The Volunteer's Biggest Nightmare?

I’m holding an object that was turned off a potter’s wheel when the big game in town was Athens v Sparta, and Plato and Socrates were living celebs. This ancient Greek vase survived the Romans, the Vikings, the whole of the medieval period, Shakespeare, two world wars and the British Empire. 

When I wrap my fingers around its body and lift it up, oh my, what a weight! This vase has lasted for thousands of years intact. I feel the tiniest twinge and the premonition of a loud crash and a hundred tiny pieces scattered all over the floor. Dropping and breaking an irreplaceable antique – the volunteer’s biggest nightmare! Gently, gently, into the glass case, lower, and… breathe.

Why move it at all? Shouldn’t this vase stay in one place to be safe? One of the remarkable features of any museum is the “behind the scenes” part of the work, looking after the objects securely packed away in our stores. Why not put it all out? Well, we’d need a humungously big museum to have everything on view at once.

There’s a case for treating the museum as a shop window – we can ring the changes, refresh what we have to offer with new exhibitions and make sure that there’s always something different for visitors to see. Some of our galleries are “permanent”; others alter on a regular basis.

But what of our Greek vase, newly brought out of the archives, dusted down and mounted in the Collectors Gallery for all to see? Well the vase will be photographed and catalogued and then the fun part of discovering its story will begin. The who, the why and when of any good mystery!

Written by Derek Niemann, Collections Volunteer.