About this event
On the 17th September 1971, ninety-two crates consisting of some 4,500 objects (mainly Egyptian) arrived to Swansea University. This was part of dispersal of the Egyptian material at the Wellcome Collection, which probably amassed somewhere in the region of 20,000 objects. To mark the fiftieth anniversary of this event, the Egypt Centre will be hosting a free three-day Zoom (Webinar) conference. The conference will focus on Wellcome’s Egyptian and Sudanese collections, which were dispersed to numerous institutions following his death in 1936. It will feature talks and virtual handling sessions/tours by curators, collections managers, and researchers associated with the Wellcome material.
While tickets for this event are free, registration is required. There is also the option to make a donation to the Egypt Centre if you would like to support us. Once registered, you will receive an automated email from Eventbrite containing the Zoom link (at the bottom of the email). If you have not received this within 24 hours of booking, please contact Ken Griffin at k.griffin@swansea.ac.uk
The programme for this event is presented below, with the times listed being BST (UK times).
Day 1: Wednesday 15 September
13.00–13.15: Introductory remarks
13.15–13.45: Ruth Horry (Collections Curator – Exhibitions, Wellcome) – Henry Wellcome’s Historical Medical Museum: an introduction to collecting, display and dispersals
13.45–14.15: Isabelle Vella Gregory (Deputy Director of the Jebel Moya excavations) – Piecing together the archaeological history of Jebel Moya, Sudan
14.15–14:45: Discussion panel with John Baines (Professor Emeritus at Oxford University) & Alan Lloyd (Professor Emeritus at Swansea University)
14:45–15.00: Break
15.00–15.30: Ken Griffin (Collections Access Manager of the Egypt Centre) – The Egyptian Collection of Sir Henry Wellcome
15.30–16.00: Stephanie Boonstra (Collections Manager at the Egypt Exploration Society) – Nefertiti lived there: a look at the 1930–31 EES excavation at Amarna
16.00–16.30: Frances Larsen (author of An infinity of things: how Sir Henry Wellcome collected the world) – “A perfect whirl of delight”: Winifred Blackman in Egypt
16.30–17.00: Rachel Barclay (Curator at Oriental Museum, Durham) – “Contained in tea chests with no lists or identification”: the Wellcome Collection of Egyptology at the Oriental Museum, Durham University
Day 2: Thursday 16 September
13.00–13.30: Campbell Price (Curator of Egypt and Sudan, Manchester Museum) & Molly Osborne – Wellcome Material in Manchester
13.30–14.00: Ian Trumble (Curator of Archaeology, Egyptology and World Cultures, Bolton Museum) – The Wellcome Collection at Bolton Museum
14.00–14.30: Manchester Museum handling session/tour
14.30–15.00: Bolton Museum handling session/tour
15.00–15.15: Break
15.15–15.45: Lee Robert McStein (Technical Director at Monument Men) – The curious case of the Deir el-Bahari casts
16.45–16.15: Anna Garnett (Curator of the Petrie Museum), Kyle Jordan and Daniel Bailey – The Wellcome Collection and the Petrie Museum: Past and Present
16.15–16.45: Helen Strudwick (Senior Assistant Keeper – Egyptian Antiquities, The Fitzwilliam Museum) – Wellcome to the Fitzwilliam: the rediscovery of a collection of Egyptian objects in Cambridge
16.45–17.15: Selina Hurley (Curator of Medicine, The Science Museum) – Reviewing the Wellcome Egyptology material held on loan at the Science Museum
Day 3: Friday 17 September
13.00–13.30: Ashley Cooke (Lead Curator of Antiquities, World Museum Liverpool) – Rising from the ashes: how the Wellcome Collection came to the aid of Liverpool’s war-torn museum
13.30–14.00: Carolyn Graves-Brown (Curator of the Egypt Centre) – From Wellcome to Swansea: the history of the Swansea Wellcome Collection
14.00–14.30: Swansea Wellcome Museum video recording from 1976
14.30–15.00: The Egypt Centre handling session/tour
15.00–15.15: Break
15.15–15.45: Alexandra Eveleigh (Collections Information Manager, Wellcome) – Transcribe Wellcome: piecing together the Wellcome collections’ diaspora
15.45–16.00: Ersin Hussein (Lecturer in Ancient History – Swansea University) – Launch of the Egypt and its Neighbours display
16.00–16.15: Dulcie Engel (Egypt Centre volunteer)- Kate’s museum: transcribing the daybooks of Käthe Bosse Griffiths
16.15–16.45: Ken Griffin (Collections Access Manager of the Egypt Centre), Tom Hardwick, & Sam Powell (Director at Abaset Collections Ltd) – Launch of a new online catalogue
16.45–17.15: Closing discussion
See here for more information.