Parfums d’Orient

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Museums & Exhibitions

Institut du Monde Arabe

Parfums d’Orient

Fragrance has always been important in North Africa and the Middle East. It plays a crucial role on many levels, a theme I explored in my book Silver & Frankincense. So you can imagine my excitement when the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris presented their exhibition Parfums d’Orient: I had to go and see it!

Ancient stone incense burner from the Arab Peninsula

Fragrance: a long history

The exhibition starts out with the history of perfume and perfume-making. As it was a well-visited exhibition, I had to wait a little before I could see the showcases, and while I looked around, I caught a whiff of something….roses? Was I imagining things? There were large photographs of the rose harvest in Morocco on the wall, so perhaps I got carried away before my visit had well and truly started?

The mystery was quickly solved when I approached the first showcases. These showed early incense burners, explained how the trade in frankincense brought prosperity to the Arab Peninsula and how fragrances like musk, oudh, ambergris and frankincense became prized goods in the ancient world. And with the showcases were beautifully designed dispensers that allowed visitors to smell each of these fragrances. Not too much and certainly not too heavy, but just enough to leave a hint of perfume lingering in the air.

Large cylinders with rose petals and saffron added a visual element to fragrance: with a click of a button, the petals whizzed around in their glass cylinders while a puff of scent was released. The video below shows what that looked like. To me, it was a beautiful visual companion to the photographs of the rose harvest I mentioned earlier, and a perfect start of the visit to get in the mood for perfumes.

Perfume and economics

From these first scents, the exhibition continues to the smells of everyday life. A small corner with tanned leather allows you to explore the foul smell of that process (and if you have visited the tanneries of Fez or Marrakech for example, you’ll know what I mean…!).

Large photographs of incense and perfume merchants in Oman tell the story of trade and commerce. Here, one of the explanations read that the souqs in Oman were the last place where fragrances were created in the traditional style, but I do seem to recall seeing that in Marrakech for example, too: there is hope yet for the traditional way of creating perfumes.

Perfume: science and creating

From the souq, we move on to the scientific processes behind distillation and evaporation. This was invented in the Middle Ages, and I absolutely loved seeing a replica of a distilling device next to a medieval manuscript depicting just such a thing. Medieval glass vessels show the craftmanship behind this scientific approach.

This part continues with the art of blending fragrances. Here again, the visitor experience is central: a ‘smelling station’ allows you to follow the buildup of three different fragrances, from the base notes, through the heart, to the top notes. It was a wonderfully layered experience to smell the ingredients coming together!

Necklace of scented beads from Tunisia, with gold beads.

Perfume: home and guests

From the fields of roses and the streets of the souqs, the exhibition then continues into the home. Here, we learn of the importance of cleanliness and appearing well-groomed. Perfuming guests and hospitality are beautifully and evocatively illustrated, again with fragrance gently surrounding the visitor.

Home fragrances are also extended into the domain of cooking and spices: many ingredients in perfume are also used in medicine and the kitchen.

Fragrance: intimacy and beauty

In the last space, we enter the most private sphere: that of individual care and intimacy. Fragrance is an important agent in the intimacy of marriage for example. Jewellery designed to hold perfume or made of fragrant substances itself is also shown, like the necklace of scented beads from Tunisia, or the fibula with a small box for scented material, both in the gallery above (click on the image to enlarge the photo).

And finally, at the end of the exhibition, we take our leave as honoured guests: a small dispenser at the end of the exhibition drips perfume into the palm of our hand. A scent that stayed with me for hours, and illustrated how perfume connects. On the metro ride home, I caught a faint whiff of that same perfume…

…and sure enough, a fellow passenger carried a bag with the Institut du Monde Arabe-logo on it. We looked at each other and smiled. For a brief and fleeting moment, we were no longer strangers on the subway, but connected by our shared experience of a museum visit, and recognizing each other by our perfume.

Parfums d’Orient: a multi-layered exhibition

This exhibition was absolutely stunning. I loved how it combined seeing and smelling into one experience. The whizzing rose petals next to a large photo, the size of the photographs of the Omani souqs that transport the visitor, the combination of medieval manuscripts with replicas and layered scents…there is so much to see, learn and experience.

As a visitor, you do not need to worry this is too much of a ‘smell-fest’: should you wish to smell a particular scent, you’ll need to push a button that releases a small puff. It creates a moment of intimacy rather than abundance.

Besides smell, images and objects, throughout the exhibition you will encounter modern art woven into the storylines in a very natural way. Modern glass containers stand next to Fatimid crystal, an artwork evokes incense smoke whirling upwards, a colourful tapestry is actually entirely made of spices.

The exhibition shows how fragrance carries meaning, and continues to do so. From the ancient world to our day and age, this journey through the world of perfume is a journey through being human: the things we fear, the joy we feel, the discoveries we make, the natural world around us. Highly recommended: enjoy this sensory journey!

Parfums d’Orient: Sept 26, 2023 – March 17, 2024.

Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris. See more info on their website here.

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Explore the world of fragrance in the course Scents of the Middle East!

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Sigrid van Roode

Sigrid van Roode is an archeologist, ethnographer and jewellery historian. Her main field of expertise is jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia, as well as archaeological and archaeological revival jewellery. She has authored several books on jewellery. Sigrid has lectured for the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Turquoise Mountain Jordan, and many others. She provides consultancy and research on jewellery collections for both museums and private collections, teaches courses and curates exhibitions. She is not involved in the business of buying and selling jewellery, and focuses on research, knowledge production, and education only.

Making their mark

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Museums & Exhibitions

Women silversmiths from Oman

Making their mark

Oman is home to a long history of silversmithing. And like in so many parts of the world, traditional jewellery started to be worn less from the 1960s and 70s onwards. Much of it was sold off, and replaced with gold jewellery. As a result, knowledge of the craft and workmanship in creating traditional jewellery dwindled as well. The exposition ‘Making their Mark: women silversmiths from Oman’ in the British Museum highlights a revival in traditional silversmithing. And not any revival: this silversmithing is done by women, researched by women, and presented by women.

Silversmithing: voices of creators

Central to the exhibition is the work of three female silversmiths. It is not often we get the opportunity to hear from craftspeople themselves, as most research focuses on the wearers. But what of the people who created and made the jewellery? The research project has carried out numerous interviews over several years. The three silversmiths in this exhibition represent three generations: Tuful Ramadan was born in 1949, and sadly passed away in 2021, Mahfouda al-Balushi was born in 1965, and Fatma al-Najjar is from 1992.

I had the great pleasure of meeting Fatma in person at the museum, where she shared her personal experiences and journey in becoming the gifted jewellery designer she is today. While she is still on the path of becoming a silversmith herself, she already designs jewellery with her own brand RAHINA for wearers of today, drawing inspiration from the long history of Omani silver jewellery.

The exhibition shows a pair of earrings and a belt she designed, and when we met, she was wearing a pair of gorgeous, playful silver earrings that jingled along as we made our way through the museum.

For Tuful, picking up the skills of silversmithing was partly family business (she married into a family of silversmithing), and partly out of necessity: after her husband died when she was in her twenties, creating and selling silver jewellery formed her income.

Her passion for the craft resulted in her being awarded several prizes, and the quote printed on the wall reveals how she regarded herself as a woman silversmith; ‘Accuracy is in a woman’s nature. A man also works well, but women are known for making delicate objects’. And indeed, the bracelet in the exhibition is made of dainty, delicate, and incredibly precise chainwork: I loved it.

Mahfouda creates silver attributes and accessories for men. She learned the craft from her father, and designed the most beautiful leather belts for silver daggers (khanjar) that Omani men wear on festive occasions. All of these are made by hand, as are the sheaths and handles of the daggers themselves.

You can hear and see the personal histories of these women, too: the exhibition includes videos of all three silversmiths. A mannequin dressed in dress and silver jewellery from Dhofar provides reference to traditional jewellery all three silversmiths draw their inspiration from; I included an image at the bottom of this post, so keep on reading!

An in-depth look at jewellery: the power of science

The exhibition does more than just showcase jewellery, though. What I found particularly exciting is the scientific research that was part and parcel of this project from the start. Fatma and I were shown around the museum labs by Dr. Aude Mongiatti, where we could see with our own eyes which huge research potential beyond the stylistic and art historian scientific analyses have to offer (and you know I’m always up for looking at jewellery in context!).

Silver earrings created by Fatma al Najjar of RAHINA jewellery, Oman.

Looking at jewellery through a microscope reveals the variety in techniques applied by the silversmiths, and looking beyond the surface of an object tells us more about the composition of the silver and the way it has been handled. With three generations of silversmiths and the museum’s own collection, this opens up exciting new avenues to see how techniques were passed on, developed and adapted over the course of time.

For me personally, this was an eye-opener in terms of research questions I did not even know I had. Of course I am aware of scientific research methods in general, but when it comes to practical uses my technical savvy goes as far as successfully operating a microwave. Having an actual scientist show me in great detail which possibilities exist, and how these may increase our understanding of objects, was mind-blowing and incredibly inspiring!

Making their mark: jewellery research

The exhibition itself is relatively small, but do not be fooled by the size of the room alone. There is a world of generational knowledge, scientific research and heritage in here. The project itself is also run by women, who each bring their own expertise to the table.

Dr. Aude Mongiatti is a scientist, Moza Sulaiman al-Wardi is in charge of the Oman Across Ages Museum in Oman, Marcia Stegath Dorr has decades of experience in Omani heritage, and Dr. Fahmida Suleman is a specialist in ethnography and Islamic art and culture. Together with the silversmiths, they set out to approach the silver heritage of Oman from all avenues: from the molecular to the emotional, from the economic to the meaningful. And in doing so, I believe they set a new standard for ethnographic jewellery research.

This project is a brilliant crossover between museum jewellery and living jewellery, between scholars, scientists and creators, between institutions and communities, between the past and the future. It illustrates how jewellery is never static and may hold different meanings for different people over time.

The title ‘Making their mark’ may be more aptly chosen than the makers realized, and I hope to see many more of collaborations like these in the future!

Detail of Dhofari silver jewellery from Oman.

Where to find more on the exhibition ‘Making their mark: women silversmiths from Oman’?

The exhibition is on show in the British Museum until December 17, 2023. More information can be found on the museum’s website here.

An online talk on this project is available on the YouTube-channel of the British-Omani Society here.

I visited the exhibition on November 2 on my own initiative, without being required to write this blog: I just love sharing something good when I see it!

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Where can I find more on traditional jewellery from Southwest Asia and North Africa?

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Sigrid van Roode

Jewellery Museum Pforzheim

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Museums & Exhibitions

new perspectives

A visit to the Jewellery Museum, Pforzheim

The Jewellery Museum (Schmuckmuseum) in Pforzheim, Germany, is a must visit destination for anyone interested in jewellery and jewellery history. Here is what I saw during my last visit!

Bedouin Silver | Pforzheim Schmuckmuseum

Sigrid van Roode looking at the waterfall of jewellery in the Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim

Bedouin Silver | Sigrid in Schmuckmuseum

View into the exposition room filled with rings in the Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim

Bedouin Silver | Pforzheim Ring Room

Four stunning rings from the collection of the Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim, against a black backround.

Bedouin Silver | Pforzheim ring selection

The museum houses a vast collection of jewellery, both from Europe and from other parts of the world. That jewellery is something that connects us, and expresses shared values, is highlighted in the room ‘What Is Jewellery?’. I featured an in-depth exploration of this theme by the museum in this blog, and seeing it for myself was a treat!

In this room (you’ll see an impression in the gallery of images above), the first thing that caught my eye was a sparkling waterfall of gold and gold-tinted jewellery cascading down from the ceiling in the central showcase. Jewellery from all eras and geographical locations is presented here in a seeming jumble that still is perfectly harmonious. As you can see by the slightly bewildered look on my face in the second photo, I enjoyed spending time peering into this showcase from all its sides, there is so much to see here! There is a sense of joy and playfulness in this installment that I believe is really important, too, in between the more serious aspects of jewellery history: just enjoying jewellery, simply for its own sake.

That same combination of jewellery from different times and places continues throughout the room. In every showcase, a different topic is highlighted that is shared by multiple cultures. The use of specific colours for example, or the values attached to jewellery, or the protective capacities it holds, or the social status it communicates. You’ll find jewellery here from North Africa, Oceania, Central Asia, India, Tibet, Nepal and other places combined with European jewellery. It is a multidisciplinary and integrated approach to what jewellery means to the society that used and created it, and I found it very valuable to start out my visit to the museum by pondering what jewellery is, exactly: it gets one thinking and provides context for the other collections.

Next were two rooms filled with jewellery history, from the Classical world until the revival pieces of the 19^th century, and everything in between. I stayed here for a considerable time, because the museum boasts a formidable collection of historic rings, and these are shown here, too. Hundreds of them! If you have a thing for rings, this is the space for you. They are neatly organized in separate showcases, that each present a selection of rings in chronological and geographical order. You’ll see what that looks like in the third photo above. I did not really notice how brilliant this display was until I was done: because the rings are displayed in so many showcases, it feels like peeking into yet another treasure chest. Each showcase has just the right amount of rings, too: you’ll be able to enjoy them instead of reaching that point of overwhelm. I can’t recall having admired hundreds of rings and still being eager to see more: well done in terms of managing the attention span of visitors!

But there is more than rings: the showcases along the walls present necklaces, bracelets, earrings, tiaras and so much more, also in chronological order. A separate section with pocket watches brings jewellery and technique together, but I must admit that I spent most of my time with the jewellery exposition. The quality of the pieces shown here is also breathtaking: I created a collage of a few rings in the last photo above, to give you an idea of what awaits you. The exhibition continues with a bright, large room dedicated to more recent jewellery. Here, I saw dreamy, delicate Art Nouveau jewellery and modern jewellery creations: the art of jewellery craftmanship is still very much alive in Pforzheim.

After all that, it was time for a coffee in the pleasant museum café and perusing the well-stocked bookshop. I really like the themed publications such as Landscapes in Jewellery, Animal Myths in Jewellery, and Sun, Moon and Stars in Jewellery, but of course there is much more (see the bookshop here – the list of publications can be downloaded), and you will be able to find many jewellery pieces and other gifts.

I highly recommend visiting the Schmuckmuseum if you have the opportunity: with several temporary exhibitions every year, there is sure to be something that is of interest to you. The signage is bilingual in both English and German. Also check out the online magazine Melting Pot: lots of thought-provoking and interesting jewellery articles!

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Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim, Germany: see practical info on their website (using the toggle in the upper right corner, you can set the language to German, English or French).

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More museum recommendations on personal adornment from North Africa & Southwest Asia? Browse them all here!

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Sigrid van Roode

Glanz und Geheimnis

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Museums & Exhibitions

a stunning private collection

Glanz und Geheimnis

A hidden gem: the exhibition of traditional silver jewellery and dress from the wonderful collection of Swiss collector Peter Hösli is on show in the Knauf Museum, Iphofen, until November 2023. I had the opportunity to visit this beautiful exhibition – so many rare pieces that I had to return for a second visit!

A stunning treasure of silver and beaded jewellery from North Africa and the Middle East.

Bedouin Silver | Glanz und Geheimnis

Omani necklace from the collection of Peter Hoesli

Glanz und Geheimnis | Oman

Yemeni necklace from the collection of Peter Hoesli

Glanz und Geheimnis | Yemen

Palestinian chin-chain from the collection of Peter Hoesli

Glanz und Geheimnis | Palestine

Bedouin dresses in the exhibition Glanz und Geheimnis

Glanz und Geheimnis | Bedouin dresses

First, what is the Knauf Museum? This is the museum that the Knauf family (if you have ever done home renovation, you have used their products) has founded in their hometown of Iphofen in Germany. Its permanent exhibition shows plaster casts of many famous archaeological sites and artworks from the Classical world, South America, Asia, and ancient Egypt. And in the newly added wing, the museum hosts a variety of temporary exhibitions on a wide range of cultural topics. This year, that topic is silver jewellery from the Arab Peninsula and the Levant, so I had to see this: lots of Bedouin jewellery, and much more!

The accompanying book was already a delight (see more about that here), but seeing these pieces in person and being able to observe every detail was, of course, even better. The exhibition is spread over two floors, and I loved the sight of a magnificent dress of as-Salt, Jordan, greeting me in the bright and airy conservatory between the new and the old wing. It circled gently, allowing visitors to admire its detail on every floor, and I personally thought this one of the best ways I have ever seen such a dress displayed. In case you don’t know what I’m talking about: these dresses are huge!

The jewellery pieces themselves were even more beautiful in real life. Polished to a shine, they were placed either lying down or mounted on mannequin heads. The showcases were spacious and accommodated the jewellery well, with each piece allocated enough ‘breathing space’ to be admired without being spread too thin. The only truly incomprehensible thing about the exhibition is the designers’ choice of background colour for the jewellery: detailed and delicate silver pieces become near invisible against the variegated grey background they were placed on. Instead of an even, contrasting colour, this melée of grey made dainty filigree and granulation very hard to see. A background colour for silver does not even have to be black…but I implore anyone thinking about a jewellery exhibition to just not use variegated grey. The jewellery deserves better.

And especially this jewellery, because like I wrote in the book review, you are in for a treat if you have a chance to see this exhibition. It shows many rare pieces that are impossible to find, such as Najd hair ornaments strung on a strip of cotton, superb filigree work from Yemen, and Palestinian ‘iznaq chin chains that made me gasp. The addition of dresses adds colour and life to the showrooms: several beautifully embroidered Bedouin gowns from Tiraz collection and a number of dresses from Peter’s own collection illustrated how adornment goes beyond just jewellery. And I really enjoyed seeing the small cotton pouches attached to Saudi women’s dresses, that once were filled with aromatics such as oudh…such a wonderful way of perfuming oneself.

In addition to the jewellery itself, a short film explained the various techniques of silversmithing in the Levant. This was curated by Salua Qidan of both Tiraz centre and Folkglory Designs. Seeing the jewellery made lifted something of the inevitable static nature of any exhibition, and I found this to be a very valuable addition to the exhibition itself. In the same room where the film could be watched, several fully dressed and adorned mannequins brought jewellery and dress together, and I loved seeing how the two interact.

If you are in the area, or have a possibility of traveling there, you should absolutely go see this exhibition!

Glanz und Geheimnis/Shine and Mystery

Knauf Museum, Iphofen, Germany

March 26 – November 5, 2023

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Want to learn more about the world of Bedouin jewellery from Saudi Arabia, and traditional silver jewelry from the Middle East and North Africa as a whole? Check out the online courses!

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Sigrid van Roode

Hair: untold stories

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Museums & Exhibitions

the many meanings of hair

Hair: untold stories

Hair has been our most personal, natural form of adornment for millennia. We either hide it or show it, and it is so personal that it is regarded as an extension of the person itself. But hair is much more than that. The excellent exhibition Hair: untold stories in the Horniman Museum and Gardens is entirely devoted to the many meanings of hair.

Hair explores our relationship to human hair by looking at it from various perspectives. Researchers, artists, film makers, hair dressers, poets and photographers all weigh in to paint a vivid and sometimes unexpected picture of this material. The exhibition starts out with a section on hair as material: maybe not the first use to come to mind, but to me a refreshing way of looking at hair as something other than a part of our body or our appearance. Hair is a marvelous fibre: lightweight yet incredibly strong, flexible and absorbing. Hair was used to attach shark’s teeth to palm rib swords on the Kiribati islands in Oceania, but of course also in products related to hairstyling like wigs and fillers.

A large map illustrating the hair trade is very illuminating. I was aware that in many cultures, hair is shaven off for religious reasons, but never thought much about what that hair was used for: apparently, there is a thriving market for it, and not all of it goes to wig making. ‘Waste’ hair, collected when brushing, is sorted and sold as well. I learned that many early Afro wigs were made of yak hair coming from Central Asia and China, that nowadays synthetic wigs can also be made of fibres derived from banana skins, and much more.

What looks like a hair shop, is an art installation by Korantema Anyimadu, exploring the experiences of black and non-binary people with hair in the UK. Listening to their favourite songs, reading memories and looking around in the hair shop I learned a great deal about memories associated with the smell, feel, timing and handling of hair and the challenges of feeling ‘at home’ in a country where your basic hair care cannot be achieved so easily.

Exhibition Hair

Hair combs: more than tools

Installation by Korantema Anyimadu

Swedish jewellery made of hair

The section on Entanglements presents and discusses the balance between the personal aspects of hair and the social norms expected of the wearer: the eternal balance between individuality and the common. Bridal hair is associated with fertility and beauty, Victorian women were expected to wear their hair up when married, and keeping the first hairlocks of a child as memento is a worldwide phenomenon. Hair and death are shown in European mourning jewellery created with hair of the passed persons, and a topic I could personally relate to is how to deal with the loss of hair due to illness or chemotherapy.

A series of combs ends the exhibition: these are not just presented as hair maintenance tools, but as meaningful, powerful objects that can convey many messages. I really enjoyed this exhibition, as it managed to address many unexpected angles on hair in a comprehensible, enjoyable and thought provoking way.

Accompanying the main exhibition are several smaller photographic exhibitions: Cult Hair (on the lower gallery) and Intimate Archives (on the gallery above the World Gallery). The latter combines hair care rituals with spells and traditions, showing how acts of social care connect scattered and displaced people. A powerful expression of the meaning of body aesthetic, both as performative act and as carrier of identity!

Hair: untold stories in Horniman Museum and Gardens: find out more on the museum website

More on personal adornment in exhibitions and museums? Read about other collections here! Want to be kept in the know on new and forthcoming exhibitions and museum installations? Join the Jewellery List and have news delivered to your inbox!

Sigrid van Roode

Sigrid van Roode is an archeologist, ethnographer and jewellery historian. She considers jewellery heritage and a historic source. She has authored several books on jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia, and on archaeological jewellery. Sigrid has lectured for the Society of Jewellery Historians, the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden and the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center, among many others. She curates exhibitions and teaches online courses on jewellery from North Africa & Southwest Asia.

Horniman Museum

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Museums & Exhibitions

anthropological collection

Horniman Museum and Gardens

The Horniman Museum and Gardens in London (UK) houses a wonderful anthropology collection. Over 3,000 objects are on display, offering a wide view into how people all over the world experience their life and seek to understand their surroundings. I had the pleasure of visiting the museum and browse its gallery!

The museum was founded by Frederick Horniman, a tea trader who made a fortune with the company his father started. The museum is very clear about the colonial past of the museum and its collections: the collection of ethnographic objects to educate and inform people in Britain about other cultures was only possible in a colonial setting and with a fortune earned by the exploitation of others. The museum actively works with community researchers, artists and creatives on a continuous basis, and it will be interesting to see how this translates into choices and decisions, for example in regard to the Benin bronzes on display.

The central part of the museum, and the part I came to visit in particular, is the World Gallery. Here, showcases form cubicles that each address a continent. Africa, the Americas, Oceania, Asia and Europe are represented by a selection of objects that highlight varying themes. You will find many beautiful examples of ethnographic art, ranging from clothing and adornment to utensils and tools. What I particularly liked is that these are not only aimed at seeing, but at hearing, smelling and touching as well. With the display of Tuareg craftmanship you will find worked leather and a veil weight which are meant to be touched: feeling the patterns below your fingers makes an object come more to life than just by looking at it. The Asian section offers the possibility to smell the medicine of a Bhutan doctor, and throughout the exhibition sounds of song and music are present. These latter can cause somewhat of a drawback though: as they are audible throughout the Gallery, they create permanent more or less noisy surroundings.

The section on Perspectives shows how people aim to understand, control and categorize their world. Lots of amulets and other meaningful objects illustrate the problems and challenges people faced and how they sought to deal with those. I loved the showcase with all sorts of amulets from Great Britain: holed flint as a charm against nosebleeds, ‘hag stones’ to avert witches and pigeon’s feet against cramp are just a few of those. That did bring me to another drawback (well, at least, to me): the museum shop has many lovely and sustainable gift ideas, but nothing relating to the anthropological collection. There are no museum or exhibition catalogues to offer a deeper level of understanding to visitors wanting to learn more. While the museum works hard to engage visitors during their stay, by offering several moments to reflect on one’s own beliefs, values and thoughts in the exhibition, this ends at the door.

Horniman Conservatory

Tuareg objects to touch

Shell ornaments, Oceania

Amulets, Britain

Horniman World Gallery

The museum website does offer more information, though. It has a great and searchable overview of the collections: providing the collections with a more detailed description is a work in progress and will provide a great resource for research. On the website, you will also find information on ongoing collaborations, projects under way and an extensive blog with a wide variety of background stories (found more on those ‘hag-stones’ here!), inviting to keep on reading and exploring.

The museum is surrounded by beautiful gardens, and boasts a really good museum café where I enjoyed a lovely outdoor lunch with a view on the conservatory. It also houses a Butterfly House, an Aquarium and a Natural History Gallery: I did not have a chance to visit those, but I will definitely be back to explore more of this beautiful, colourful and lively museum!

Horniman Museum and Gardens: find out more on the museum website

More on exhibitions and museums in the field of personal adornment, archaeology, ethnography and Islamic art? Find more here, or join the Jewellery List to receive new interesting tips in your inbox!

Sigrid van Roode

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