Find something on display: Materials and Masters

Showing the encrusted outer part and mother-of-pearl interior of the shell.

Removal of the encrusted outer side leaves the mother of-pearl inner layer. It is this iridescent (light-refracting) material that has attracted and fascinated people for centuries and been used extensively for decoration.

Made from the glass of a discarded bottle.

Agate is a Silicate from the Quartz group. It is translucent, with bands of colour created by traces of Iron and Manganese. It is prized for its decorative properties. Here a pinkish-red variety has been made into stamps with a personal seal and a greenish clouded variety, smoke agate, has been made into beads.

Arms and armour have been made of metal since the Bronze Age. This weapon has a nickel-silver frame revolver with six-chambered fluted cylinder and folding butt. It combines this with a knuckleduster and blade.

Franks Collection

This type of lidded vase is known as a ginger jar

Chinese, with Ch’eng Hui mark but probably not earlier than K’ang Hsi period (1662-1722)

Beads made from blue, red and ‘milles feuilles’ glass.

A pedestal or base on which a lamp, candleholder, vase, figure or similar item could be mounted.

A pedestal or base on which a lamp, candleholder, vase, figure or similar item could be mounted.

Depicts a saint in monk’s clothing holding and pointing to a large Communion host inscribed ‘I H S’.

Depicts Jesus carrying his cross on the way to Calvary, with two soldiers behind him.

From northern Nigeria in Africa.

This set of buttons were authenticated by the collector as having belonged to Sir Sydney Smith in 1810.

Tudor bricks have a distinctive shape: they are much thinner than modern bricks.

Kingsbridge Villas used to stand where the new Beaney extension has been built in Best Lane.

Decorative coloured drinking glasses are known as Carnival Glass.

Chinese and Japanese craftsmen were renowned for making small sculptures from hard, translucent rocks.

Black and white crystal form on rock.

A soft, crumbly sedimentary rock made from tiny shells of microscopic organisms deposited in the sea. Nodules of flint are found in chalk.

Bone or ivory sticks, case inlaid with mother-of pearl

Sevres, probably made by Vincent and Chauvant
Dark blue glaze known as ‘gros bleu’.

This colour of turquoise blue has been called ‘Sevres blue’ after the porcelain factory that created many pieces in this colour.

Fine porcelain with painted decoration of a cherub and swans, and rich gilding added after firing.

A principal use for metal since ancient times has been for minting money.

This medal shows the fine detail of decoration that can be reproduced in metal. It was presented in 1872 to the Mayor and citizens of Canterbury by the French Association for the Advancement of Science, to commemorate their visit to the city. The obverse (front) has two figures in classical drapery, standing on a hillside overlooking factories, ships and trains all belching steam, with sunrise over a distant mountain signifying a new dawn. Lettering above them says ‘Pour la science, Pour la patrie’, which means ‘for Science and Country’. The reverse has a personification of the city of Canterbury as a classically draped female figure, sitting and reading a book with further books and mathematical instruments beside her, all set within an idyllic wooded landscape.

This plaque commemorates a French visit to city of Canterbury on 16 October 1906 and was probably commissioned by the Mayor, Francis Bennett Goldney, whose name is inscribed on the bottom right. It shows the personifications of Britannia and France facing one another and shaking hands, with a winged cherub between them holding a scroll saying ‘Canterbury’. Below them is inscribed ‘L’Entente Cordiale’. The arms of the city of Canterbury are included on the top right. One or more copies of the plaque would have been given to the French party as souvenirs.

With plain bowl and air twist stem.

With engraved decoration and opaque twist stem.

Metal was smelted (melted) in ceramic containers like this, known as crucibles. The ceramics could withstand higher heat than metal, so the metal they contained melted long before the crucible burned.

Made by Castell and H. Prevost

Shows a fossilised sponge inside – a sponge once a living organism that has had its cells replaced by Silica in formation of a flint nodule, later worn to a pebble.
Presented by Colonel C J Cox, 1889

Tiles like these were made by pressing clay into a mould and filling the pattern indented in the clay with slip (slightly diluted clay) of another colour, before glazing and firing. They were expensive and used in cathedrals, abbeys, churches and royal palaces. Many depict flowers or mythical beasts such as dragons. They can be joined in various ways for extended and repeat patterns.

Glass buttons or counters found in Egypt. The ancient Egyptians were the first to make coloured glass objects.

Small dagger and sheath, given by Sir Sidney Smith to Lieutenant Thomas Doorne RN, according to the donor’s catalogue.

Once the property of Lady Elizabeth Muller, according to the donor.
Presented by Mr Alexander Wetherelt, by 1884

A polished example from Shorncliffe, Folkestone. See 1.

Flint is a Silicate mineral. It is very hard but when chipped has glassy, sharp edges. Hand-axes, hammer stones and blades like those on display in this case were made by Prehistoric hunters, who lived in Britain from about 600,000 to 5,000 years ago. Selecting the best flint and knapping it (hitting one rock against another to chip bits off), to make a range of tools for specific jobs, required very great skill. This ovate axe and pointed axe were both found at Reculver, near Herne Bay in the Canterbury district.

See 1.

See 1.

See 1.

See 1. Quartz crystals can be seen in the flint.

Part of a tree that has had its cells replaced by minerals over millions of years and has become a stone.

A lump of glass made from molten Silica.

Glasses can be made to sit on the nose, without earpieces. Such glasses are known as pinces-nez – literally ‘nose pinchers’.

With gilded coat of arms and the wording ‘Sandwich Volunteer Aug 1799 Brave and Free’.

Engraved with initials and an image of Sunderland Bridge, with a ship passing below it.

Particles of gold in quartz.

Remnant of a ‘pebble’ collected by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert on a visit to Scotland in 1849, which was made into an inkstand to commemorate their visit.

Granite is a very hard igneous stone containing minerals in large crystals, which formed as the molten rock cooled. It occurs in numerous varieties with different compositions of minerals.

Bottles like this are often found with holes in a similar place. Recent research has suggested that the holes were made by collectors who broke off the seals on bottles as the broken areas correspond to where seals would have been located.

Acheulian. See 1.

The glass is hollow and would have been blown into a mould.

Made about 1190 by an unknown Medieval sculptor from Caen stone, a fine creamy-coloured sandstone from France that was imported for building Canterbury Cathedral and Canterbury Castle.
From the Faussett collection

‘Made from a trial clay sent to Alderman Copeland’, according to the museum accessions register.

Made from fine white china clay known as ‘Parian marble’.

Reticulated or Specular haematite (iron oxide) from Norway.

From Auckland, New Zealand

Engraved with the Jacobite rose and a butterfly, and having an opaque twist stem.

Engraved with the Jacobite rose and having a plain stem.

Jade is a Silicate mineral. It is very hard and durable, and has been used since ancient times for tools as well as decoration. Some of our examples of tools come from New Zealand, where jade can be found.

Jet is fossil wood, formed when wood lies in stagnant water. It was popular for costume accessories to wear as a sign of mourning.

Hydrous aluminium silicate, the ‘magic’ ingredient that gives strength and translucency to pottery when added to clay, creating porcelain.

Sculptured in marble by John Frend, a Canterbury sculptor. Marble is a metamorphic rock that can take a fine polish.
Purchased with grant-aid from the MGC/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, the Beecroft Bequest and the Friends of Canterbury Museums, 1996

Restored by Dr Georges Turle and presented in his memory by his children, William, John and Philip Turle and Mary Woods, 2012

Glass slides with images painted on them, which were projected large by shining a light through the slides using an early form of projector.

With the arms of Antonio di Paola XIII Gran Maestro elected in 1623.

These beads are of unknown date and have been variously described as Egyptian, Medieval and Renaissance. The two halves of bead show how the colours are added by progressive dipping and coating.

Described as a ‘curious old hair comb’ used by pilgrims to Canterbury when acquired by the donor in 1870.

This iron has a solid ‘heart’ that was removable for heating

Galena (sulphide of lead) in crystalline Baryte, from Derbyshire.

Lead sulphide in cubo-octagonal crystals with Dolomite, from Cumberland.

A cube, in two pieces, of lead sulphide, an ore of lead.

For carrying water and with two holes for suspension.

A pedestal or base on which a lamp, candleholder, vase, figure or similar item could be mounted.

The glass is hollow and would have been blown into a mould.

Iron oxide from Arkansas, USA.

Unknown date and origin

Plaster is made from the earth mineral Gypsum, which also forms the Selenite on display in the case opposite focused on Glass.

One of a pair, of unknown origin.

The mineral Mica is a Silicate that forms in very thin layers; the single sheet shows how transparent it can be. It was known as Muscovy Glass. Mica is mainly white but there is a black variety containing iron.

Coloured opaque glass can be used to fill small compartments of metal objects, and is known as enamel. Decoration using tiny compartments is known as milles feuilles – French for millions of leaves.

Designed by Eric Ravilious.

Smelted with surface bubbles

Copper in its natural state.

From Cornwall

Small branches or dendritic crystals on calcite from Kongsberg, Norway.

Franks Collection

Sun birds construct their nests of fibre found in the bark of palm trees and line them with soft filaments of flowers, cotton and other fine vegetable material.

A sandstone whose reddish colour is due to oxidised iron content.

Carved by J Obrisset

Engraved with coats of arms and symbols.

Finely painted with birds amongst roses on one side and groups of flowers in baskets on the other, the gilded handles in the shape of rams heads.

Perhaps Jacob Petit, France
Bequeathed by John Irving, 1915

Made of a stone that is hardwearing to continual grinding.

This stone includes the fossil shells of freshwater snails. It was popular for decorative use in buildings and was called marble, although not really marble in the geological sense.

From the floor or wall of an unknown building

This piece of tortoiseshell belonged to the donor’s brother, who was an optician with Clement Clarks in Canterbury from the 1920s to 1940s. It was used in a window display advertising tortoiseshell frames for spectacles.

Communication across the Atlantic is by metal wires in cable like this early example.

Pewter – a lead tin mixture – is soft and can be pressed easily into moulds. It was used to manufacture large quantities of souvenirs like these for medieval pilgrims. The head of Becket and knight on a horse were made for pilgrims to Canterbury.

Painted by Dubois

Type of colour and pattern known as ‘famille rose’

Painted by Zacariah Boreman

Early 19th century, Minton

One of the watches has its casing removed to show the inner clock mechanism; another sits in a wooden pocket watch stand.

Porcelain, often called bisque, was used in the manufacture of dolls until the advent of plastic. Fine features could be modelled and painted for faces. Usually it was just the head, and perhaps also the hands and forearms, that were made of porcelain and attached to cloth or wooden bodies.
Bequeathed by Miss Anne Clelland, 2003

Metals conduct heat so are very useful for utensils in which water can be heated, and food cooked, on a fire. They are also shiny and have been used for lanterns, candlesticks and mirrors to reflect candlelight.

Carved bean shell with cork stopper

Flint is a variety of quartz. It is strong and heavy but can also be chipped away to create very fine sharp edges.

Flint is a variety of quartz. It is strong and heavy but can also be chipped away to create very fine sharp edges, sometimes serrated, as in these examples.

Presented by Lieutenant Colonel Copeland

The warm yellow colour and mellow shine of gold, its rarity and its relative softness for working have made it a very popular metal for jewellery since ancient times. Black enamelling on gold was popular for mourning jewellery like one of the rings here.

Quartz is a silicate that can form large clear crystals, known as Rock Crystal, or dark opaque lumps, known as Flint.

Found during building of the extension to the 1899 Beaney Institute building in 1933. The extension was funded by the Slater family, with a purpose-built picture gallery on the first floor (now the People and Places room) and lecture hall on the ground floor (now part of the Library).

These small bottles include many found during excavations in Canterbury. The double one has a label identifying it as found in Medinet-Tabou (Habou?) in Egypt. The bottles would have contained perfume, cosmetics, medicine and similar.

Late 1st to early 2nd century AD, found in Whitstable
Terracotta
Presented by Mr F. W. Robins

Terracotta

Obsidian is a glassy rock formed through cooling of volcanic lava so fast that few crystals form. It can be black or green (like examples in Colour and Camouflage), and sometimes ropy, like this piece.

Glass can be coloured by the addition of minerals. Gold creates ruby-coloured glass.

Grains of Silicate minerals.

Sand is made of silica – glass.

This is a rock formed from deposited grains of sand. The grains are weakly cemented so the rock breaks easily, making it ideal for quarrying. Local sandstones from the Tertiary age were extensively quarried around Canterbury in the past.

Transparent Selenite is a variety of Gypsum, a hydrated calcium sulphate.

Rhino hide was popular for dhal shields in South India because it is translucent: light shines through it. Rajasthan was the centre for manufacture and decoration of the traditional Indian round dhal fighting shields, with shallow domed shape and four metal bosses (round knobs) on the front corresponding to handle fixings inside.

Clive Soord is a sculptor in ceramics, and a ceramics tutor at Canterbury College. He can be seen within his studio in the photograph by Neil Sloman displayed in the Materials and Masters room.
“Ship of Fools is a work inspired by the old saying ‘too many steersmen sink the ship’. It’s a satirical political work. The tall ship is indicative of the ships we had when we had an empire. Westminster represents our seat of government on the poop deck, and we have a gaggle of politicians all waving their white papers pointing in different directions. The figurehead on HMS Britain is Thatcher, running the ship aground on the Grand Banks RBS, Lloyds etc.”

A stone with mineral veins, cut into an obelisk shape.

Recorded by the donor as having come from India, belonged to Lady Burroughs in 1768, and presented by her niece to the donor.

Made by ‘H H’

From the soda water supplier William Mayor of Silver Street, London.

Made from mutton bones by a French prisoner in the Napoleonic wars.

Red was considered a lucky colour for centuries and Mediterranean red coral (Corallium rubrum) was used to make bracelets, necklaces and other jewellery, as well as decorating babies’ rattles. Staghorn coral is the name given to long spiky growths. Mediterranean red coral is now becoming increasingly rare due to over-exploitation.

Found in Canterbury.

Made from a stalagmite – a formation of Calcite minerals deposited by water seeping through rocks and dripping in caves to make stalactites, which hang down, and stalagmites, which build up from cave floors.

Plain bowl with an opaque twist stem.

Designed by Hurton
From a tea set made by workmen at Copeland’s factory as a wedding gift to the donor

Bequeathed by John Irving, 1915

16th – 17th century, Delft, Netherlands
Tin-glazed earthenware
Tiles like these more usually had blue on white decoration. They were used for tiling fireplaces.
Presented by Miss Haddaway

From the Levant mine, Cornwall ‘276 fathom deep half mile out under sea’, collector ‘CGD’, probably 1829

Lead is a soft and plentiful metal that was used for making toys, as well as pipes and roof covering – it does not corrode easily and is waterproof. Large quantities of items could be cast, making the toys cheap and readily available. It ceased being used for toys in the mid-20th century when it was discovered to be poisonous.

Lead is a soft and plentiful metal that was used for making toys, as well as pipes and roof covering – it does not corrode easily and is waterproof. Large quantities of items could be cast, making the toys cheap and readily available. It ceased being used for toys in the mid-20th century when it was discovered to be poisonous.

With opaque twist stems and engraved with floral sprigs.

Engraved with Jacobite roses, one also with a butterfly. Both have air twist stems, one of them ‘knopped’ with thicker blobs of glass. The air twist stems are created by trapping a bubble of air in molten glass then pulling and twisting as it cools.

Engraved decoration of barley and hops.

With knopped stems, one with air bubbles trapped for decoration.

The skeleton of an ocean sponge, known as Venus Flower Basket, is made of silica by the soft-bodied creature living inside. David Attenborough chose the Venus Flower Basket as one of the amazing creatures he would save if he had an ark, in a recent TV series.

With engraved decoration of flowers and a butterfly, and an opaque twist stem.

With a knopped stem and large bowl engraved with a coat of arms and initials.

With an air twist stem, the bowl is richly engraved with hops and barley.

With a faceted stem, the bowl with dog rose pattern engraved.

Dark brown and white zinc manganese oxide.

1970s, Wedgwood
Designed by Susie Cooper
Bone china

Designed by Edward Bawden
Bone china
Bequeathed by George and Lorna Maynard, 2010

Mary Butcher, MBE

Easter card and envelope sent by Canterbury resident Frances Katherine Aitken to her cousin in Germany, but returned as undeliverable due to war. Part of a large collection of personal letters, poems, ration books, propaganda cartoons, special passes to travel on railway journeys to Dover Docks and much more that forms an important snapshot of Home Front Canterbury.