Mary Rose Museum, Portsmouth

Stephola was onboarding for a new job and the poor love was stuck in what looked like an endless stream of dreary remote e-learning – absolutely nothing of which was I able to assist her with and scant little I could offer other than commiserations and the occasional cup of tea, so I decided to head out of town and go visit Portsmouth. I honestly can’t remember if we made it to Portsmouth back in ‘95; it’s possible, but by the end of that six month trip, I mostly just remember the nightmare of driving and more driving. I’d have to go look it up… even back then I kept a travel journal, but it isn’t on here!

The primary reason for deciding on Portsmouth? The famous Mary Rose Museum. So I booked myself some cheap accomodation about 200m walk from the shipyards / naval museum district. Turned out to be a great spot and a lovely hotel… for a fraction of the cost of our Dublin digs, I got a room twice the size and buffet breakfast thrown in. Royal Maritime Hotel on Queen Street – can highly recommend it as budget accom near the museums.

The view from my window…

First thing in the morning I got myself around the Shipyards complex thinking to beat the tourists crowds, only to see fairly quickly that everyone else had had the same plan. There was a queue to get in, even though this mid-winter crowd were largely locals (UK, not all from Portsmouth!) judging by the accents. So I found a spot with a nice bench to wait half a hour or so for the morning crush to dissipate. It was a well calculated plan, for as soon as the first tranche of visitors disappeared from view, I then found myself in a lull in the traffic and didn’t see many people along the route for my entire visit.

Interesting juxtaposition…?

This was my first view of the Mary Rose Museum, I wasn’t expecting such a spaceship looking thing. I think maybe the Vasa Museum and the recent visit to the Titanic Museum had given rise an expectation of something more nautical??

Like I said, there was a lull between the crowds – everyone had gone in already and I found myself following the route largely solo. I was a bit concerned at the video projections, the overly passionate ‘History Channel’ audio that was running and the whole ‘Spirit of London’ vibe was feeling strong at the beginning of the exhibition – thankfully, it was short lived, and the bulk of the museum wasn’t insisting on the forcible interactive spoon feeding the guests some you know, history.

This is turning into a real pet hate these days… it’s worse in the UK than in the museums we visited last year on the Continent… but there is this extremely obvious, bordering on obsessive, effort happening in these cultural and historically important locations to turn ‘history’ into ‘experience’. I know the theory of it all is to make the history as accessible as possible – they’re literally trying to display ‘history without the dull bits’, but personally I find it condescending and extremely agitating to have archeological finds and historical culturally significant information handed to me in what feels like some sort of pre-digested, dumbed-down format. Stop catering for the lowest common denominator! People will never get truly engaged and lift their game if they can come to these things and consistently have their history served up to them in sanitised, bite sized chunks that don’t require them to fire up at least a few neurons. I could rant about this all day, but won’t. At least there was no black London taxi cab in this ‘interactive experience.

Okay, I didn’t mind the huge projections of some manuscript imagery depicting the ship from contemporary sources – the originals of which are not housed at this museum and will not be on display here. But there must be some happy balance between providing relevant additional information in a visually useful manner without the need to add a theatrical song and dance soundtrack over it while you present it? Surely… >.>

The Mary Rose was an English Tudor warship, one of the jewels of the navy at the time. It was commissioned by King Henry VIII, and built in Portsmouth between 1509 and 1511. It served largely as a troop carrier before being refit out as an artillery ship in 1545 when it was transformed into a cutting-edge carvel-built ship with lidded gun ports, which allowed her to be equipped with heavier guns. This same guns and their weight may have been the ship’s undoing. The Mary Rose was apparently King Henry VIII’s favourite ship and often served as the flagship of the fleet.

Sadly, it sank in 1545 during the Battle of the Solent, while attempting to stop French ships from landing on the Isle of Wight, and was lost until 1982 when it was raised. Now it provides the most perfect Tudor time capsule we have, and gives incredible insight into the Tudor naval and seafaring life and the lives of people from the Tudor period in general.

Thankfully, the interactive ‘we are in the waves sinking beneath the seas while listening to the laments of Henry VIII’ audio-visual rooms disappeared quickly and we were able to enter the museum proper and from here on in were engaging with more traditional displays! Phew… for a bit there it was promising to be a loooong day! The first artefact presented for our edification was this impressive canon – little did i know just how many canon were going to be scattered around this museum!

Many of the descriptions I’ve included are directly from the information plaques.

Everyone on board the Mary Rose was male. Records say that the ship carried 200 mariners, 185 soldiers, 30 gunners and the officers. She also carried the captain and his retinue, a master, a pilot, a purser, a surgeon and his assistant,/and carpenters. So they think there were more than 500 men on board when the ship sank. Of these, no more than 35 survived. Studies of the skeletal remains of at least 179 individuals have revealed that most of the men were in their 20s. The youngest was around ten years old and the oldest over 40. On average the men were I.71 metres tall (5 ft 7 in.), only slightly smaller than UK men of today (typically around 1.75 metres, 5 ft 9 in.).

This fine plate is one of 28 pewter pieces with the letters ‘GC’ stamped on the rim. These are the initials of Sir George Carew, the captain of the Mary Rose. A pewter bowl has the initials of the owner ‘GI’ on one side. On the other side are the letters ‘IS’ within a shield, which also has a picture of a pewterer’s hammer. So these letters are assumed to be the maker’s initials.

Initials of other officers can be seen on other pewter items, such as ‘HB’ on a dish. They have not discovered the name of its owner. This pewter flagon has some very curious marks. The lid is highly decorated and has four scratched marks. On the base is a symbol of the Trinity made by a pattern of three fish.

The crew liked to personalise their drinking vessels apparently. These lids of tankards all have complex marks so their owners could identify them. The marks can be neatly incised on the outside, the inside, or all over, as on some of the bowls. It is not clear whether the marks show ownership by one person or by a group of mess mates.

The Mary Rose Bell – This bronze bell is one of the few objects that stayed on the Mary Rose throughout her career. It was made in Malines near Antwerp, a town famous for casting bells in that periods. The Flemish inscription running round it reads: ‘IC BEN GHEGOTEN INT YAER MCCCCCX’ – I was made in the year 1510′ – the year Henry VIII ordered the Mary Rose. It was rung to mark the passing of time, to raise alarm and to tell the men when to go on or off duty. It’s in such good condition.

The Mary Rose had such a successful career as a troop carrier for 34 years but sank in a matter of minutes. Over the years, there have been many explanations of what caused her to go down so quickly. After looking at all the evidence, they think it was a combination of factors. Many accounts of the sinking were written years later or by people who were not there. So these may not be reliable. There is only one account by a survivor, recorded at the time by the ambassador to the Emperor Charles V. He said the disaster was:

“… caused by their not having closed the lowest row of gunports on one side of the ship. Having fired the guns on that side, the ship was turning in order to fire the guns from the other, when the wind caught her sails so strongly as to heel her over, and plunge her open gunports beneath the water, which flooded and sank her.”

This suggests she sank because water flooded in through the open gunports when a gust of wind heeled the ship over. But there may be other reasons why the ship went over so easily and why the crew was unable to prevent the disaster.

The Mary Rose sank on her starboard side, leaving the port side to be slowly destroyed by erosion and by marine animals, fungi and bacteria. The starboard side survived because it became buried in the mud, which protected it from the underwater currents and from destructive organisms. The water in the Solent contains large quantities of silt, which built up both inside and around the hull. This smothered the remains of the ship, keeping out the oxygen that the wood-attacking creatures needed to live.

the first view of the actual ship was quite stunning. It is not as large or impressive as the Vasa but its cut away view gives you a fantastic appreciation of where the various officers and crew were located, and how the ship functioned.

There are numerous artefacts displayed alongside the ship as you wander from one end of the galleries to the other – military canon, canonballs, swords, and other more domestic items like axes, buckets, tables and chairs.

The lighting on the ship changes constantly, sometimes looking a warm amber and other times a deep blue (presumably to indicate it was beneath the waves, because we might forget?). I wasn’t however, expecting the lights to dim and then see animated projections of various people depicted in period clothing living and working as if they were inside the ship. I found it distracting, but others may have found it helpful to depict where certain functions of the ship were located.

Some fabulous oak trunks and caskets.

The Master Carpenter’s Quarters
Everything found inside this chest is known to have belonged to one man – the Master Carpenter. They can tell from his belongings that he was not just a skilled craftsman, but also wealthy, literate and religious. They know he practised archery, liked to play dice games and had a fondness for finely decorated items. The Master Carpenter had some finer belongings than most of the crew. In his chest they found valuable pewter plates and a very ornate pewter tankard. It is the only known I6thC tankard etched with these detailed patterns. Even his knife was of high quality; with a handle made of burr boxwood, it originally had fine metal fastenings.

Backgammon Set – The Master Carpenter owned a ‘tables’ set, a game which developed into backgammon. The lighter coloured triangles are yew; the darker triangles are made of spruce or larch. The board could be folded in half and the rebates for the hinges can still be seen, but the iron hinges have rusted away during the years the wreck was underwater. Only some of the backgammon counters survived. Originally there would have been 15 dark and 15 light ones made of poplar. You can see that the upper edges have been rounded off so that they feel comfortable in the hand. A leather pot found near the backgammon board might have been a dice-shaker. There were two tiny dice in the chest – and by tiny, they are about 6mm square – and they are not even or identical.

The famous Good Boy, Hatch.

The Master Gunner’s Chest
The Master Gunner’s chest was found on the main gundeck. The carving on the front includes a shield with his mark. The tools inside include a linstock and priming wire. The linstock held a smouldering match which was put to the touch-hole at the back of the gun to ignite the gunpowder. The priming wire was used to keep the touch-hole clean. The silver whistle is the Master Gunner’s badge of office. The silver and garnet Maltese Cross with two silver finger rings and silver coins show he was a wealthy man.
The tiny bone dice suggest that he probably enjoyed gaming. His clothing included the ends of laces for either a jerkin or his shoes. His chest contained the only dress-pin of silver found. He carried a ballock dagger with by-knives. The top of a second dagger is decorated with the figures of a king and queen.

The gallon flagon may have been a serving flagon for the gun crew. It was found beside the Master Gunner’s chest and has a picture of a bronze gun on a carriage with spoked wheels. But if you look at it sideways, you may see something else. The lid is incised with an inscription which translates as “If God is with us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). The inscription encircles a Tudor rose and crown.
The small lead weight and wooden bung were also found inside the chest.

Gravel, pebbles or smashed flint cobbles were placed inside wooden canisters and fired at close range to ‘scour the decks’. This powder chamber is the largest they found. It took six men to lift it. There are two of these large chambers, but not the huge gun barrels they belonged to.

Bronze Guns
This demi-cannon was made in 1535 by Francesco Arcano, an Italian gunfounder working in London.
The gun is decorated with fleurs-de-lis (symbolising Henry VIII’s claim to France), Tudor roses, and the lions of England. The shield has Tudor supporters – a dragon and a greyhound. Above that is the Royal Crown and below are the letters ‘H VIII R’. Under the name of the gunfounder are the words. ‘POVR DEFENDER’ (To defend). It weighs 1,400 kg with a bore of 14 cm.

Troopship to Gunship
The Mary Rose was built to carry soldiers, gunners and archers. Most of her guns were small and the emphasis was on hand-to-hand combat. By the time she sank after 34 years in service, the tactics of warfare at sea had changed completely. The emphasis was now on firepower and her hull had been adapted for this. When built, the Mary Rose was equipped with 78 guns, but only five of these were large enough to be mounted on carriages. In 1545 at the time the ship sank, of her 91 guns over 30 were mounted on carriages. The recent innovation of tightly fitting gunport lids made it possible for her to carry these very heavy weapons and still be a stable sailing ship. In the late I530s the Mary Rose was transformed from a platform chiefly for soldiers to become a platform mainly for guns. When she was discovered, her gunport lids were open for battle and the guns were run out, ready for firing.

The Surgeon’s Quarters
The Surgeon not only performed operations but was also the ship’s doctor, dentist and pharmacist. He was however not a barber, despite belonging to the Company of Barbers and Surgeons. The Company did not allow him to cut hair or shave another man’s beard. Most of the best surgeons worked for the nobility. Our surgeon may have been employed by the captain, Vice Admiral Sir George Carew. The Surgeon’s post was a skilled and prestigious one but also challenging. He had to treat fevers – such as typhus, yellow fever, malaria or even plague – venereal and lung diseases, dysentery, parasites and dental decay, as well as treating battle wounds and work injuries. “And I do note four things most specially that every surgeon ought to have: The First that he be learned; The Second that he be expert; The Third that he be ingenious; The Fourth that he be well mannered.”

Inside the chest in the Surgeon’s cabin we found a wooden dish and two wooden bowls to hold sponges and bloodied instruments. These are examples of the wooden ointment canisters and ceramic medicine jars, found in the chest, still corked. The shape and glaze of these jars shows that they were imported from Raeren, a town now in Belgium. The wooden canisters are also from there or one of the other city-states on the Lower Rhine.

A syringe, used for draining wounds, was also retrieved from the orlop deck. Nearby were two pewter canisters, identical to those in the Surgeon’s cabin. Three of the Surgeon’s wooden canisters were found far away from his cabin one on the orlop deck and two of them close to the coif on the upper deck.

A coif was recovered from the upper deck. It is silk, not velvet like the one found folded in the cabin. While the one in the cabin is identical to those worn in the painting of Henry VIII and the Barber Surgeons, this one seems more functional than ceremonial, so perhaps this was the one he wore every day.

This length of chain was found nearby. It has no obvious function, but it is very similar to the chains on the shoulders of some of the men in the painting of Henry VIII and the Barber Surgeons.

Medicine on the Mary Rose
The surgeon was a man of science, but also a man of faith. This was an age when everyone believed God’s will intervened in all human affairs –

‘Je le pansai, Dieu le guérit’ : ‘I bandaged him, God healed him.’ Ambroise Paré, Journey to Turin, 1537

Cures, and even the patient’s survival, depended on the surgeon’s skill in diagnosing and treating. The surgeon might not have fully understood the nature of disease but he knew a wide range of remedies and about the need for cleanliness. He also cared about the well-being of his patients. The wooden bottle and cleverly shaped spoon helped to feed those who were too weak to feed themselves or who had facial injuries. Liquids were forced into the rectum using this clyster (object marked #6) to relieve stomach pains and constipation, and to treat parasitic worms. A pig’s bladder was normally used to hold the liquid.

These scoops and probes helped the Surgeon remove shot, shrapnel and fragments of bone in a body. For cutting into the body, the surgeon had a range of scalpels and a knife.

The Surgeon would amputate a limb if it was too damaged or diseased to heal. Smaller amputations, of fingers and toes, were carried out using a chisel and mallet. Amputation of hands, arms, feet and legs would be done using the amputation knife to separate the flesh and then the saw to cut through the bone… all without anaesthetic! *shudder*

Blood flow was stopped with cautery irons. These were heated over a brazier and the red hot iron applied to seal the veins. Not every problem the Surgeon dealt with on board was caused by an accident or by war. He would use the urethral syringe to treat venereal diseases by injecting mercury, although none of the human remains showed any signs of such diseases. Bandages for wounds were sewn up with a wooden needles.

Diagnosis & Treatment
In 16th-century England there was little understanding of disease. It was believed that illness was caused by an imbalance of the four humours (substances) which made up a person – blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile. Diagnosis by the colour, smell and taste of urine was common. Cures could be dietary, herbal or by the letting of blood. All these treatments were thought to bring the humours back into balance.

“Let every man be wary no phlebotomist or letter of blood, nor no manner of surgeon do touch him in opening any vein or do make any incision or cutting when the moon is in any sign where the sign has any dominion or does reign.” – Andrew Boorde, Fyrst Boke of the Introduction of Knowledge, 1542

The Surgeon’s Potions
Ointments to soothe and heal were mixed and spread using spatulas. These glass bottles and the small decorative jars are from the south of the Netherlands, they held expensive and unstable or poisonous materials, such as mercury. Only small amounts were needed to create a potion. Ceramic jars were found still corked and held the remains of their medicines, some of these jars are from Spain and Portugal.

The pewter flasks would have contained precious distilled medicines. The Surgeon made cures from dried herbs that may have been stored in these pewter canisters .

When some of the wooden ointment canisters were recovered, there were still traces of their painted labels. One canister contained peppercorns, a treatment for malarial fever, headaches, coughs and wind. The base for the Surgeon’s ointments was beeswax, butter or tallow. Into this he mixed resins, olive, poppy and fern oil, frankincense, sulphur, copper, lead and mercury. Good stuff.

Henry VIII & the Barber Surgeons
One of the unnamed faces with the King in this picture could be that of the Mary Rose’s surgeon. The distinctive surgeon’s cap and the medical equipment we found, as well as his presence on Vice Admiral Carew’s ship, all suggest that our surgeon was very experienced and a man of some note. As this painting commemorates an event just five years before the Mary Rose sank, his portrait may be included here. The picture was painted by Hans Holbein the Younger to mark the merger of the Company of Barbers and the Fellowship of Surgeons in 1540 to form the Company of Barbers and Surgeons. Normally the King would not attend such an event, but it reflects his wish for English medical practice to equal that of mainland Europe. The painting is displayed by kind permission of the Worshipful Company of Barbers of London.

The distinctive coif with its silk lining tells us that the Surgeon had served a seven-year apprenticeship under a master surgeon, passed the examination and was now a senior member of the Company of Barber and Surgeons. He owned a barber’s bowl razors and case and combs, even though the new rules of the Company of Barbers and Surgeons did not allow him to cut hair or shave another man’s beard. There are two signs that the surgeon was wealthy man. First, his leather purse packed with silver groats. Secondly, the medical equipment found in the cabin must have been very expensive to buy. Many instruments were made on the Continent, but the pewter objects are all English – which was the most costly and prized of all pewter ware at the time.

Cauldrons
This cauldron, and the brick fireplace into which it was built, was found under an enormous pile of rubble. This is how it looked half-way through the excavation… but without the mud. Originally the rim of the cauldron was circular and over 1.6 metres wide. We could boil 350 litres of broth. The silt covering the ovens was as deep as the room you are standing in (10-12’ deep). All of it was dug out by the divers before they even reached the top of the rubble – more than ten times the amount shown here. The cauldron was built into brickwork which supported it all the way around. Extra support was provided by two iron bars built into the sixth course of bricks. One of these iron bars survived very well, but the other bar corroded away, leaving just a hole where it had been.

Conservationists managed to retrieve ash from below the cauldron. There was not much unburnt wood in the oven, so we think the fire was not alight when the ship sank. Ash was scooped out with this wooden shovel. You can see that the end was once protected with metal, but is has been burnt at some stage.
The ash was collected in an ashbox to be carried away.

Injury & Illness
This is the skull of Person A, who we have identified as the Master Gunner because of the objects found with him. Although younger than 35, he had lost many of his teeth and parts of his jaw bone had worn away, so he probably suffered from painful abscesses. He had an unusually shaped head, longer between the front and the back than many of the other men.

These are the arm bones of Person B. He was between 25 and 30 years old and 1.7 metres tall (5ft 7in.). Although he had well developed muscles, his lower spine had signs of stress and his right elbow (displayed on the left) was badly damaged and arthritic. He had the only ivory wristguard recovered and the other objects displayed in the case nearby. So we think he was an archer, or perhaps a less active captain of archers.

C-D Person C, a young man, suffered a ‘bowing” fracture of his right femur – the upper leg bone-as a child. It is twisted, bowed and flattened and there is matching damage on his right pelvis.

Person D, an older man, had suffered ‘spiral’ fractures of both bones in his lower right leg. These were the result of a fall. It is clear that the bones were not reset after the fracture.

E-F Person E, a teenager, had rickets as a child. This softens the bones – you can see that both his tibias are bowed as a result.

G-H The heads of the upper leg bones of Person G, are flattened and his hip joints are broad and shallow. This was due Rickets is caused by a lack of vitamin D, which is found in fish oil, animal fats and cheese. One of the lower leg bones of Person F shows scars from healed scurvy. This is caused by a lack of vitamin C and results in bleeding. On long bones, extra bony to restricted blood flow to this area in childhood. Standing upright would have been impossible, and he would have walked awkwardly. Some skulls have head wounds which may be battle injuries.

Person H may have been hit by an arrow shot from above, but it growth occurs at the spots where the blood clots were healing when the man died.

An Archer’s Skeleton
This is one of the most complete skeletons recovered. The bones are large and depressions within them suggest that his muscles – especially his arm muscles – were well developed. Both his shoulders have a condition called acromiona, where the tip of bone – the acromion – on the shoulder blade has not fused. It usually fuses around the age of about 18, but regular strain can prevent this. On the Mary Rose skeletons, there are more instances of this condition on the left-hand side than the right. The left side is the side which exerts most force when a right-handed archer draws a longbow. The central section of his spine is twisted and the base is compressed towards the left. His pelvis shows signs of severe stress, similar to that found on the bones of archers who draw heavy longbows today. These are more reasons why we think he must have been a professional archer.

The Cook’s Personal Belongings.
A few possessions were found in the galley which we think belonged to the Cook. Like many of the crew he had a dagger – his small knife, is of a type usually mounted on the outside of the sheath of a dagger. He had a comb and a few silver groats – coins of small value. Several cooking spoons were found in the galley but this one may have been his own eating spoon. This bowl has the name ‘NY COEP COOK’ carved onto it so we think that is the name for our cook. We also found shoes and woollen stockings called hose – mostly too fragile to display except this piece from the foot part of the stocking.

The Cook’s Stool
This is the oldest dated example of this type of stool in the world. It was next to the ovens. Although it makes a good seat, the cut marks on it show that the Cook also used it as a chopping block. The knife on top of the stool was one of the smaller ones in the galley.

These pots are known as grapen. They were made in the Netherlands and nearby Flanders where there was a tradition of making such pots stretching back to the 13th century. Some of these pots had soot on the outside, showing they stood on the hearth next to the flames. Some have large feet attached but others have small feet ‘pulled’ (pinched) from the clay of the pot.

When it came to mealtimes, the crew were organised into groups of about ten men. Each group was known as a mess! By looking at where they found plates, buckets and bowls around the ship they can work out how food and drink was served to the crew. Almost 100 wooden plates were found in the galley: These must have been issued at meal times and returned. Drinking bowls, however, stayed with the mess alongside their barrels of beer. They found no evidence of mess tables-the crew probably sat on the decks to eat.

Cod and hake bones were found in barrels and in baskets. The cod, some almost a metre long, came from the fishing grounds off Iceland and Newfoundland. The hake probably came from English waters. All had been de-headed and gutted. This conger eel was caught by fishermen from the Channel Islands where catching these eels was a major industry.

The Purser’s Store
The store was small and partitioned off from the rest of the deck. At one end we found a pile of seven gun-shields and at the other, a number of lanterns. In the centre were chests full of clothes and tools. Among them were baskets, some with the remains of fish or dried plums in them, and barrels, some of which held candles. Others still contained the residue of wine. In the next compartment we found more lanterns and baskets of fish as well as a set of scales for weighing out

The Purser had a second chest. In it he kept a pair of leather ankle boots, a knitted garment, a wooden comb and a knife. There was also a small square wooden plate, a leather drinking flask and his bowl, marked on its base with the number 18.

The second chest also contained objects that reflect the Purser’s control of food and drink on board. He was responsible for the contents of the barrels, and in this chest were the tools for this job-his shives and spiles. A shive is a tapering wooden tap, which was hammered into a barrel so that the liquid inside could be poured out. A spile is a long bung that is tapped into the shive as a stopper to close the barrel. A wooden mallet found nearby would knock them into position.

Angels were coins worth 8 shillings. One of these is from the first half of Henry VIll’s reign, the other two are from the reign of his father, Henry VII. All have a ship on one side and the winged figure of St Michael slaying a dragon on the other side. The half-angel, like the angel, has an image of St Michael and the dragon on one side and a type of medieval ship called a hul on the other. The coin was struck during the reign of Edward IV, more than sixty years before the Mary Rose sank. There are more than 20 silver coins here, amounting to a few shillings.

The Money Changer
In a chest in the officers’ quarters on the upper deck, we discovered a small box containing a set of scales with weights for specific gold coins. Nearby were fragments of a money-changer’s purse. All these suggest a money-changer was on board, perhaps the Purser himself. Money-changers carried scales to check the weight of the coins. They also had very distinctive purses with stick handles from which four, five or six pouches were hung. Sometimes these had smaller pouches sewn on the outside to keep different coins separate.

A small number of personal items were found with the scales and weights. These included a painted octagonal mirror base, combs, parts of several shoes,, a leather drinking flask, copper lace-ends, a silver groat and a tiny barrel of pepper. We also detected traces of ginger root in the chest – another expensive imported commodity. The fishing floats show that either he felt a need to supplement the ship’s food he received or he simply enjoyed fishing.

The Purser’s Treasury.
One chest in the Purser’s store stood out – a bench-style chest with carved panels covering its legs. Fitted with a lock, it had gold and silver coins inside amounting to more than the Captain’s monthly wages. Some of the coins were newly minted in 1545 and were barely worn, so this was very probably the ship’s official money chest. These are fragments of the handle and leather that made up the distinctive money-changer’s purse (object #14). It had a number of pouches to hold different currencies, or coins of different values. Close by was the oldest coin recovered – a single gold coin called a ryal (15). Worth 10 shillings, it was made in Coventry about 80 years before the Mary Rose sank.

A Money Changer’s Scales and Weights
The money changer’s small box has a sliding lid like an old-fashioned pencil box. On the inside are circular depressions carved to hold a pair of collapsible pan scales. These hung from the ends of the beam by silk cords held with wire rings and are used for weighing coins. The shapes of these weighs were more common on the Continent than in England in the mid-16th Century. They were made for checking the weight of specific gold coins.
A weight used for nobles – a gold coin worth a third of a £1 – from 1412 onwards.
A weight struck between 1433 and 1454 to weigh Burgundian Netherlands raiders.
A 52-grain (3.4g) weight – It has the crowned arms of France and was struck between 1461 and 1547.
[5] A weight of 53 grains (3.45 g) dating from 1423.

Near the purse lay a pocket sundial – Its well once held a small magnetic compass. Within the inner circle, the heads of a man and a woman face each other on either side of the gnomon, which is inscribed with the letter ‘M’. Other objects nearby were a decorated wooden knife-sheath, a lace end and a number of silver groats – each worth four old pence- and a single penny.

A Dark & Smelly Place to Live
The Mary Rose was packed with over 500 fighting men, sailors and officers, but she was not built with their comfort in mind. Below decks, it was cold in winter and stiflingly hot in summer. All year round it was damp, with a strong smell of tar, stagnant water and sweating, unwashed men. For the most part it was also dark. On the main deck, the only light came from openings in the centre of the deck, from ventilating hatches above each gun, or from the gunports when their lids were open. Otherwise light came only from candles. Officers and professional men like the Master Carpenter and the Pilot slept in cabins. The crew had only the hard deck. Only some of the more elite professional soldiers would have had uniforms, the rest wore their own clothes. Not all of the men had a change of clothing, so if it was stormy or raining when they were on the open decks or in the rigging, it would be a long time before they could get dry. We found no evidence of toilets. Most men probably just leant over the side of the ship.

This is a pewter chamber pot, owned by an officer. No evidence survives for ‘heads’ – open toilets at the bow of the ship (for the men) – or for enclosed toilets outside the aftercastle (for the officers).

A Wealthy Officer
The contents of this man’s chest tell us he was literate and numerate. But it also tells us so much more. Only a man of some wealth could have afforded such belongings. And only a man of considerable importance would have been allowed to keep them in a chest on the crowded main gundeck. The officer kept a spare hat of knitted wool, in his chest, together with its silk lining and the lace which ran around it.

There was no sign of the scales or weights that were stored in this balance case, pictured below. The case had a mirror inside the cover. In one of the depressions on the other side there are the remains of a brass token, on which is the face of a ‘Green Man’. The outside of the cover is embossed with the inscription: ‘VERBUM DOMINI MANET IN ETERNUM’ – ‘The world of the Lord endureth forever’. (Peter 1:25)

Another obvious sign of the wealth of this officer is this flask of finest English pewter. The bronze candle sniffer belongs to a man used to a finer way of living. He did not just use two damp fingers to put out a candle. The leather book cover indicates he was literate. Among the decorations are the letters ‘MD’ – not the initials of the owner but of Martin Doture a London bookbinder. Silk ribbons held the book shut. This brush helped him keep his cabin clean… all objects denoting someone accustomed to a finer standard of living.

A Seafarer’s Chest
The officer who owned this chest had made sure it was fit for service at sea. When the ship rolled, the battens fixed around the edge of the lid would stop anything sliding off. The chest has been fastened with dowels (short wooden rods), not nailed together with iron nails which would corrode in the salty sea air. It is likely that the officer was literate but the mark on the back of the chest looks crude. Perhaps it was for the benefit of a servant who could not read, but could recognise his master’s mark.
(missing picture?)

He owned these two mittens – They were worn one inside the other on the left hand. The outer one is made of sheepskin, with the fleece on the inside. It is possible that they are gloves for hunting with hawks and other birds of prey – a popular pastime among gentlemen.

The Finer Things in Tudor Life
This oak chest stood on the orlop deck towards the stern of the ship. At either end of the lid, there is a batten on the underside. These helped to keep the damp out and to keep the lid firmly closed.

This peppermill was found alongside these peppercorns in the till – a lidded compartment – of the chest. The wealthy flavoured their food because they enjoyed, and could afford, exotic spices. Pepper was an expensive luxury.

Pilot & His Tools
The Pilot was an important and highly skilled man, responsible for navigating the ship from place to place, particularly into harbour. To do this successfully, he had to remember hundreds of locations, avoiding danger areas such as sandbanks and rocks. He also had to understand the tides and weather.
In a cabin at the forward end of the main deck, we found a compass and a pair of dividers and their case. The cabin almost certainly belonged to the Pilot. Two more compasses and another pair of dividers were found high up in the ship, towards the stern. This was the Pilot’s station, from where he gave orders to the helmsman steering the ship. His charts and books, together with most of the equipment he would need to work out the ship’s position, have not survived. But what we have recovered shows he was a man skilled in more than just coastal navigation. He may not have been English – at this time
Henry VIII had sixty French pilots in his service.

The compasses from the Mary Rose are the earliest known steering compasses on gimbals – pivots – in the Western world. Each sat in a case suspended on gimbals which allowed the compass needle to stay level whatever the motion of the ship. The gimbals were made of brass strips, so they did not affect the magnetised iron needle. This needle was fixed underneath a card marked with the points of the compass, so that both the card and needle moved when the ship changed direction. The Pilot rolled his charts around sticks to store them. Dividers, made of brass, were used for taking the distance between two points on a chart and measuring against the chart’s scale. Although very eroded, you can see that the inside of this wooden case was carved to hold two pairs of dividers. A groove around the case suggests that a lid was tied on. Below are various hourglasses that would have been used to mark time

These are lead weights that are tied to a line and then dropped to the seabed to measure the depth of water. They have a small hollow in the base which was greased with tallow. When the weight touched the bottom, a tiny bit of the seabed – sand, silt or gravel – would stick to the tallow. By examining this, and with the help of his charts and books, the Pilot could identify particular parts of the shallows, so avoid the risk of the ship running aground.

THE SHIP’S MODEL

The Mary Rose – this simplified model of the Mary Rose identifies the key parts of her rigging. If all the ropes on the actual ship had been tied together, they would have stretched for over 10 miles. The mode shows the two types of rigging on sailing ships: standing rigging to hold up the masts, coloured black on this model, and running rigging to control the yards and sails coloured white.

The Masts: The Mary Rose’s four masts were the mainmast, the foremast, the mizzenmast and the bonaventure mast. There was also a bowsprit, and an outrigger. The masts were made up of sections. The top two sections of the mainmast were called the main top mast and the main top gallant mast.

Standing Rigging: The masts are held in place by ropes called stays and shrouds, which are known together as ‘standing rigging’. The stays stop the masts falling forwards or backwards and the shrouds stop them falling to one side or the other. The ropes have names such as the mainstay and the foremast shroud.

Sails & Yards: The spars from which the sails hang are called the yards. Sails and yards are named after the part of the mast to which they are attached, such as the mainsail and the main top yard.

Pulleys & Ropes
The heavy and complex rigging of sailing ships relied on ropes and pulleys (‘blocks’). A combination of these two are called a ‘block and tackle’. A block and tackle reduced gathered effort needed to move or lift heavy loads, such as yards and sails. Although many types of blocks were used, they all have three main components – the shell (wooden body), the sheave (the wheel), and the sheave pin (the axle).

Many different thicknesses of line and rope were used. Made by twisting long strands of hemp together, they were usually coated with tar to preserve them. This also served as a binding to protect a thinner rope from chafing against a thicker one. The fragment below from the edge of a smile has both the canvas sail-cloth and the bolt rope (a continuous length of rope running around the outer edge of the sail). A sail was made by cutting long stripes of canvas to shape and sewing them together. The bolt-rope was then sewn on to strengthen the outer edge of the sail. The ropes that controlled the sail and those that ties the sail to the yard were fastened to the bolt-rope.

Rigging Materials
The rig of the Mary Rose included timber masts and yards, hemp rope, canvas sailcloth and brass pulley wheels. Great strains were put on them all, so they had to be replaced regularly. Most of the ropes, pulleys and other rigging were probably made in England, but canvas was not manufactured there during this period. It was imported from Northern France, Brittany, and Gdansk in Poland and turned into sails by English sailmakers.

Although the ship’s carpenters made some of the blocks (some were found unfinished in the Master Carpenter’s cabin), most of the pulleys and other wooden rigging gear were probably manufactured by woodturners. These craftsmen also made eating bowls and other every day items.

This parcel held a yard against a mast, but also allowed it to slide up and down and turn horizontally. It went almost halfway round a mast and was held together by ropes that also attached it to the yard. It fitted one of the larger masts on the Mary Rose, but divers found it stowed away on the orlop deck, with its rope fitted.

From the Seaman’s Chest – a Treasured Possession.
Inside the chest was a leather pouch originally embroidered with silver thread. Compartments in it held the top of a dagger hilt, and a lead token dated 1542. On the other side of the token is an image of a lady, possibly the Virgin Mary. It is similar to late 15thC and early 16thC tokens found on the continent. Also inside the pouch were a bone die, a lace-end, silver coins, a writing seal with the initials FG on one end, weights and a simple accounting stick.

Defending the Ship
The aim of ship-to-ship fighting was not usually to sink an enemy ship but to board and capture it. The Mary Rose was well equipped to prevent boarding. The weapons included 150 bills and 150 pikes, issued by the King. The bill had a hooked chopping blade and the pike had a simple spear-like tip. Both were mounted on long ash hafts – poles. Many of these weapons were found on the upper deck, ready for use in the open waist or on the castle decks above. Beside them they found open chests of longbows and some of the most up-to-date rifle-like weapons imported from Italy. Other weapons, including shields fitted with a small handgun, may have belonged to one of the Royal Bodyguards – the Yeomen of the Guard or the Gentlemen Pensioners. Most of the crew carried their own daggers and officers also carried their own swords for hand-to-hand fighting.

Two shields had decorated bosses [22] around the gun barrel. The shields [23] are made of two layers of narrow strips of wood, laid at right angles to each other, and covered with thin steel plates fixed with brass nails. Although incomplete, boss [24] was found with these copper alloy strips [25] cut and impressed to look like oak leaves. These covered the joins of the steel plates.

Archer Royal
The archer carried a sword in a decorated scabbard and an ornate pomander – the only one found.
Five silver groats found within his clothing and extensive silk uniform edging suggest a man of high status. His leather wristguard is decorated with the Arms of England, one of only two recovered.
Twice during his reign, in 1509 and 1539, Henry VIII raised a special troop of fifty trusted nobles. Retained at his expense, these ‘Spears of Honour’ or ‘Gentlemen Pensioners’ formed a personal guard and each ‘Spear’ had to ‘furnish and make ready two good archers, to do anything the king commanded’.
In 1544, Sir George Carew, Captain of the Mary Rose, was made a Lieutenant of the Gentlemen Pensioners. Was our African archer one of these ‘two good archers’?

Archers wore a leather jerkin, a longbow was found nearby. Also a pomander (a holder for sweet smelling herbs and flowers) was attached to his sword scabbard with a plaited silk cord. All that remains of his sword are its beech handle and leather fragments of his sword belt and hanger. His wrist guard bears the Crown and badges of the Tudor family and Katharine of Aragon. The Latin inscriptions on it translate as: ”Shame on him who is this evil”, and “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee”.

Inside the folds of his jerkin were found a leather case with the impression of his comb. A silk band is all that remains of his hat. The woven silk ribbon may be the edging from a uniform. Beside the archer, was also found the handles of a small knife and a ballock dagger – which was a common weapon for personal defence. Archers were relatively well paid and among his clothing and possessions were five silver groats. Only parts of this archer’s shoes survive but show the leather where a brass buckle and copper lace ends together with fragments of wooden socks.

The museum is laid out such that you traverse the length of the ship four times, but in each walking pass you are in sealed glass corridors separated from the actual ship. Here, at the top of the gallery, visitors are finally in the same space as the ship. It is as you traverse this gallery that you can smell the salt and the timber and the age of the Mary Rose, as you look down on the recovered ship.

A number of musical instruments were recovered from the Mary Rose. Used primarily for entertainment during non-working hours, the instruments number and quality varied considerably.

Living in Style
Only the very rich owned items made of silver and gold. A substitute was pewter, which is an alloy of tin, with small amounts of lead, copper and antimony. However, pewter was not cheap – it was an occasional purchase even for the wealthy. Most of the pewterware found on the Mary Rose belonged to the captain, Sir George Carew, vice admiral of the King’s fleet. Other pewter items used by the officers were found in the area of the aftercastle, where the officers lived, or they safely stowed in personal chests. Close examination of the plates reveal marks left by the diners’ knives.

Keeping the Faith
The 1540s was a time of great religious upheaval. The monasteries had been closed and religious images had been removed from the churches. But faith was unshaken, and they found numerous objects which demonstrate that religion was still central to the lives of the men on board the Mary Rose. The objects include book covers with quotations from the Bible, archers’ wrist-guards with religious symbols, images of saints and references to the Virgin Mary. They also found eight rosaries, and while rosaries were not banned, the mechanical reciting of prayers using the beads had been condemned in 1538. Only one rosary was found in a chest – the others were being carried on someone’s person when the ship went down. Objects with a religious significance were found on all decks of the ship. They testify that, for at least some of the crew, the practices of the Catholic Church were still being followed in 1545.

Clothing
Men usually wore a hat of some kind – this one is knitted. The pocket appears to be on the inside of this leather jerkin, but it is double-sided and can be worn either way round. Though not as colourful as it once was, this woollen jerkin retains the rose madder dye – even after centuries underwater.

Wealthy officers fastened their belts with fine brass buckles. These fragments of checked material are all that remains of one man’s shirt. These buttons and finely decorated pewter clasp’s could have been used to fasten an officer’s shirt or cloak. Two of the clasps are decorated with a Tudor rose and one with a fleur-de-lis.

There are entire books written just on the footwear found on the Mary Rose.

Various leather drink flasks, with carved decorations. Interestingly one has an Irish harp carved into it.

Most men carried a person dagger, many of them ballock daggers popular during the period.

The Mary Rose Museum has an enormous catalogue of artefacts, and I imagine this is only a fraction of what the collection entails – especially given the allusion to the sheer number of skeletons recovered, and many of them would have had clothing and domestic objects on/nearby in varying states of decomposition. They have done an excellent job of laying out the different occupations and associated belongings of the different types of people who lived on board and engaged in widely varied activities, though the informational plaques did get a little confusing at times as it seemed to occasionally double back on people/occupations already covered (literally redressing something that seemed explained in a previous gallery). I spent about two hours in here absorbing as much as I could, and probably could have spent even longer.

National Museum of Ireland, Dublin

Somewhat wet and miserable day in Dublin… what to do, what to do? Find the National museum of course. Took a couple of Ubers via the First Chapter coffee shop, to avoid the cold and wet – worth it!

Wow! What an amazing building! The entry/vestibule is so impressive with its gorgeous domed ceiling and beautiful mosaiced floor. I do wish England/Ireland hadn’t embraced this trend for forgoing cloakrooms and/or lockers though. What a pain in the arse to have to carry your coat, scarf and outer layers for a couple of hours through a museum. :/ Europe is still insisting you cloak your shit – anything bigger than a handbag – into a locker it goes, I much prefer it tbh.

Most of the descriptions here are literally copied and pasted from the object’s description plaques, hence the lack of form guide in listing dates, and the weird capitalisation. I could re-type it all, but when you’re travelling and writing on an iPad, time is limited!

Bronze bells, St Mary’s Abbey, Howth, Co. Dublin. Late medieval period.

DECORATED STONE, Youghal, Co. Cork. 2500-1700 В.С.

A necklace of gold beads
Perhaps the most mysterious of all the gold ornaments of the Late Bronze Age are the hollow gold beads found at Tumna, Co. Roscommon in 1834. Eleven beads are said to have been found when a group of men were tilling land near Tumna church beside the Shannon River. Each bead is made in two sections which are fused together. They are perforated which suggests that they were intended to be strung together. The graduated size of the beads also suggests a necklace of massive size. After the discovery the beads were divided amongst various collectors. Gradually over a period of about 150 years nine of the original eleven were acquired by the Royal Irish Academy and the National Museum of Ireland, one is in the collections of the British Museum but the whereabouts of the one remaining bead are unknown.

HOARD CONTAINING A GOLD BRACELET, A GOLD DRESS FASTENER, TWO BRONZE RINGS AND AN AMBER NECKLACE. Meenwaun, [Banagher], Co. Offaly. c. 800-700 B.C.

GOLD AND AMBER BEADS. Cruttenclough, Co. Kilkenny. Later Bronze Age

Part of a hoard of gold ornaments consisting of collars, bracelets, two neck rings, and a double ring.
Mooghaun North, Co. Clare. с. 800-700 В.С.

14. Amber bead. Unknown locality. 900-500BC
Amber Nekclaces C. Cavan. 900-500BC

Bronze chain-link collar. Near O’Connor’s Castle, Co.Rosecommon. c900-500BC.

Collection of swords, Dowris Hoard. Doors sheath, Co.Offaly, c.900-500BC

Selection of horns and other objects of the Dowris Hoard. Doorosheath, Co. Offaly, 900-500BC.

Enamelled bronze belt buckles, Louth Gara, Co. Sligo. Late 7th-early 8thC AD

Penannular bronze brooch, Arthurstown, Co. Kildare, 6th-7thC AD.

Bronze mount with enamel and millefiori, Big Island Lugacaha, Co. Westmeath 6-7thC AD.

Bronze fibula with enamel insets Lough Ree, Co. Longford, 1stC AD.

Enamelled bronze mount, Coolure Demesne, Co. Westmeath, 7th-8thC AD.

Gilt bronze harness mounts, Athlumney Navan, Co. Meath, 8-9thC AD.

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Ogham script is the earliest form of writing known in Ireland.
It is a system of linear symbols cut on either side of, or across, a baseline. Ogham is modelled on the Roman alphabet and consists of 20 letters. The key to ogham script is recorded in the Book of Ballymote, a later medieval text. More than 300 inscriptions survive on stone. They are particularly common in the southwest of Ireland and date to between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. Ogham stones surviving in parts of England, Scotland and Wales are a testament to Irish presence in these areas. The majority of inscriptions record personal names and can be considered commemorative inscriptions or perhaps boundary markers.

The Cross of Cong is one of the greatest treasures of the era. It was made to enshrine a portion of the True Cross acquired in AD 1122 by Toirrdelbach Ua Conchobair, High King of Ireland. An inscription records the names of Ua Conchobair, two high-ranking clerics and the craftsmen who made it.
The cross is made of oak covered with plain sheets of bronze. Panels decorated with animal interlace overlay these plain sheets. The relic, now missing, would have been visible behind the rock crystal at the centre of the cross-arms. A staff could be inserted at the base to enable the cross to be carried in procession. The shape of the cross-arms recalls the Tully Lough Cross, made almost four centuries earlier, but the decoration is in the late Scandinavian Urnes style. The glass and enamel studs are characteristic of Irish Romanesque metalwork.

The llth and 12th centuries witnessed the production of a large number of highly decorated religious objects. Croziers, which were used by abbots and bishops, are the commonest type of church metalwork from this period, but enshrined bells and books also survive. These items were symbols of power and authority. Inscriptions on some of these treasures name royal patrons and important churchmen and suggest that the commissioning of such objects was as much a political statement as it was a religious act. Political power in 12th-century Ireland was held by a small number of provincial kings who were generous patrons of the Church. A major reform of the Irish church at this time shifted power from the monasteries to bishops who controlled dioceses. Rivalries ensued as competing groups attempted to lay claim to these new centres of power. The production of ornate church treasures inscribed with the names of key political figures can be seen as a reflex of these power struggles.

Shrine of St. Lachtin’s Arm. Donaghmore, Co. Cork, c. AD 1120.

Saint Patrick’s Bell and Shrine, Armagh Co. Armagh, 6th-8th century AD and AD 1100.

Silver chalice, Reerasta, Ardagh, Co. Limerick, 8th century

Tomb shaped shrine, River Shannon, 8-9thC AD

The Golden Age of Irish Art.
Metal artefacts of the period show unparalleled skill and artistry. Ornamentation
on metal, on stone and on illuminated manuscripts shows close links in style and symbolism. Contacts with Pictish Scotland, Anglo-Saxon England, Germanic Europe and the Mediterranean region exposed Irish craftsmen to new metalworking techniques and art styles. Irish craftsmen blended these styles with native late Celtic ornament to produce a distinctive new style. The greatest artistic achievements of the new style date to between the late 7th and the early 9th centuries, a period often described as the Golden Age of early Irish art. The Church was a major patron of the arts and it enjoyed the support of important political families. Secular artefacts, such as the Tara brooch, also survive.

The Tara Brooch, Bettystown, Co. Meath, 8th century AD

Silver paten and bronze stand, Derrynaflan, Co. Tipperary, 8th century AD

Gold ribbon torc, near Belfast, Co. Antrim, 3rdC BC to 3rdC AD.

The Broighter Hoard
The hoard of gold objects from Broighter, Co. Derry, is the most exceptional find of Iron Age metalwork in Ireland. The tubular collar, miniature boat and cauldron, two neck chains and pair of twisted collars (torcs), which date to the Ist century BC, were found on the ancient shore of Lough Foyle in Co. Derry. The sea god Manannán mac Lir was associated with Lough Foyle and the place-name Broighter (from the Irish Brú lochtair) may be a reference to his underwater residence. Most notable is the model gold boat with its mast, rowing benches, oars and other fittings that can be regarded as an appropriate offering to a sea god. The decoration on the tubular collar appears to include a highly stylised horse, an animal that is especially associated with Manannán mac Lir.

DECORATED LEATHER BOTTLE, Found feet deep in bog, Cloonclose, Co. Leitrim, Early Medieval.

Replica of Gokstad Faering
The battle of Clontarf was fought on the shores of Dublin Bay and a fleet of Viking ships played a significant part. This boat is a replica of one found in 1880 in a burial mound at Gokstad, Norway, where a Norse lord had been buried in a great Viking ship dating to c. 900AD. Accompanying the ship was a smaller fishing boat, crewed by two oarsmen, known as a faering, which is in many respects a miniature Viking ship. It shares many of the same features and techniques – such as the clinker-built oak planking and the side rudder.

The Dunmore Cave hoard – This hoard was hidden in Dunmore Cave around 965-70.
The most interesting objects are sixteen hollow cones, woven from fine silver wire in three sizes. They were probably connected to a knitted fringe of exceptionally delicate coiled silver wire. The fringe, in turn, was probably attached to an imported silk cloth, of which a tiny fragment survived. There is also a decorated buckle and matching strap-end, whose form and decoration suggests that they were made in Dublin and this may also be true for the silver cones.

Skave Chain, Near Strokestown, Co. Rosecommon.
This fearsome chain and collar for a slave or hostage was found in Dublin and may possibly have been made there. It was found mid19-thC possibly on a crannog.

The shrine of the ‘Stowe Missal’, c.1030
This shrine held an 8th-century mass-book for the monastery of Lorrha. An inscription on the base requests prayers for the ‘king of Ireland, Donnchad, son of Brian and Gormlaith. Donnchad reigned for many years after Clontarf but was never generally recognised as king of Ireland. Lorrha, Co. Tipperary.

9th Century Viking cemeteries at Kalmainham and Irelandbridge, Dublin.
The Vikings in Ireland as elsewhere in Europe were not Christianised until the late 10thC. Their burial customs were pagan and the wealthiest were buried with their person: possessions. The cemeteries associated with the earliest, 9thC, Viking settlement at Dublin were located on a ridge overlooking the Liffey in the area now occupied by the modern suburbs of Kilmainham and Islandbridge. One of these cemeteries was located on the site of an earlier Irish monastery at Kilmainham. It is believed that the first Viking fortified encampment at Dublin, established in 841, may have been located nearby.
Most of the objects were recovered in the course of grave digging and in the building of the railway line in the 1840s, 50s and 60s. The presence of weapons, tools and brooches among the finds indicate that both men and women were buried there. The finds recovered represent at least fifty burials, and it is the largest known Viking cemetery outside

Eight iron swords, 10th-11thC.

Copper alloy buckles, belt ends and pins. 9thC.

Roasting spit? 9thC

Three pairs of copper alloy brooches with strings of glass beads.
Oval brooches are typical finds in women’s graves of the Viking Age and indicate that women of importance were also buried there. Spinning and weaving were tasks carried out by women and objects such as the whalebone ‘ironing board’, spindle whorls and bronze needle case are further evidence of female burials. The presence of a number of folding weighing scales, purses and weights indicates that some of the Viking settlers in ninth century Dublin were merchants while the iron tongs and hammers suggest the presence of smiths. Some of the brooches and pins from these burials are of Irish manufacture and indicate that the Vikings of Dublin, as elsewhere, adopted Irish fashions of jewellery and, perhaps dress.

Copper alloy balance scales, 9thC AD. With lead alloy weights.

One pair of Oval brooches, Finglas, Co. Dublin.

Museum replicas of Irish viking costumes.

Pair of copper alloy oval brooches and chain from a burial ot Arklow, Co. Wicklow. The chain is curiously Baltic in origin, it is possible the wearer may have been gifted the chain to wear with the locally made brooches, or herself came from that region.

Silver sword fitting – no known locality.

Ballinderry Crannog, Co. Westneath, c850-1000
The crannog, or artificial lake dwelling at Ballinderry, excavated in 1932, provides the most complete picture of life in a rural settlement between the late 9th and early 11th centuries. Its size and the variety and richness of the objects found suggest that it was the homestead of a prosperous farmer or a local king. The fields and pasture lands were probably located on nearby dry land, reached by hollowed oak longboats or canoes.

Wooden stave-built bucket, c.850-1000 AD.

Wooden gaming board, c.850-1000AD

Leather shoe, Carrigallen, Co. Leitrim, c.9-10thC.

16 SILVER ARM-RINGS – These arm-rings, made of thick bars of silver, are decorated with a variety of stamped patterns. They were current between the late 9th and early 10th centuries and over sixty examples are known from Ireland. They were manufactured in Ireland, probably in the Viking settlements and some have been found in hoards in Scotland, England and Norway.

GOLD ARM-RING – This simple but massive arm-ring, made of three twisted rods of gold, is the largest surviving Viking Age gold ornament from Ireland, weighing 375 g. The heaviest gold hoard from the Viking Age was also found in Ireland at Hare Island, Lough Ree in 1802 and consisted of ten gold arm-rings weighing approximately 5kg. Unfortunately, that hoard was melted down shortly after its discovery.

7 – silver ring ingot, part of a hoard from Derrynahich, Co. Kilkenny.
8 – silver brooch with gold filigree, Mohill, Co. Leitrim.
9 – Ring of silver penannular brooch in two pieces – location unknown.
10 – Head of silver kite brooch – location unknown.
11 – head of a silver thistle brooch – location unknown.
12 – Two silver rod arm-ring fragments, – location unknown.

WOODEN BUCKETS, Cloonarragh, Co. Roscommon, 10th-11 th century
Found together with a third, stave-built vessel in a bog. The stave-built vessel shown here is secured by a pair of wooden hoops, the other vessel is carved from a single block.

WOODEN BOWL, Cuillard, Co. Roscommon, 8th- 9th century, The bowl contained butter when it was discovered, indicating that the storage of butter in bogs was one way of keeping surplus food.

Inlaid glass beads, Clough Co. Antrim, Tristernagh. Glass bracelets and strings, c.8-9thC

Four lead alloy disc brooches, High St, Christchurch Place, Winetavern, c.8-9thC

Copper alloy buckles, belt and strap ends, High St, Winetavern, c.8th-9thC

Model of a typical Viking settlement in Ireland, c.8th-9thC

DUBLIN – Amber, glass, jet and Lignite.
Amber was brought to Dublin in lumps probably having been collected along the shores of the Baltic Sea, mainly in Denmark. These lumps were converted to beads, pendants, earrings and finger rings. An amber worker’s house was identified at Fishamble Street where the floor was strewn with several hundred waste flakes and tiny spicules. Jet was probably brought from Yorkshire, and was used mainly in the production of bracelets, finger rings and earrings. It too appears to been worked in Dublin as was glass, possibly from imported pieces of old Roman glass.

Amber pendants, finger rings, unfinished amber beads, necklaces beads and fragments. Fishamble St, c.8-9thC.

Glass beads, discs and spindles. Some unfinished. Fishamble St. c.8-9thC.
It is likely that some glass beads were made locally from pieces of broken glass imported from old Roman towns in England, such as Chester and York.

Antler and bone were used for knife handles, gaming pieces, buckles, and as panels for boxes. Bone was used for spindle whorls, spindles and weaving tablets. Whale bone was used for clamps or hand-vices as well as for caulking spatulas. Walrus tusk were also used for gaming pieces and pendants.

Decorated bone and antler plaques, and antler combs, Christchurch Place, Fishamble St. c.8-9thC.

Decorated antler strap ends. High St, Fishamble St.

Motif pieces, antler and bone. High St, Fishamble St. c.8-9thC

Weapons and Luxury Goods – 11th to 12th Centuries. Weapons, tableware and sets of gaming pieces were among the most prized possessions of kings and nobles in the early medieval period. Most of our knowledge of weapons from the later Viking Age comes from stray finds of objects lost in rivers and lakes. Shallow drinking bowls of copper alloy and silver were imported from the Continent. In some cases these imported bowls were adapted to Irish taste by the addition of enamelled hooks of local manufacture. Gaming boards and gaming pieces are known from the tenth century onwards. The game of chess, however, was not introduced to Europe from the Islamic world until some time in the eleventh century.

Copper alloy sword pommels, gilt copper alloy swords, Iron swords, locations unknown.
Iron axe head with wooden handle, River Robe, Ballinrobe, Co.Mayo. C11th.

Bronze bells, Donoghmore, Co Tyrone. 11-15thC

MANCHAN’S SHRINE (REPLICA), Lemanaghan, Co. Offaly, 12thC
The original shrine, made to contain the bones of St Manchan, was most likely produced by the same individual that produced the Cross of Cong. Its ornament, known as the Hiberno-Urnes style, is a blending of a late Viking art style with native Irish art. This nineteenth-century replica, which is a restored version of the original; made by Alexander Carte for Dr John Lentaigne.

Inscribed Grave Marker, Clonmacnoise, Co, Offaly. 9th-10thC.
One of several hundred memorial slabs from the cemetery of Clonmacnoise. It bears the name ‘Sechnasach’ along with a cross and some geometric ornament. It is unusual in that it is made from a reused mill or quern.

Shring, copper alloy, gilt and enamelled, early 11th C. Drum lane, Co, Cavan.

Leather satchel, 15th C, Drumlane Co. Cavan – to house the shrine.

Knight Jug. Wine jug decorated with figures of armoured knights and monkeys. It was imported from pottery kilns at Ham Green, near Bristol. Pottery, 13thC. Found High St, Dublin.

Wooden, two to four handed mether tankards. Carved from single pieces of alder, c.14thC. Co. Donegal.

Various precious and semi precious jewelled items.

Gilt silver cross pendant, c.1500. Provence not listed.

Gold finger ring, c.14thC. Provenance not listed.

Knitted cap, 16thC AD. Ballybunnion, Co. Kerry.
This knitted wooden cap was found in Co. Kerry in 1847. This style of cap was fashioned up to the 1580s and made from expensive materials. Often decorated with jewels and feathers. Traditional records that when it was found, the cap had a gold band around the crown.

Often overlooked, I love that the building this collection is housed in is somewhat of a work of art itself.

Bronze laver, believed to be Flemish, c.1425.

Cross Pendant, obverse is engraved with an image of the Crucifixion and symbols of four Evangelists.
Silver gilt with glass and garnet settings, c.1500. Near Callan Co. Kilkenny.

Rock crystal with silver mounting, 15thC.

Reliquary Cross, T-shapedor Tau cross indicates it was designed to protect the wearer from disease known as St Anthony’s Fire, whose symptoms included burning sensations. Contains a cavity to hold a reliquary. Gilt silver, c.1500.

Seal ring with a central image of a human figure inside the doorway to a turret castle. Flanked by engraved images of the Virgin and Child and Holy Trinity. Gold, 15thC, Girley, Co.Mealth.

Shrine of the Cathach. Made to contain a 7thC manuscript believed to be written by Columba himself. The Cathach (battler) was one of the chief treasures of the O’Donnells throughout the Middle Ages. They carried it into battle to bring good luck. IT’s keeepers were the Magroarty family, one of whom was killed when the shrine was captured in 1497. Wood with gilt silver, silver fittings, rock crystal. Late 11th-14thC, Ballynagroarty, Co. Donegal.

Shrine of Patrick’s Trail. This is a complex piece made up of portions of different objects. It’s a purse shaped form dates to the mid-14thC when it was covered at the request of Thomas Birmingham, Lord of Athenry. The shrine was used in the early 19thC for curing sick animals. St John, the Virgin Mary and figures of Irish Saints flank the figure of Christ on the front.

Bell, copper alloy, silver inlay. 11th-12thC. Scattery Island, Co.Clare.

Overall, this musuem on Kildare Street was well worth a visit. It has some fabulously obscure objects – though I did find the curation had more of a focus on *where* something was found rather then where is was created/made. Sometimes that info was a bit buried under the lead.

Hakone – Part I

Driving from Yugawara to Hakone proper today, up some beautiful winding mountain roads. I noticed from my last trip to Japan that when you’re out and about in a car, and you encounter gorgeous scenery, there are rarely places to pull over and enjoy the view. In Australia, lookouts seem to be everywhere there’s even a slight elevation in the road, along with some big board of information to tell you what you are looking at. Here they seem very few and far between.

Looking back towards Tokyo.

The elusive Mt Fuji! Sadly, without any snow on top… apparently it’s the first time in 130 years there has been no snow on Mt Fuji in October. Signs of rapid climate change are all around us. The hovering low cloud is reminiscent of so many iconic Japanese prints and artworks.

These guys pulled up in their car and at first I was like, ‘Hey! Way to block the view!’, but they have a cute little K-car so we forgive them.

When we arrived in Hakone, we did a quick scout out of the Hakone Checkpoint area. The Hakone Checkpoint was originally an inspection facility during the Edo period (1603-1868) and was dedicated to keeping the city of Edo (Tokyo as was) safe. There were up to 50 checkpoints scattering across the country during this era but most were abandoned when the Edo Period ended. From what I’ve read the Hakone Checkpoint is the only one that has been restored. It was rebuilt and renovated in 2007, using the traditional building tools and techniques from the Edo Period. I am planning on coming back this way in a couple of weeks to visit the site – but so not going near it on a public holiday weekend!

The little shopping street leading up the Checkpoint has many craftsman who create the traditional ‘Yosegi Zaiku’ workwork that has its origins in the mountains of Hakone. The craft has hundreds of years of history and is designated as a special Japanese cultural treasure, and utilises naturally different coloured timber laid out in intricate geometrical designs and patterns to make complex and beautiful timber products.

Hakone Karakuri Musuem – showcases the techniques used to make the Yozegi Zaiku masterpieces. There is a small museum which displays how the history of the techniques date back to the Edo period, and it was as much as 1000 years ago that local craftsmen began to gather in Hakone to take advantage of the wide varieties of wood available in the mountains here. Initially, the timbers were used to create furniture, but around 200 years ago a noted craftsman named Jinbei Ishikawa developed a technique of co-mingling different colours and grains of woods to make boards and then cut them into thin slices of timber veneer. These thin boards containing the intricate designs are then glued to various boxes, trays, coasters and what have you, to create these beautiful marquetry pieces.

Planes used to create the thin slices of timber decorations.

The work is so beautiful, and showcases some serious woodworking talent.

After checking out the marquetry and resisting buying anything to carry around for the rest of the trip, we sought out something fishy for lunch. We found a sushi restaurant near the Checkpoint, called Daimasa Honten. It was rated 4.2 on the Googles, which is damn near impossible in Japan. The Japanese are notoriously harsh on rating restaurants, they will never complain about food they are served, but they have very high standards and seem to often feel, ‘things can always be better!’ Which seems to sit with the Japanese ideals of perfectionism quite nicely. Anyway, if you’re in Tokyo and see a restaurant with over 4 stars aggregate reviews on Google, just know that’s damn near impossible – and you should go there, the food will be amazing. This place however, could just be lucky enough to have lots of western tourists visiting who are more free and easy with their praise!

I chose a unagi and tuna rice bowl, that is supposed to look like a dragon.. and while the picture on the menu was sort of dragon like if you squint at it from the right – mind did not! 😀
Nevermind though, it was super fresh and really tasty. So all is good with the world.

Yale ordered a donburi set full of all good things. All up, a delicious meal and for a fairly reasonable price (compared to what we would pay for similar in Australia, though admittedly kinda touristy priced for Japan).

After lunch, we took a drive to get to Kitanozake Saryou, and made a quick detour to a photo point on a small side road near the “Old Tokaidō ROad, Ancient Cedar Avenue”. We managed to get some beautiful views of Lake Ashi towards the famous Hakone Tori Gate, and Mt Fuji in the background. As luck would have it, one of the very touristy and famous pirate ships was coming past and made for some beautiful iconic Japanese photos.

Togendai Station – where the ships come in.

Had to do a quick stop at the konbini for some saké… and I’m always amused at the strangeness available at the local shop. Spam nigiri? Hotdog in a bun complete with ketchup and mustard, and how long has that been sitting in that bag? Yikes!

Yale found this enormous chocolate waffle ice cream monstrosity… don’t let the Yale for scale throw you off, this thing was easily as big as my hand!

While in the area for a few days, we took the opportunity to visit the Hakone Venetian Glass Musuem also known as the Hakone Glass Forest or the Ukai. It is located in Sengokuhara in the Ashigarashimo District and I thought the idea of a Venetian glass museum in Japan was going to be something seriously odd… and well, I always love me a bit of absurdity in the morning.

And all these objects are before you even enter.

This is an Insta-famous archway is made entirely of crystals. It is quite striking when the sun hits it, but today it was quite overcast.

I saw this curly white glass sculpture in the middle of the lake and was immediately reminded of Dale Chihuly’s work… but didn’t think that likely as it was a Venetian glass collection, yes? Only to walk around the corner and find a plaque confirming that yes, it is actually a Chihuly.

The Venetian Art Glass Musuem.

I don’t know what this cascade of glass flowers is called or when it was made – but it was interesting.

Glass perfume bottle in the carriage – Italy, c.1860.

Compote bowl and lid in filigrana a reticello techniques. Italian, undated.

Wine glass in filigrana a reticello. Italy, c. 17thC

Glass ship hot work. 18thC Venice.

Mosaic of Doge Niccolo Marcello. This mosaic has a portrait of Niccolo Marcello, who was Doge (admiral) from 1473 to 1474, in the centre. Marcello Marcello’s portrait was repeatedly painted by Venetian painters such as Gentile Bellini and Titian in the 15th and 16th centuries. This mosaic was probably modeled on a portrait painted in a Venetian workshop.

Bottle in rock crystal with two handles, c.16th.

Cave a parfum. c.1870.

Glass rose water sprinkler, 18-19th C.

Insense burner with painting cicada and chrysanthemums, c.1840.

Bottle enameled with figures parading, c. 1500 AD.

Core-formed glass fragrant oil bottle “arybollos” c.6thC.

Flask in opaque-white glass (lattimo), c. 16thC,

Porcelain perfume bottle decorated with florid motif. C. 1760.

Black figure aryballos fragrant oil bottle, c.6thC.

Glass bottle with decoration, c.1C AD.

Toilet bottle, c.1stC AD.

Double head glass flask, c.1stC AD.

Porlain perfume bottle with enamels, c.1891-1920.

Glass perfume bottle “boy hon Fleur’s de Pommies”, c.1919.

Pair of glass perfume bottles in an enamel case, c.1770. This portable perfume set, which was popular at the court during the reign of King Louis XVI, is an extremely elegant case made of octagonal gold with beveled corners and decorated with a tortoiseshell pattern of scattered gold stars. It contains two glass perfume bottles with gold caps. The small gold funnel in the center is used to pour the blended perfume into the bottle. This piece was made as a special order for a French aristocrat.

Set of four glass perfume bottles with ornament case. Italy 19thC.

Mirror in glass mosaics, c.19thC.

Pommander, c.1630… is this made of glass??? I’m not seeing it.

Lamps in Millefiori glass, c.1910.

The Venetian Glass Rose Garden…

All the roses are made in glass… it’s really quite pretty and unfortunately very Insta-worthy. It took some patience to get some photos without the selfie crowd about!

’Le Tre Grazie’, c.1996 : Three bubbles inside the sphere emit rainbows when exposed to light – a eulogy to purity and feminine grace.

’Compenetrazione Dinamica’, 1998. Livid Seguso, glass, marble stone.

The indoor, Chilhuly ‘Form from Light’ exhibit.

The gardens are really pretty and when the sun did peak out from behind the clouds, the sparkling in the glass forest was truly striking.

Onions and Reeds Installation, Dale Chihuly, c.1941.

Such a striking sculpture, and from the ‘40s – it’s hard to believe it’s as old as it is given the nature of the medium.

We also had a chance to go for a walk at the Hakone Open Air Museum. I am not super fond of modern art, but I think expected things to be a little less out of place than the Venetian glass!

”Sphere Mesh” – Francois Morellet, 1962-63, stainless steel.

“Tree Man” – Taro Okamoto, 1971. FRP and paint.

”Grand Striptease” – Giacomo Manzu, 1967, bronze.

“The Weeper” – Francois-Xavier and Claude Lalanne, 1986, Trani stone. Sadly her pond was empty and she wasn’t weeping today.

”my sky hole 84” – Bukichi Inoue, 1984, stainless steel.

I couldn’t find a description of these – there were four of them, and they seemed like kami to me. I will have to look them up when I find some time.

”Big Hand” – Rainer Kriester (German), 1973, aluminium.

“Girl with Rooster” – Shin Hongo (Japanese), 1962, bronze.

”Grandson of the General” – Seibo Kitamura (Japanese), 1918, bronze.

”Eva” – Francesco Messina (Italian), 1949, bronze.

”Pavillion Sculpture” – Max Bill (Swiss), 1969, white granite.

“Van Gogh Walking Through the Fields” – Ossip Zadkine (Russian/French), 1956, bronze.
As I approached this piece, I saw the worn face and the heavy accoutrement and assumed it was going to be a heavily laden fighter with weaponry, it was only as I got closer I could see it wasn’t guns he was carry, and wasn’t until I saw the plaque that it was like, ‘Oh wow, did I read that wrong.’

”Great Prophet” – Pablo Gargallo (Spanish), 1933, bronze.

There is a world famous Picasso museum here, which is full of paintings, ceramics and even tapestries – most of which is created by Picasso himself, and some of which is inspired by the movement. To be honest, I’m not a huge fan. I can understand and appreciate the intent and important of most modern art; it’s just not that appealing to me, personally. Also – no photos. Sad panda face ensues.

”Fairy Chapel” – Satoru Okamoto and Nsenda Lukumwena, 2005, stainless tell, float glass.

Symphonic Sculpture (below) – Gabriel Loire is an 18-meter-tall tower covered entirely in stained glass made from shards of thick glass broken by hand with a hammer. “The intricate designs and patterns allow the outside light to pass through it in complex refracting motions, creating a beautiful, fantastical world.” Oddly, we have perfect weather for this – bright contrast outside makes photographing stained glass tricky.

It’s pretty spectacular… but no Saint Chapelle!! 😛

”Two Piece Reclining Figure: Points” – Henry Moore (British), 1968-70, bronze.

”Family Group” – Henry Moore (British), 1948-49, bronze.

”Miss Black Power” – Niki de Saint Phalle (French), 1968, polyester resin, paint.

“Close III” – Anthony Gormley (British), 1993, iron. I LOVE this piece! It’s so simple and yet speaks to me. The artist’s statement, not so much, but the figure itself. 🙂 ‘The artist recreated his body in iron. The rotatation and orbital revolution of the Earth produces centrifugal force and gravity binding it to the ground.’ Sure… but to me it speaks of years of exhaustion and chronic fatigue and pain.

”The Boxing Ones” – Barry Flanagan.

“Two Eggs” – ??? I have a note here somewhere…

”A Grand Story” – Giuliano Vango (Italian), 2004, Carrara marble.

“Intersecting Space Construction” – Ryoji Goto (Japanese), 1978. FRP, iron and paint – inspired by wire mesh and in praise of human connections.

“Sturm (Storm)” – Matschinksy Denninghoff (German), 1980, stainless steel.

”Spatial Dynamics No. 22” – Nicholas Schöffer (Hungarian/French), 1954-1980, stainless steel.

”Arborescence” – Jean Dubuffet (French), 1971, epoxy resin and paint.

Hakone is lovely, and slightly odd… I look forward to coming back in a couple of weeks.

Vienna – Schönbrunn Palace

Our itinerary for Vienna (outside of Eurocup stuff) was to check out as many museums as possible; but it felt very much like you can’t take a trip to Vienna without going to the Schönbrunn.

Commissioned by Leopold I in 1696, it was designed and built to the preferred baroque architectural style at that time, it is heavy and ornate with large sweeping staircases and colonnades. It was intended as a summer palace and hunting lodge not far from the River Wein, and had several halting stages of construction (due to the lack of funds resultant from war with Spain among other Hapsburg trials). Emperor Charles VI gave it to his daughter Maria Theresia who was apparently particularly fond of the place, and it was she who left the largest mark on the estate.

I remember the palace really well from visiting here in 1995 and mostly remember that it was huge, ornate and we had a very cool guide showing us around. It was also a rather quiet place without too many tourists and not a lot of ropes or glass stopping you from interacting with the space (unlike my memories of Versailles that same trip). Everything was about the Empress Maria Theresia, her investment and design decisions regarding the estate and her prolific offspring that were wed to the various royal houses on the continent leading to her being named, the ‘Grandmother of Europe’. Her name was uttered with a thick Austrian accent numerous times in every single room!

Jesus has this place changed… thanks to the Netflix TV services, “Empress”, the entire palace now is all about Elizabeth – also known as, ‘Sisi’, who was married to the Emperor Franz Josef some one hundred years after Maria Theresia. Seriously, you could could be forgiven for leaving here thinking that Sisi built the place and was the only royal to have lived here! The free roaming tour with polite ‘please don’t touch the velvet wallpaper’ signs are gone, and in it’s place is a rigid, timed and structured audio tour keeping you in glass walkways well away from the artefacts. The palace was packed with visitors… though given it was late afternoon, I imagine it is even worse in the mornings.

Oh, and nice overpriced touristy carriage rides on offer around the grounds.

Still it is a lovely building and there is a lot to see here; having recently seen the over the top Nymphemberg Palace, among others, it does all start to feel a bit same-same, though.

The Billiard Room – ‘Franz Jospeh saw himself first and foremost as an officer of his army. Appropriately, the subject of the large format paintings in this room is the Military Order of Maria Theresa, the highest military order of merit of of the Habsburg Monarchy.’ Which was pointed out on the audio-tour… but possibly ignored as everyone is here to hear about Sisi!

Audience Chamber – Here the various emperors received individuals who had been granted a private audience with the monarch. Members of the government, high ranking military officers and court officials were also summoned here several times a week to deliver their reports.

Emperor Franz Joseph’s (aka Sisi’s husband) Study – A host of personal pictures and photographs bear witness to the style of interior favoured by the emperor in his private quarters. Over the course of his long life he amassed in this room a wealth of mementos of his wife Elisabeth (Sisi), their four children and thirteen grandchildren.’

Ketterl Room – the concealed door in the back wall of the study leads into the valet de chambre’s rooms. I’m not sure what a Ketterl is…

Franz Joseph’s Bedroom – the emperor’s bedroom was also where he died on November 21, 1916. The brown is a bit… meh.

Stairs Cabinet – the Stairs Cabinet served Empress Elisabeth as a writing room. Here she wrote her letters, journals and her poetry. The bookcase still contains part of her personal library apparently.

Dressing Room – immediately adjacent to the bedroom, the dressing room was the innermost and most private room in the empress’s apartments. Sisi was known to have a strict diet and beauty regimen to maintain her girlish figure and look after her ankle length hair.

Imperial Couple’s Bedroom – the bedroom in the Italian style that was shared by Franz Joseph and Sisi was furnished and decorated as we see it now, for their marriage in 1854.

Salon of Empress Elisabeth – this was Sisi’s primary reception room. “The Rococo Revival interior is a typical example of the furnishing and decoration of a state room at the Viennese court during the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph.”… and is way too chintzy for me.

Marie Antoinette Room – during the time when Elisabeth occupied these apartments, the Marie Antoinette Room was used as the family dining room for small dinners in the immediate family circle and attended by the imperial couple and their children, and later on their daughter and sons-in-law and grandchildren. So, like a casual breakfast nook really.

Yellow Salon – the Yellow Salon is the first room in the apartments facing the palace gardens. From the windows of these rooms one has a stunning view of the main parterre with the Gloriette as the lofty termination of the vista. <- I did not write that.

Balcony Room – continuing numerous pictures of Maria Theresa and her numerous children. The portraits are from the the studio of court painter Martin van Meytens. This was quite a nice room actually.

Breakfast Cabinet – this little corner room owes its ‘pleasing character’ (according to the audio) to the textile flower pictures set into the wall panelling in gilt frames. It’s lovely, but so delicate and feminine. I think trying to relax in these spaces would just put me on edge.

Salon of the Arch Duchess Portraits – this room is done in a Rococo Revival decor and once belonged to the apartments occupied by Empress Elizabeth. Today it contains the famous portraits of Maria Theresa’s daughters, and is therefore also sometimes known as the Children’s Room.

Large Rosa Room – the three Rosa Rooms are named after the artist Joseph Rosa, who executed fifteen landscaping paintings for the ensemble at the behest of Maria Theresa in the 1760s. See, Maria Theresa did all the work, and somehow Sisi is now the belle of the ball!

Second Small Rosa Room – consisting of one large room and two adjoining smaller room, the Rosa Rooms form an ensemble with a cohesive decor plan.

Great Gallery – Okay, this is pretty great still. It is 43 metres long, and just shy of 10 metres wide, the Great Gallery was the used as an ideal setting for courtly events. The interior is dripping with magnificent gilt stucco decorations and ceiling frescos represents the epitome of Rococo art – which is fabulous, if you like that sort of thing.

Okay, I love the chandeliers! Want one at home, though it may be hard to manoeuvre around given the high ceiling in my house is only about 14’. 🙂

Round Chinese Cabinet – half concealed to either side of the Small Gallery lie two highlights among the historic state rooms of the palace; two cabinets lying opposite each other in mirror-image, both decorated with a rich array of works of art from China and Japan… though it ends up being subtlely chinoiserie, as it’s all surrounded in those heavy Rococo frames.

Small Gallery – crossing the central axis of the palace, the Small Gallery, together with the two smaller rooms on either side, made for small salons used for intimate courtly entertainment. I still can’t imagine living in a place like this, how do you decide which room is appropriate for a game of Code Names?

Oval Chinese Cabinet:

Hall of Ceremonies – at the court of Maria Theresa the Hall of Ceremonies served as the Second or Great Antechamber. Here, enthroned under a canopy of state, she received her guests in audience. Today this place is occupied by probably the most famous portrait of Maria Theresa, showing her as the ‘First Lady of Europe’ in a sumptuous gown of Brabant lace. Sumptuous – good word.

Vieux Laque Room – in terms of its art-historical significance, the Vieux Laque Room is apparently among the most important interiors of the Schönbrunn. The black lacquer panels from China lend the room an impression of decadence and magnificence.

Needs more gilt…

Napoleon Room – known today as the Napoleon Room, the room was refurbished several times during the 19thC. When it was restored in 2007 the decision was taken to highlight various phases of its past decoration and make this visible to visitors. I don’t know why it’s called the Napoleon Room, they didn’t say?!

Porcelain Room – this small room served as Maria Theresa’s private writing room. It has a particularly private character and was decorated to her personal tastes apparently. The decor not only displays the empress’s love of the chinoiserie fashion of the times but was partly made by members of her family – it interestingly the most monochromatic area in the entire place, but still full of baroque clutter. .

Millions Rooms – the interior of the Millions Room (named for the Indo-Persian works attached to the walls) is particularly extravagant. In the ceremonial sequence of rooms prescribed for the Viennese court, Maria Theresa used this room, originally known as the Mirrors Room, to receive guests for private audiences. Okay, so the house is definitely all still about Maria Theresa – so why is the advertising, posters, website and gift shop all about Sisi?

Gobelin Salon – both the walls and the armchairs in this room are covered in valuable tapestries; the backs of the seats of the six chairs each show representations together with the signs of the Zodiac… it’s pretty flash.

Red Salon – known today as the Red Salon, this room is decorated in the style typical of the later years of Emperor Franz Jospeh’s reign. The room is characterised by the wall hangings and upholstery in ‘court damask’, a red silk damask with a design based on a pineapple like central motif.

Rich Room.
The Rich Room does its name full justice, on display here is Maria Theresa’s state bed with its lavishly embroidered covers and hanging. Love it!

Salon of Archduke Franz Karl – a glass door allows a view into the corner salon, which is decorated with life-size portraits of Maria Theresa’s children.

I didn’t take a lot of photos of the corridors and staircases (I say staircases for there are several!), but there are plenty of statuary placed around the common areas of the palace, much of which doesn’t have any plaques informing visitors of the artist or the content. Though this one is most likely Hercules defeating the Lion.

All up a cool, slightly confusing visit to the Shönbrunn… I wish I had taken some pictures of the gift shop and the posters around the palace that were all, ‘Sisi this, Sisi that!’ Poor Maria Theresa, how was she to know she would need a better post humours PR machine 300 years after her death. Netflix, you have a lot to answer for!

Saint Florian, Austria

En route to Vienna today we decided to take a small detour to the town of St Florian to have a quick look at the St Florian Monastery and Collegiate Basilica. It stands out across the landscape from the highway into town.

Gothic representation of the St Florian Monastery.

Both the monastery and the market town of St Florian owe their names to Austria’s earliest named saint. Florian was the chief official to the Roman Governor, Aquiline at Lauriacum, about five kilometres from the Roman Capital of Ufernoricum. When Christian persecution broke out under Emperor Diocletian, Florian and forty unknown Christians were imprisoned for their faith. Despite intense torture, Florian remained steadfast. Finally, in the year 304, he was weighted with a stone and thrown into the River Enns to drown. His companions died in the dungeons.

Legend has it that Florian’s corpse was washed ashore and found by a woman named Valeria who carried it away on an ox art. His body was buried on the spot where the Monastery of St Florian stands today.

During excavation work in the crypt of the collegiate basilica in 1952/53, wall fragments, Roman roof tiles and traces of fires dating back to Roman periods were found, confirming that the building activity on this site dated back to Roman occupation. There is no historical documentation of St Florian during the time of the Barbarian invasions, but records tell of a small wooden church built over Florian’s grave. This church may have been destroyed by the Avars and replaced by one made of stone. It is not known exactly when or by whom the Monastery of St Florian was founded.

The earliest indications of the monastery have been found in books and documents dating back to around the year 800AD. Magyar invasion and material hardship caused repeated difficulty for the small community of monks here in the 9th and 10th centuries. Thus in 1002, encouraged by the Empress Kunigunde, Emperor Henry II donated a ‘hide of land’ to alleviate the brothers’ needs at the monastery. The original document of this bestowal of land is persevered in the monastery archives.

In 1071, Bishop Altman of Passat (1065 – 1091) ushered in a new era for the monastery when he committed it to the Augustinian order that was held in high regard rafter the reformation had begun at the Cluny Abbey in Burgundy. The main occupations of the community became collective prayer, the solemn celebration of divine office, the caring for and curing of souls, and the cultivation of art and science. After the destruction of the monastery by the Hungarians, Bishop Altman had the wall and roof of the church renovated. It was later severely damaged by fire in 1235; a fire that was alleged to have been caused by the negligence of the retinue of Bishop Rudiger of Passat (1233 – 1250).

His successor Provost Bernhard (1224-1240) oversaw the restoration of the church to its former state as well as enlarged the crypt (closed today). The chancel above was vaulted in a new style that gave the nave a flat ceiling. Many of the community were dismayed by the flat ceiling and for good reason… in 1250, the chancel (after fifteen years of work), collapsed tearing sections of the walls down with it.

As a result of this, the canons wanted to abandon the church and vacate the monastery. But Wibirg, a female hermit who had been living ‘a saintly life’ secluded in a cell near the church for 41 years, convinced the community of monks to stay and rebuild the church. It wasn’t until around 1275 that the canons found the will and funds to begin rebuilding the Gothic collegiate church into dimensions that largely correspond to those of the Baroque church here today.

The hermit Wibirg didn’t live to see the re-consecration of the church. She died on December 11th, 1289.. As the patroness of the monastery she is still venerated and invoked by the community of monks today; her remains are in a sarcophagus in the crypt of the collegiate basilica.

The organs in these churches are usually off limits, but this was accessible today as there was a large crew of people setting up for a musical performance…

Views down into the nave from the organ loft.

The consecration of the Gothic collegiate church occurred on June 15th 1291 by Bishop Bernhard of Passau (1285 – 1313). An enormous medieval church feast was held to celebrate and records indicate that tens of thousands of the faithful from all over the entire diocese of Passau attended. The tower was only built after the church was completed in 1320. The four bells were cast in 1313 and 1319 and are still in use today.

The Gothic church has been the religious centre of the monastic community for more than 800 years. It has been the destination of innumerable pilgrims from far and wide who sought the sanctuary of St. Florian; the highly venerated saint is a protector of borders and the patron saint for protection against fire and floods.

The Sacrament Chapel:


Baroque representation of the Monastery of St Florian.

Very sadly… and I mean *very sadly*, we didn’t have time to go through the entire monastery and as such we missed the opportunity to see one of the most beautiful libraries in the entire world.