: Collections & Research

This month Amgueddfa Cymru acquired an example of a Prestcold ‘Packaway’ domestic fridge. This fridge was made in Swansea in the 1960s, and was bought new by the donor’s mother and used until only 18 months ago. It still works perfectly! The donation also included the original manual along with a recipe book.

These four lamp checks have been added to the collection this month. They are from Britannia, Deep Navigation, Oakdale and Cwm Collieries. Lamp checks (or 'tokens' or 'tallies') were used to let colliery management know who was in work, and were essential in informing rescue services who was underground during an incident such as a fire or explosion. If you would like to know more about colliery checks and token there is an interesting article here on our website. You can also see many more examples from our collection here on our 'Images of Industry' online catalogue. 

Also this month we received a brick to add to the large collection of Welsh manufactured bricks held at the National Collections Centre. It was found in tipped debris on the former Cyfarthfa Willows cinder tip, Merthyr Tydfil. The brick was manufactured at the Cyfarthfa iron & steel works between about 1890-1910.

Finally this month, we acquired a framed aerial photograph of Cefn Hirgoed opencast coal site was taken in the 1960s, and was at one time on display in the opencast office building. The close up view gives you a better idea of what the site once looked like.

Yn ei dyddiadur yr wythnos hon, mae Kate Rowlands yn nodi fod ‘Bob Lloyd wedi codi côr i fynd i’r Bala’. Mae Bob Lloyd yn fwy adnabyddus i ni fel Llwyd o’r Bryn (1888 - 1961) – eisteddfodwr o fri, aelod o Barti Tai'r Felin a sylfaenydd Cymdeithas y Llawr Dyrnu. Mewn cyfweliad hanes llafar â Minwel Tibbott yn 1970, soniodd Kate am ddiwylliant arbennig ei milltir sgwâr a bywyd cymdeithasol ardal y 'pethe'. Erbyn hyn, roedd Kate wedi ymadael â'r Sarnau ac yn byw yn Rhyduchaf, ger y Bala. Dyma grynodeb o’r sgwrs.

Sut gymdeithas oedd yn y Sarnau yn eich hamser chi?

Di-guro ynde, dyne’r gair fyswn i’n ddeud. Wedyn mi ddoth yn y blynyddoedd cymharol ddiweddar, mi ffurfiwyd y Llawr Dyrnu’n Sarne, a chal tair eglwys i uno efo’i gilydd. A mai’n dal’n llewyrchus ddychrynllyd eto 'fyd. Yndi, dyna’i cymdeithas nhw, Llawr Dyrnu ma nhw’n galw hi.

Pa adeg ffurfiwyd honno?

Tua nineteen… alla i’m deud. Rhoswch chi ddau funud wan i fi sidro. Yn y nineteen thirties siwr gen i. Ond cyn hynny, gneud ein cymdeithas odden ni. O’ ne bopeth yn y Sarne amser honno yn de. O’dd hi’n gymdeithas … cymdeithas y capel… Ddoth na lawer iawn o farddoni… yn y Sarne te a mai’n dal felly eto ma’n siwr. Ddoth yr WEA ’fyd yn Sarne’n flodeuog iawn, iawn yn de… O gynny nhw athrawon yn WEA. Dw i’n cofio I. B. Griffith yn athraw a gynno fo dros ddeugien yn’i ddosbarth yn Sarne…

Beth fydde yn cael ’i gynnal, hanes?

Ie, hanes. Probleme yr oes w’chi, probleme cyfoes a rwbeth debyg… Y tair blynedd ola ro’n i’n Ty Hen, ddaru mi gadw’r cwbwl heb golli dim cofiwch. Thirty six o ddosbarthiade.

Beth fydde pobol yn neud gyda’r nos yn eu cartrefi?

Wn i’m be fydda nhw’n neud, cofiwch. O’dd na ryw ysbryd iach ofnadwy… Fydde ryw swperi yn ffasiwn ofnadwy chi, mynd i gartrefi gilydd. Wn i’m be fydde nhw’n neud yno. Dw i’m yn meddwl bydde nhw’n deud ’im byd drwg am neb.

Oedd na gymdeithas glos yn Sarne?

Oedd ardderchog, bob amser. Dw i’n dal i ddeud eto mai’r Seiat a’r Cwarfod Plant, dene o’dd yn byd ni wch chi’n te. Pawb yn mynd yno chi, pawb mynd yno te. O’dd neb yn meddwl peidio… pawb yn mynd i bob peth. Dydi ’di newid dwch.

Mae tymor y sgarff a’r esgidiau glaw, yr het a’r hances boced, yn agosáu.  Er bod yn ofalus wrth wisgo’n glyd a chynnes mae bron yn anochel y byddwn yn dioddef rywbryd yn ystod y misoedd nesaf o un neu ragor o anhwylderau’r tymor. 

Meddyginiaethau Gwerin

Erbyn hyn, mae’n ddigon hawdd dod o hyd i foddion i esmwytho llawer salwch, ond cyn ymddangosiad y fferyllfa ar y stryd fawr, byddai pobl gyffredin Cymru yn troi at feddyginiaethau gwerin i wella mân afiechydon ac anafiadau. 

Casgliad yr Archif Sain

Yn Archif Sain Amgueddfa Werin Cymru ceir casgliad hynod o ddiddorol o recordiadau yn ymwneud â meddyginiaethau traddodiadol, rhai â sail wyddonol a rhai eraill braidd yn anoddach i’w llyncu! 

Felly, os nad ydych am fentro allan trwy’r gwynt a’r glaw i wario arian ar becyn o dabledi neu botel o rhyw gymysgedd gostus, dyma rai syniadau am sut i ddefnyddio eitemau cyffredin o’r cwpwrdd bwyd (ac un hylif corfforol!) i gadw’n iach tan y gwanwyn.

I Wella Annwyd

Rhowch beint o gwrw casgen ar y tân.  Rhowch bedair llond llwy fwrdd o siwgr brown a dwy llond llwy de o sunsur ynddo.  Gadewch iddo ferwi a’i yfed cyn gynted â phosibl a mynd yn syth i’r gwely.  Os nad oes cwrw yn y tŷ dylid yfed llaeth enwyn ac ychydig o driog ynddo neu gymysgedd o fêl, menyn a finegr.

I Wella Gwddf Tost

Rhowch hosan wlân a wisgwyd am y troed trwy’r dydd am y gwddf a’i gadw yno trwy’r nos.  Cofiwch roi troed yr hosan (y darn mwyaf budr) yn agos i’r llwnc er mwyn “dal y chwys”.  Gellir hefyd roi saim gŵydd neu sleisen neu ddwy o gig moch yn yr hosan os oes peth ar gael.

I Wella Clust Dost

Rhowch winwnsyn yn y ffwrn i gynhesu ac yna rhoi canol y winwnsyn yn y glust gan ofalu bod y darn yn ddigon mawr i’w dynnu allan eto.  Os nad oes winwnsyn gennych gellir rhoi peth olew yr olewydd wedi ei gynhesu ar wadin yn y glust, neu os nad oes olew yn y tŷ, gellir defnyddio eich dŵr eich hun.

I Wella Llosg Eira

Dylid chwipio’r llosg gyda chelyn nes bod y croen yn gwaedu.  Os nad yw hyn yn apelio, dylid mynd allan i gerdded yn yr eira yn droednoeth neu dorri winwnsyn yn ei hanner, rhoi peth halen ar y toriad ac yna ei rwbio ar y croen sydd wedi ei effeithio.

Wel, dyna ni.  Digon o feddyginiaethau i’ch cadw yn hapus ac yn iach dros y misoedd i ddod!

Ac i gloi, gair o gyngor i’r merched.  Dyma bennill a gofnodwyd oddi ar lafar yn Llanfachreth, Dolgellau, yn 1977:

            Pan dry’r hen gath ddu ei thîn ar y tân,

            Tynn allan dy bais dew, mae’n rhy oer i bethau mân.

In the last blog I outlined (very briefly!) what museum conservators do. Recently we (that is, the conservation team at Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales) had an opportunity to present ourselves and our work directly to the community during an Open Day. And the day gave us as many interesting insights as it did the public.

This was the first ever Conservators Open Day held at National Museum Cardiff. First up, the day was not a flop: almost 4,000 people came to the museum that day; for comparison, the daily average over the year is approximately 1,200 visitors, so the turnout was good. In fact, it exceeded all expectations. You could say we were happy with that.

The offer on the day had included an insight into every branch of the museum’s conservation. The furniture conservator brought a real harpsichord and explained how it had been repaired recently. The paintings conservator demonstrated how she restores paintings. The natural history conservators asked our visitors how a damaged stuffed peacock should be conserved – and they are now working on applying these suggestions so that the peacock will soon be presentable again. Here is a little summary with many photos giving an impression of the day.

So we know that people are interested in our work and how we go about preserving heritage. But what exactly does that mean? Are conservators really being confused with conservationists, and did people go home having learned what the difference really is? Museums are about learning – so we would like to know if this works. Some big questions – we wanted to know the answers and undertook some research in the form of event evaluation.

The results of the evaluation indicated that many people had come specifically to see this event (the marketing is working), and almost all enjoyed it (our offer was good). This is good to know and gives us some direction for the organisation of future events. What surprised us was to find that most people knew who museum conservators are and what they do – apparently we do not get confused with the people who look after pandas (who also do incredibly valuable work). Not only that, but 100% of our respondents said that the care of collections is one of the most important roles of museums.

An important answer in many ways. It makes conservators – who spend most of their time hidden behind the scenes, working on their own in a laboratory or windowless store, where it is easy to get a sense of isolation – feel valued for the many hours of painstaking work. More importantly, it suggests that the community cares deeply about its heritage, and appreciates that there is somebody who looks after it on their behalf.

We all need our heritage. It defines who we are. It is a reference point for our values. It anchors us in our roots. But it’s not as easy as handing your grandfather’s watch to the museum and putting it on a shelf. Things fall apart without proper care, and once an object is lost we cannot simply buy a new one from a supermarket/antiques shop/ebay. Together with the object the story is lost, and a piece of history gone.

Conservators are key in the museum sector’s work of maintaining the link between objects and history, values and identity. Our visiting public are aware of this and know to value it. Does that mean we can stop holding Open Days? Absolutely not: according to the evaluation, no visitor went away not having learned anything, and now that curiosity has been awakened the majority want to find out more. In fact, two thirds of visitors want conservators to be more visible in public spaces. This is what we are now working on – so watch out in our galleries and you might just see more of us soon.

Find out more about care of collections at Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales here.

11^th December 2015 at the National Museum Cardiff from 10.30am to 3.30pm.

Join us for the Christmas version of this one day conference organized by Amgueddfa Cymru: National Museum Wales, The Federation of Museums and Art Galleries of Wales and Cardiff University. The theme is ‘Conservators in action’ and will highlight some of the great work done by conservators across Wales.

A good mix of talks is being arranged;

• Gemma McBader, this years winner of the Pilgrim Trust Student Conservator of the Year Award, will talk about her project 'Significance-led conservation of a 19th century Ethiopian shield'.
• Helen Baguley on her experiences as a music internship at St Fagans National History Museum.
• Adam Webster will be exploring the conservation of the Stradling family memorial panels.
• Ruth Murgatroyd on preparing the specimens for the ‘Stuffed, pickled, pinned’ exhibition for their 3 year tour.
• Julie McBain will be challenging authenticity in textile conservation.
• Jane Rutherfoord discusses the uncovering, conservation and significance of the 15th century wall paintings at Llancarfan.
• Caroline Buttler will be looking at the challenges of conserving, moving and displaying a few tons of fossil tree root!
• Katie Mortimer Jones will be providing an insight into the way the Natural sciences at AC-NMW integrate the use of social media.

A draft program for the day is;

If you have any queries about the program please contact julian.carter@museumwales.ac.uk. We will be looking to finish by around 3.30pm, with the additional option of some short collection tours afterwards if you wish to stay longer. For those requiring some further refreshment the tours will be followed by a seasonal visit to a local pub.

The cost of the day is £20 which includes lunch (£10 for students). If you wish to join us, please email your booking information before 7 December 2015 and follow it with a cheque or Purchase Order payable to Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales to

Katrina Deering
National Collections Centre
Heol Crochendy
Parc Nantgarw CF15 7QT

Please E-mail any booking queries to katrina.deering@museumwales.ac.uk

Booking information
Name:
Organisation:
E-mail address:
Payment enclosed or to follow: Yes/No     

Students are permitted to pay cash on the day, but must book a place by 7 December 2015. Places are allocated on a first come first served basis.

Please include any dietry requirements with your booking information.

Conservation Matters in Wales conferences are held twice a year in Wales, UK and bring together examples of best practice, case studies and research in conservation and collections care, and provide networking opportunities for conservators and museum, library and archive professionals.