Brand Designer: Matt Rudd (Rudd Studio).
At the Heart of Popular Culture, 7 out of 10 [based on 218 votes]
Throughout the Renaissance, the demand for antiques among the aristocracy burgeoned, with the trend soaring by the late 17th century as members of the upper classes began scouring Europe in search of bronzes, sculptures, prints, lamps and vases. With disposable income then rising among the aspiring middle classes in the latter part of the 19th century, the bourgeoisie took to investing in their homes and in the finer things as well. As antiques went mainstream, the market boomed in the hubs of London and Paris.
The antiques market may be shrinking at a concerning rate but a new desire for the prehistoric is having its own revival [Credit: European CEO]
However, despite this generally rising appetite, antiques have a tendency to go in and out of fashion, as evidenced by the lulls in between the booms of the 1950s and 1980s. At present, the market is experiencing yet another lull; new tastes and values have sent demand and prices for antiques crashing, leaving armoires, bejewelled knick-knacks and Regency dining chairs unwanted and unsold, and causing many industry players to close down or change course entirely. Yet, in the midst of all the doom and gloom for antiques aficionados, there is some cause for optimism in a few niche areas, especially when it comes to fossils and minerals.
Out with the old
With so many more people living in smaller abodes these days – urban dwellers in particular – there is very little space for antique desks and looming tapestries. Nor, in fact, do such items match contemporary tastes, as interior design trends have changed considerably over the past decade or two. Sleek and modern pieces, airy spaces and overall functionality are the style du jour; cluttered rooms and bulky furniture seem to have little place in 21st century life.
“In general, young people have lost interest, and it is mostly older people who are buying – and obviously this area of the population is one that declines”, said Errol Fuller, a curator at Summers Place Auctions, and a leading expert on fossils and extinct species. “Not all areas of antique collecting are in retreat; it is the more drab brown furniture and traditional items that young people have little interest in. They look old-hat and boring.”
Given the niche knowledge and training required to even begin delving into the subject, Baby Boomers and Millennials are largely uninterested in antiques. Adding further to this growing indifference is the reputation antiques have for popularity among the older generations – a status consolidated by television programmes, such as the US and UK versions of Antiques Roadshow, that depict the field as a hobby for pensioners. The downsizing of former antiques hubs, such as London’s Fulham Road and New York’s Kentshire Gardens, reflects this shift further still, indicating the market in general has indeed reached a precarious state.
In with the even older
Over the past year or so, one big trend that is offering hope to those in the trade is the growing popularity of fossils and minerals.
“Decorative items, or things with intrinsic interest, still have appeal, and fossils and minerals have much of this quality. As do antique stuffed animals and birds. And it is these kind of things that are appealing to the young”, Fuller said. “The general public is becoming increasingly interested in the natural world – perhaps because we realise that much of it is vanishing at an alarming rate. We are becoming more conscious of anything to do with nature and to call a piece of natural history your own and to look after it for a few more years and save it for generations to come, is quite special.”
This interest in the natural can be seen across numerous sectors and industries: food, make-up and alternative therapies, to name but a few. It would seem, as these trends indicate, that people are done with the artificial and are tired of fakery; they yearn for something with authenticity. Items such as fossils and minerals offer a window into the natural world within one’s own home.
“Some are incredibly rare as well. But I think the main point is that most people are in sheer awe when they look at something that was created millions of years ago and which is still appealing to us”, said Fuller. “To imagine that this fossilised dinosaur or crab used to live on this planet such a long time ago, and is now one of the prized possessions in your collection is quite mind-blowing. Antiques and the amazing craftsmanship used to create them will always attract us, but I think it is the fact that fossils are not man-made that makes us look at them in wonder.”
Crucial to this trend is the fact that fossils and minerals complement almost any type of interior design. They offer contrast to a modern room with soft furnishings, yet not in the garish way that a cumbersome 17th century dining table might. Given the variety of sizes, colours and types available, there is something for everyone and every budget. “Fossils are also still reasonably priced, so are more accessible to the general public and not restricted to those with millions in their bank accounts”, Fuller said.
Their backgrounds make talking points like no other; it’s impossible not to be interested in their age, formation and aesthetic value.
“They are not man-made and, in terms of antiquity, they are much older. And, of course, they almost always have a story”, Fuller said. “People tend to buy antiques because they are interested in their history and they look great in their homes. Fossils and minerals tick all those boxes, but as our homes are getting more contemporary, fossils actually fit in better. They look better in a minimalist home than most antiques, while still being quirky enough to be a real focal point.”
When asked if he sees this trend continuing in the coming years, Fuller’s response was clear: “Absolutely, and especially because it is an area in which young people are becoming particularly interested, for all the above reasons. Summers Place Auctions established specific natural history sales with our first Evolution sale in 2013, but we have since gone from one specialist auction a year to including natural history items in all our sales – four in total. There is always a huge interest, but our last sale, which included the natural history collection of the Emmen Zoo, was the best yet – every single lot sold. We offered items at prices as low as £30, up to over £100,000.”
Cyclical nature
As shown throughout history, the trend for antiques in the home comes in waves. Wider phenomena, it would seem, have a large role to play; something may occur in popular culture that can ignite a craze, and a shift within an economy can spur a new trend. Take the hit show Mad Men; watched by millions and considered by many to be one of the greatest dramas of all time, the programme, which depicted life in a New York advertising agency in the 1960s, had a direct impact on the antique market. As the show’s popularity grew, so did that of sleek mid-century furniture, with sales of pieces by Charles and Ray Eames, and Jean-Michel Frank soaring during the show’s run. However, sales of such items have begun to slow once more since the show ended in 2015, demonstrating the fickle nature of tastes and trends when it comes to interior design, popular culture and what’s ‘in’.
The growing demand for Chinese antiquities offers another important lesson for the antiques world. Given the exponential growth in the Chinese economy over the past three decades, a huge social shift has taken place in the country, with a sizeable middle class now present for the first time in the country’s history. This expansion and growth in disposable income has allowed considerably more people in China to own their own homes and, consequently, to invest in them and in objects of aesthetic value. Interestingly, this shift has taken place at the same time as a significant cultural transition within the country, whereby symbols of the past, which were once neglected and even rejected, have regained their prominence. Until recently, all reminders of the China’s imperial past were overlooked by the ruling regime and, as a result, the public. However, a renewed zeal for Chinese history has seen citizens reach out for objects of cultural significance. This trend has led Chinese buyers to scour the globe in search of rare pieces.
The western trend for fossils and minerals may be in line with contemporary tastes, yet this too is likely to pass at some point – it may take several years, but it will pass. Evidently, the appetite for antiques, and for the various individual categories themselves, comes and goes. They are a reflection of society, the state of the economy, and of what was valued at any one time. At present, we are at a stage where the natural is lovingly embraced, which is clearly reflected in what we eat and how we style our homes. But the future may look very different. Perhaps period decor will come back into fashion, perhaps the dining room will have a revival, and maybe even large brown furniture will have its day once more.
Ultimately, the antiques market has a life of its own. It has its own ebb and flow, and is certainly an interesting reflection of society. Although the antique market is shrinking in general, all is not lost for those invested in it; who knows what we’ll once again value in the future?
Author: Elizabeth Matsangou | Source: European CEO [July 19, 2016]
An ornate fresco that once adorned the residence of a wealthy Roman citizen has been discovered by a team of archaeologists at 21 Lime Street, in London.
A section of a decorative fresco, dating to the 1st-century AD Roman Britain [Credit: (c) MOLA]
Archaeologists from the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) uncovered the fresco six metres below street level, whilst undertaking archaeological fieldwork for a new office development. Dating to the late 1st century AD, and the first decades of London, it is one of the earliest surviving frescos from Roman Britain.
Thanks to a huge Roman construction project, the fate of this rare wall painting was literally sealed in the ground. In AD 100, construction of the 2nd Forum Basilica, the main civic centre for the city and the largest Roman building ever built north of the Alps, began. In advance of construction of the Forum the area was flattened. The painted wall was deliberately toppled and the Forum immediately built over it, incredibly preserving the fresco for nearly 2000 years.
The Roman fresco is more than 2m wide and 1.5 metres high [Credit: (c) MOLA]
Discovered face down, the fresco was identified from the distinctive markings of the keyed daub onto which the plaster was attached. The fragile remains, surviving to a width of nearly 2.5 metres and a height of over 1.5 metres, were carefully removed from the site by archaeological conservators, who lifted the fresco in 16 sections.
Each section was supported, undercut and block lifted so that soil encased and protected the plaster. Back in the lab the conservators worked quickly to micro-excavate the soil whilst it was still damp, to expose the millimetre-thin painted surface beneath.
Conservators from MOLA removing a section of the 1st century upturned Roman wall plaster [Credit: (c) MOLA]
The painting is likely to have decorated a reception room where guests were greeted and entertained. Building materials specialists will study the elaborate fresco further to learn more about the fashions and interiors favoured by London’s first wealthy citizens.
The central section, on a background of green and black vertical panels, depicts deer nibbling trees, alongside birds, fruit and a vine woven around a candelabrum. Red panels, bordered with cream lines, surround the main decorative scheme.
Tiles that sat below the London's Roman Forum in the 2nd-century [Credit: (c) MOLA]
The fresco was hand-painted by a skilled artist in natural earth pigments, except one area of red on the twisting vine stem which is picked out in cinnabar, an expensive mercuric sulphide pigment that had to be mined in Spain.
Fascinatingly, a slight error in the design reveals that the craftsman who painted the fresco made a mistake. It suggests that there was more than one person painting the wall and that they may have been working to a pre-prepared template. The mistake could only have been corrected by repainting the whole middle panel.
MOLA archaeological conservator, Luisa Duarte, a section of decorated Roman wall [Credit: (c) MOLA]
Although small fragments of Roman wall plaster have been found in London, complete collapsed wall paintings are extremely rare and the 21 Lime Street example is one of the earliest known from Britain. This design scheme has not previously been seen in Roman Britain; the closest example comes from a Roman villa in Cologne, Germany.
Specialists from MOLA continue to study the fresco and archaeological records from the dig and hope to build a picture of what the area looked like in the Roman period and how it developed over almost 2,000 years of London’s history.
An intricately carved gold ring containing a stone engraved with an image of Cupid — a god associated with erotic love — has been discovered near the village of Tangley in the United Kingdom.
In the engraving, Cupid (also known by his Greek name, “Eros”) is shown standing completely nude while holding a torch with one hand. The ring dates back around 1,700 years, to a time when the Roman Empire controlled England. The ring was discovered by an amateur metal detectorist. Researchers who studied it say that it may have been worn by a man or a woman and is engraved with spiral designs that contain bead-shaped spheres.
The image of Cupid is engraved on a stone made of nicolo, a type of onyx that is dark at the base and bluish at the top. The image on the stone “depicts a standing naked adolescent with crossed legs, leaning on a short spiral column; the short wings which sprout from his shoulders identify him as Cupid,” Sally Worrell, national finds adviser with the Portable Antiquities Scheme, and John Pearce, senior lecturer in archaeology at King’s College London, wrote in an article published recently in the journal Britannia.
Cupid is shown resting one arm on a column while he holds a torch with the other, Worrell and Pearce wrote. Artistic depictions of Cupid were popular among the Greeks and Romans, and several other finger rings that have stones depicting Cupid are known to exist, the researchers noted. The design of this particular ring indicates that it was created around the fourth century A.D., they said.
A person using a metal detector discovered the ring in December 2013 and reported the finding to the Portable Antiquities Scheme, which was established in 1997 to encourage people to voluntarily report the discovery of artifacts.
In England and Wales, amateurs are allowed to use metal detectors to search for antiquities if they have permission from the landowner and if they avoid archaeological sites that have been granted protection by the government. Certain finds (such as those made of precious metal) must be reported to antiquities authorities.
Worrell said that Hampshire Museums Service has acquired the ring, which will be put on display at the Andover Museum in Andover, U.K.
Many people in the UK feel a strong sense of regional identity, and it now appears that there may be a scientific basis to this feeling, according to a landmark new study into the genetic makeup of the British Isles.
An international team, led by researchers from the University of Oxford, UCL (University College London) and the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute in Australia, used DNA samples collected from more than 2,000 people to create the first fine-scale genetic map of any country in the world.
Their findings, published in Nature, show that prior to the mass migrations of the 20th century there was a striking pattern of rich but subtle genetic variation across the UK, with distinct groups of genetically similar individuals clustered together geographically.
By comparing this information with DNA samples from over 6,000 Europeans, the team was also able to identify clear traces of the population movements into the UK over the past 10,000 years. Their work confirmed, and in many cases shed further light on, known historical migration patterns.
Key findings
There was not a single "Celtic" genetic group. In fact the Celtic parts of the UK (Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and Cornwall) are among the most different from each other genetically. For example, the Cornish are much more similar genetically to other English groups than they are to the Welsh or the Scots.
There are separate genetic groups in Cornwall and Devon, with a division almost exactly along the modern county boundary.
The majority of eastern, central and southern England is made up of a single, relatively homogeneous, genetic group with a significant DNA contribution from Anglo-Saxon migrations (10-40% of total ancestry). This settles a historical controversy in showing that the Anglo-Saxons intermarried with, rather than replaced, the existing populations.
The population in Orkney emerged as the most genetically distinct, with 25% of DNA coming from Norwegian ancestors. This shows clearly that the Norse Viking invasion (9th century) did not simply replace the indigenous Orkney population.
The Welsh appear more similar to the earliest settlers of Britain after the last ice age than do other people in the UK.
There is no obvious genetic signature of the Danish Vikings, who controlled large parts of England ("The Danelaw") from the 9th century.
There is genetic evidence of the effect of the Landsker line -- the boundary between English-speaking people in south-west Pembrokeshire (sometimes known as "Little England beyond Wales") and the Welsh speakers in the rest of Wales, which persisted for almost a millennium.
The analyses suggest there was a substantial migration across the channel after the original post-ice-age settlers, but before Roman times. DNA from these migrants spread across England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, but had little impact in Wales.
Many of the genetic clusters show similar locations to the tribal groupings and kingdoms around end of the 6th century, after the settlement of the Anglo-Saxons, suggesting these tribes and kingdoms may have maintained a regional identity for many centuries.
The Wellcome Trust-funded People of the British Isles study analysed the DNA of 2,039 people from rural areas of the UK, whose four grandparents were all born within 80km of each other. Because a quarter of our genome comes from each of our grandparents, the researchers were effectively sampling DNA from these ancestors, allowing a snapshot of UK genetics in the late 19th Century. They also analysed data from 6,209 individuals from 10 (modern) European countries.
To uncover the extremely subtle genetic differences among these individuals the researchers used cutting-edge statistical techniques, developed by four of the team members. They applied these methods, called fineSTRUCTURE and GLOBETROTTER, to analyse DNA differences at over 500,000 positions within the genome. They then separated the samples into genetically similar individuals, without knowing where in the UK the samples came from. By plotting each person onto a map of the British Isles, using the centre point of their grandparents' birth places, they were able to see how this distribution correlated with their genetic groupings.
The researchers were then able to "zoom in" to examine the genetic patterns in the UK at levels of increasing resolution. At the broadest scale, the population in Orkney (islands to the north of Scotland) emerged as the most genetically distinct. At the next level, Wales forms a distinct genetic group, followed by a further division between north and south Wales. Then the north of England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland collectively separate from southern England, before Cornwall forms a separate cluster. Scotland and Northern Ireland then separate from northern England. The study eventually focused at the level where the UK was divided into 17 genetically distinct clusters of people.
Dr Michael Dunn, Head of Genetics & Molecular Sciences at the Wellcome Trust, said: "These researchers have been able to use modern genetic techniques to provide answers to the centuries' old question -- where we come from. Beyond the fascinating insights into our history, this information could prove very useful from a health perspective, as building a picture of population genetics at this scale may in future help us to design better genetic studies to investigate disease."
British design studio «Splinter Works» will present an exclusive series of tables the «Stiletto» on the Decorex Show in London. The given unusual table possesses the refined form and oak's material. The furniture similar to a female stiletto will be perfect for unusual atrium's.
The British Museum will open a major exhibition presenting a history of Indigenous Australia, supported by BP. This exhibition will be the first in the UK devoted to the history and culture of Indigenous Australians: both Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders. Drawing on objects from the British Museum’s collection, accompanied by important loans from British and Australian collections, the show will present Indigenous Australia as a living culture, with a continuous history dating back over 60,000 years.
The objects in the exhibition will range from a shield believed to have been collected at Botany Bay in 1770 by Captain Cook or one of his men, a protest placard from the Aboriginal Tent Embassy established in 1972, contemporary paintings and specially commissioned artworks from leading Indigenous artists. Many of the objects in the exhibition have never been on public display before.
The objects displayed in this exhibition are immensely important. The British Museum’s collection contains some of the earliest objects collected from Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders through early naval voyages, colonists, and missionaries dating as far back as 1770. Many were collected at a time before museums were established in Australia and they represent tangible evidence of some of the earliest moments of contact between Aboriginal people, Torres Strait Islanders and the British. Many of these encounters occurred in or near places that are now major Australian cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth. As a result of collecting made in the early 1800s, many objects originate from coastal locations rather than the arid inland areas that are often associated with Indigenous Australia in the popular imagination.
The exhibition will not only present Indigenous ways of understanding the land and sea but also the significant challenges faced by Indigenous Australians from the colonial period until to the present day. In 1770 Captain Cook landed on the east coast of Australia, a continent larger than Europe. In this land there were hundreds of different Aboriginal groups, each inhabiting a particular area, and each having its own languages, laws and traditions. This land became a part of the British Empire and remained so until the various colonies joined together in 1901 to become the nation of Australia we know today. In this respect, the social history of 19th century Australia and the place of Indigenous people within this is very much a British story. This history continues into the twenty first century. With changing policies towards Indigenous Australians and their struggle for recognition of civil rights, this exhibition shows why issues about Indigenous Australians are still often so highly debated in Australia today.
The exhibition brings together loans of special works from institutions in the United Kingdom, including the British Library, the Pitt Rivers Museum and the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. A number of works from the collection of the National Museum of Australia will be shown, including the masterpiece ‘Yumari’ by Uta Uta Tjangala. Tjangala was one of the artists who initiated the translation of traditions of sand sculptures and body painting onto canvas in 1971 at Papunya, a government settlement 240km northwest of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. Tjangala was also an inspirational leader who developed a plan for the Pintupi community to return to their homelands after decades of living at Papunya. A design from ‘Yumari’ forms a watermark on current Australian passports.
This exhibition has been developed in consultation with many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals, Indigenous art and cultural centres across Australia, and has been organised with the National Museum of Australia. The broader project is a collaboration with the National Museum of Australia. It draws on a joint research project, funded by the Australian Research Council, undertaken by the British Museum, the National Museum of Australia and the Australian National University. Titled ‘Engaging Objects: Indigenous communities, museum collections and the representation of Indigenous histories’, the research project began in 2011 and involved staff from the National Museum of Australia and the British Museum visiting communities to discuss objects from the British Museum’s collections. The research undertaken revealed information about the circumstances of collecting and significance of the objects, many of which previously lacked good documentation. The project also brought contemporary Indigenous artists to London to view and respond to the Australian collections at the British Museum.
Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum said, “The history of Australia and its people is an incredible, continuous story that spans over 60,000 years. This story is also an important part of more recent British history and so it is of great significance that audiences in London will see these unique and powerful objects exploring this narrative. Temporary exhibitions of this nature are only possible thanks to external support so I am hugely grateful to BP for their longstanding and on-going commitment to the British Museum. I would also like to express my gratitude to our logistics partner IAG Cargo and the Australian High Commission who are supporting the exhibition’s public programme.”
The remains of a Norman castle similar to the Tower of London have been found buried under the court of a disused prison.
The remains of a medieval keep have been discovered under the exercise yard and basketball court of Gloucester Prison. Archaeologists say the keep, which had walls up to 12 feet wide and measured around 100 feet in length, would have resembled the Tower of London [Credit: Andrew Higgins/SWINS]
The old walls of the keep, dating back to 1110, were unearthed by archaeologists investigating the site in the centre of Gloucester before it is redeveloped.
The castle was the first in Gloucester to be built of stone and housed three chapels, two drawbridges and a royal chamber for both the King and Queen.
Neil Holbrook, chief executive of Cotswold Archaeology, said: "I am surprised by what we found.
"I knew there was a castle but I had expected more of it to have been destroyed."
He said the design was thought to have resembled Canterbury cathedral and the Tower of London.
The castle keep was around 100 feet long and 65 feet across, according to archaeologists. It housed three chapels, two drawbridges and a royal chamber for both the King and Queen. Archaeologist said they were 'surprised' so much of the walls had survived beneath the prison's basketball court [Credit: Andrew Higgins/SWINS]
He added: "It would have been a powerful symbol of Norman architecture.
"As you came to Gloucester you would have seen the cathedral and the castle, which is representative of how important the city was in Norman Britain."
The keep wall, which is 12 foot wide, was found just 60cm below the basketball court that would have been used by prisoners.
The keep itself is estimated to have been 30m long and 20m across, indicating how big the actual castle was.
It was used as the city jail for two hundred years prior before the prison was built in 1780 and the castle was demolished.
Archaeologists had assumed the castle had been totally destroyed when it was demolished in the 18th century. They said the remains give an idea of how important Gloucester was in Norman England [Credit: Andrew Higgins/SWINS]
The remains of the walls had been buried for more than 200 years.
Gloucester Prison closed in March 2013 and was bought by City and Country Group, which is running a public consultation on its future use.
It is not yet decided what elements of the castle will be taken into account when constructing the new build.
City and Country are considering what to do with the site and as a result of the dig finds they have altered plans to include elements of the sites history.
The name Stonehenge is full of mysteries. It is probably the most famous prehistoric monument, and also the monument about which the most myths and legends have been created. For the first time in the world, an exhibition is being shown about the fascinating cult complex Stonehenge and its surrounding landscape including the latest research findings on the much bigger and older stone circle at Durrington Walls – this is at MAMUZ Museum Mistelbach.
In the exhibition Stonehenge. A Hidden Landscape, original finds will be on display which have never before left the British Isles. Gigantic stone models in original size which can be touched, original stones like the ones used in the cult complex, and also digital animations on the surrounding landscape transport visitors to the mystical world of our ancestors more than 4,000 years ago. But a long time before Stonehenge there were even bigger monumental structures in Europe, in particular in the Weinviertel region: the circular enclosures. Discover a piece of the religious world of our ancestors – Stonehenge is close enough to touch.
True-to-scale reconstructions of the stone circle based on 3D laser scan data let visitors to MAMUZ experience the magnificence and dimension of this cult monument without having to travel to the cult site itself. Elaborate visualisations give a three-dimensional impression of the landscape surrounding Stonehenge so that visitors are able to imagine the stone circle and also picture all of the fascinating cult monuments in the extensive surrounding area. At the location west of London, in Wiltshire, the large numbers of visitors and the preservation of the site mean it is not possible to enter the stone circle directly or to touch the stones. In the exhibition at Museum Mistelbach, visitors are really “in the thick of it” thanks to visualisations and reproductions and they can also touch original bluestones and sarsen stones as used to build the complex.
The exhibition also links Stonehenge with the prehistory of the province of Lower Austria. Long before the first stones were put in place at Stonehenge, the first monumental structures appeared in Central Europe. The impressive discoveries of these circular enclosures, which are distributed throughout Lower Austria and especially in the Weinviertel region, are shown alongside the fascinating original exhibits of the so-called Bell Beaker culture, which demonstrates the transition from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age in Lower Austria.
Working together with renowned cooperation partners, academics from Austria and abroad and also experts in exhibition design and multimedia presentation, MAMUZ is showing the first ever exhibition about Stonehenge. The exhibition is being realised in cooperation with the Niederösterreichische Landessammlungen, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute, 7reasons, atelier cremer and the University of Birmingham.
Stonehenge: A Hidden Landscape opens on 20th March 2016 and will run until 27 Nov. 2016.
Have you held the sword? Have you felt its weight? Have you felt how sharp and strong the blade is?
Langeidsverdet helfigur [Credit: Ellen C. Holthe, Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo]
A deadly weapon and symbol of power -- jewellery for a man, with magical properties. The sword gave power to the warrior, but the warrior's strength could also be transferred to the sword. That is how they were bound together: man and weapon, warrior and sword.
This sword was found in Langeid in Bygland in Setesdal in 2011. It is a truly unique sword from the late Viking Age, embellished with gold, inscriptions and other ornamentation. The discovery of the sword has not been published until now, when it is being displayed for the first time in the exhibition 'Take It Personally' at the Historical Museum in Oslo.
The sword must have belonged to a wealthy man in the late Viking Age. But who was he and what magic inscriptions are set into the decoration -- in gold? Was the owner of the sword in the Danish King Canute's army when it attacked England in 1014-15?
"We just gaped"
In the summer of 2011, archaeologists from the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo discovered a Viking burial ground in Langeid in Setesdal in southern Norway. In one of the graves they made a startling discovery.
"Even before we began the excavation of this grave, I realised it was something quite special. The grave was so big and looked different from the other 20 graves in the burial ground. In each of the four corners of the grave there were post holes," said excavation leader Camilla Cecilie Wenn of the Museum of Cultural History.
The post holes reveal that there was a roof over the grave, which is a sign that the grave had a prominent place in the burial ground. But when they dug down in the coffin in the bottom of the grave, there were few traces of gifts for the afterlife, only two small fragments of silver coins. The coins were from northern Europe; one was probably from the German Viking Age, judging by how it was embossed, while the other was a penny minted under Ethelred II in England dating from the period 978-1016.
"But when we went on digging outside the coffin, our eyes really popped. Along both sides, something metal appeared, but it was hard to see what it was. Suddenly a lump of earth fell to one side so that the object became clearer. Our pulses raced when we realised it was the hilt of a sword! And on the other side of the coffin, the metal turned out to be a big battle-axe. Although the weapons were covered in rust when we found them, we realised straight away that they were special and unusual. Were they put there to protect the dead person from enemies, or to display power?"
Dating of charcoal from one of the post holes shows that the grave is from around the year 1030, at the very end of the Viking Age. "And that fits in well with the discovery of the English coin."
The sword
The sword must have belonged to a wealthy man who lived in the late Viking Age. The sword is 94 cm long; although the iron blade has rusted, the handle is well preserved. It is wrapped with silver thread and the hilt and pommel at the top are covered in silver with details in gold, edged with a copper alloy thread," said project leader Zanette Glørstad.
Langeidsverdet helfigur [Credit: Ellen C. Holthe, Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo]
"When we examined the sword more closely, we also found remnants of wood and leather on the blade. They must be remains from a sheath to put the sword in," explained curator Vegard Vike. He has had the challenging task of cleaning up the handle and preserving the sword.
The sword is decorated with large spirals, various combinations of letters and cross-like ornaments. The letters are probably Latin, but what the letter combinations meant is still a mystery.
"At the top of the pommel, we can also clearly see a picture of a hand holding a cross. That's unique and we don't know of any similar findings on other swords from the Viking Age. Both the hand and the letters indicate that the sword was deliberately decorated with Christian symbolism. But how did such a sword end up in a pagan burial ground in Norway? The design of the sword, the symbols and the precious metal used all make it perfectly clear that this was a magnificent treasure, probably produced abroad and brought back to Norway by a very prominent man," added Camilla Cecilie Weenn.
"The way swords are referred to in the sagas suggests that the sword is an important bearer of the identity of the warrior. A sword reveals the warrior's social status, his position of power and his strength. The sagas also tell us that gold had a special symbolic value in Norse society. In Norse literature gold represented power and potency.
Gold is rarely found in archaeological material from Viking Period and then too, it stood for power and potency. This indicates that gold had considerable economic and symbolic value. Based on the descriptions in the literature, we can say that the sword was the male jewellery par excellence of the Viking Age," said Hanne Lovise Aannestad, the author of a recent article on ornate swords from the days of the Vikings.
'Magic'
The sagas emphasise the importance of the ornate sword. Swords could have hilts of gold with ornamentation and magical runes. The mythical sagas tell of magical swords forged by dwarfs. The creation of myths around the art of the blacksmith and the making of high-quality swords may be related to the fact that few people mastered the art. The production of metal objects of high quality may have been a form of hidden knowledge unavailable to most people. This gave the objects a magical aura.
"In Mediaeval literature, swords are referred to as aesthetic, powerful and magical objects. The many similarities between the descriptions of swords in Norse and Mediaeval literature suggest that the splendour of the sword in the latter had roots in the Viking notions of the symbolic power, magic and ritual aspects of the ornate sword. The Viking Age was a period of great social upheaval. At times like that, certain symbolic objects may play an important role in negotiating social positions. There is much to suggest that these magnificent swords were such objects, reflecting the status and power of the warrior and his clan," said Hanne Lovise.
The battle-axe
The axe found in the same grave has no gold decoration. But the shaft is coated with brass and it may well have flashed like gold when the sun shone. Such shaft coatings are very rare in Norway. But a number of similar battle-axes have been found in the River Thames in London. That makes the axe particularly interesting. Dating of the axe from Langeid shows that it belongs to the same period as the axes found in the Thames. There was a long series of battles along the Thames in the late 10th and early 11th centuries. The Danish king Sweyn Forkbeard and his son Canute led their armies against the English king in the battle for the English throne. Even the Norwegian king Olav (Haraldsson) the Holy was involved in the attack on London in 1009. The men under the Danish King were from all over Scandinavia. Did the axes get lost in the Thames during the numerous skirmishes, or did the victors throw them in the river?
Did the sword belong to a Viking from King Canute's army?
Further down the Setesdal Valley we find a runic stone, which says: "Arnstein raised this stone in memory of Bjor his son. He found death when Canute "went after" England. God is one." (Translated from the Old Norse). The text probably refers to King Canute's attacks on England in 1013-14. It is likely that the stone was erected just after the incursions, by a father whose son never came back home. A written source from the 12th century states that King Canute's closest army had to meet certain requirements. Soldiers had to honour the king, had to belong to the leading families in society and also had to provide their own gilded axes and sword hilts.
The Langeid sword would no doubt have been approved by King Canute, probably also the axe. The sword was made outside Norway and an Anglo-Saxon origin is quite possible. The axe is very similar to those found in the Thames, especially in its brass coating. The grave with the sword also contained the only coin found in Langeid from the Anglo-Saxon region, which increases the possibility that the dead man had a particular connection to the events in England.
"It's quite possible that the dead man was one of King Canute's hand-picked men for the battles with King Ethelred of England. Seen in connection with the runic stone further down the valley, it is tempting to suggest that it is Bjor himself who was brought home and buried here. Another possibility is that his father Arnstein only got his son's magnificent weapons back and that, precisely for that reason, he decided to erect a runic stone for his son as a substitute for a grave. When Arnstein himself died, his son's glorious weapons were laid in his grave. The death of his son must have been very tough on an old man. Perhaps their relatives honoured both Arnstein and Bjor by letting Arnstein be buried with the weapons with such a heroic history," said Zanette Glørstad.
The runic stone dates from the same period as the final phase of the burial ground and testifies that Christianity is about to take root in Norwegian society. It is the oldest runic stone in Norway that refers to Christianity. Could this also explain why the weapons were placed outside the coffin? In a transitional period, people may have chosen to use both pagan and Christian elements in a funeral. The Langeid grave is from one of the last pagan funerals we know of from Norway and marks both the greatness and the end of the Viking Age.
"Take it personally"
Ever since the summer of 2011, the sword found in Langeid has been unpublished. Its display today has been made possible by the meticulous work and research of conservators and archaeologists at the Museum of Cultural History. Finally, it can be seen by the public and is displayed in the exhibition called "Take it personally" -- an exhibition of personal jewellery and adornment over time and space in the Historical Museum in Oslo.
Source: University of Museum of Cultural History Oslo [July 14, 2015]
'Celts: art and identity' opens at the British Museum on 24 September and will draw on the latest research from Britain, Ireland and Western Europe. The exhibition will tell the story of the different peoples who have used or been given the name ‘Celts’ through the stunning art objects that they made, including intricately decorated jewellery, highly stylised objects of religious devotion, and the decorative arts of the late 19th century which were inspired by the past. The exhibition will then open at the National Museum Scotland in March 2016. As part of the National Programme activity around the Celts exhibition, the British Museum and National Museums Scotland will showcase two rare Iron Age mirrors as a Spotlight tour to partner museums across the UK.
Today the word ‘Celtic’ is associated with the distinctive cultures, languages, music and traditions of Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall, Brittany and the Isle of Man. Yet the name Celts was first recorded thousands of years earlier, around 500 BC, when the ancient Greeks used it to refer to peoples living across a broad swathe of Europe north of the Alps. The Greeks saw these outsiders as barbarians, far removed from the civilised world of the Mediterranean. They left no written records of their own, but today archaeology is revealing new insights into how they lived. Modern research suggests that these were disparate groups rather than a single people, linked by their unique stylised art. This set them apart from the classical world, but their technological accomplishments stand on a par with the finest achievements of Greek and Roman artists.
A stunning example in the exhibition, from National Museums Scotland, is a hoard of gold torcs found at Blair Drummond in Stirling in 2009 by a metal detectorist on his very first outing. Excavations showed they had been buried inside a timber building, probably a shrine, in an isolated, wet location. These four torcs made between 300–100 BC show widespread connections across Iron Age Europe. Two are made from spiralling gold ribbons, a style characteristic of Scotland and Ireland. Another is a style found in south-western France although analysis of the Blair Drummond gold suggests it was made locally based on French styles. The final torc is a mixture of Iron Age details with embellishments on the terminals typical of Mediterranean workshops. It shows technological skill, a familiarity with exotic styles, and connections to a craftworker or workshop with the expertise to make such an object. The Blair Drummond find brings together the local and the highly exotic in one hoard.
Although Britain and Ireland were never explicitly referred to as Celtic by the Greeks and Romans, some 2,000 years ago these islands were part of a world of related art, values, languages and beliefs which stretched from the Atlantic to the Black Sea. During the Roman period and after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, communities in Ireland and northern and western Britain developed distinct identities. The art and objects which they made expressed first their difference to the Romans, but later the new realities of living in a conquered land or on the edges of the Roman world. These communities were among the first in Britain to become Christian, and missionaries from the north and west helped to convert the pagan Anglo-Saxons.
The exhibition will include iron hand-bells used to call the faithful to prayer, elaborately illustrated gospel books telling the story of Jesus’s life, and beautifully carved stone crosses that stood as beacons of belief in the landscape. An exceptionally rare gilded bronze processional cross from Tully Lough, Ireland (AD 700-800), will be displayed in Britain for the first time. Used during ceremonies and as a mobile symbol of Christianity, the design of this hand-held cross may have inspired some stone crosses, but metal examples rarely survive. Its decorative plates show the wider artistic connections of its makers: three-legged swirls and crescent shapes owe much to earlier Celtic traditions; other geometric motifs echo Roman designs, while interlace designs were popular across Europe and probably inspired by Anglo-Saxon art.
The name Celts had fallen out of use after the Roman period, but it was rediscovered during the Renaissance. From the sixteenth century it became increasingly used as shorthand for the pre-Roman peoples of Western Europe. In the early 1700s, the languages of Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall, Brittany and the Isle of Man were given the name ‘Celtic’, based on the name used by the Greeks and Romans 2000 years before. In the context of a continually shifting political and religious landscape, ‘Celtic’ acquired a new significance as the peoples of these Atlantic regions sought to affirm their difference and independence from their French and English neighbours, drawing on long histories of distinctive local identities. First used by the ancient Greeks as a way to label outsiders, the word ‘Celtic’ was now proudly embraced to express a sense of shared ancestry and heritage.
Over the following centuries, the Celtic revival movement led to the creation of a re-imagined, romanticised Celtic past, expressed in art and literature such as the painting ‘The Druids: Bringing in the Mistletoe’ by George Henry and Edward Atkinson Hornel, 1890. Druids emerge from a grove of oaks where they have been ceremonially gathering mistletoe in this romantic Victorian reimagining of a scene described by Roman author Pliny the Elder. In an attempt to evoke an authentic Scottish past, the artists incorporated things that they thought of as Celtic: spiral motifs, the brilliant colours of illuminated manuscripts and a snake design inspired by Pictish stones. The painters claimed the faces were based on ancient ‘druid’ skulls. But the features of the central druid were really inspired by photographs of Native Americans.
Today, the word Celtic continues to have a powerful resonance. It calls to mind the ever shifting relationships between the different nations that make up Britain and Ireland, and their diaspora communities around the world. The idea of the Celts also confronts us with the long history of interaction between Britain and the rest of Europe.
Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum said “the word Celtic brings together a series of moments across the history of western Europe when particular communities made art and objects that reflect a different, non-Mediterranean, way of thinking about the world. New research is challenging our preconception of the Celts as a single people, revealing the complex story of how this name has been used and appropriated over the last 2,500 years. While the Celts are not a distinct race or genetic group that can be traced through time, the word ‘Celtic’ still resonates powerfully today, all the more so because it has been continually redefined to echo contemporary concerns over politics, religion and identity.”
Gordon Rintoul, National Museums Scotland Director said “Encompassing the latest research from across Europe the exhibition explores the history of the peoples who became known as Celts and examines the powerful objects created and used by them. I am delighted that this collaboration with the British Museum has allowed us to present a stronger, more rounded exhibition than either of the institutions could have achieved on their own. I am sure that audiences in Edinburgh and London will find much to engage, enthuse and inspire them.”
