A F T E R
T H E
F I R E
C u r a t e d b y R u b y S p e n c e r, L C C and Catherine Davis, The Cuming Museum Manager This Exhibition is in collaboation between a London College of Communications student, and The Cuming Museum. This Exhibition is supported by The University of The Arts, London. and Suffork Council. For More Information about up coming student Exhibit i o n a t t h e N u r s e r y G a l l e r y P l e a s e V i s i t : h t t p : / / w w w. arts.ac.uk/lcc/ For More Information about the Cuming Museum Please v i s i t : h t t p : / / w w w. s o u t h w a r k . g o v. u k / c u m i n g m u s e u m
Acknowlegements: The Cuming Family The Cuming Museum Obejcts London College of Communications The University of the Arts
THE NURSERY GALLERY, LCC, ELEPHANT & CASTLE Private viewing -Saturday 14th may 2016 (Guest Speaker) THE NURSERY GALLERY, LCC, ELEPHANT & CASTLE Open for public Sunday 15th may 2016 - Monday 25th July 2016 OPENING HOURS: 10:30 - 4:30 Weekdays 10:30-6:30 Weekends
T H E C U R AT O R S S TAT E M E N T RUBY JEAN SPENCER
BA Design Management & Cultures. London college of communications. University of the Arts London.
After the fire features objects from The C u m i n g M u s e u m ’s w o r l d w i d e e t h n o g r a p h i c collection. This Exhibition aims to build awareness of Cuming Museum. My aim of the exhibition was to evoke emotion from the audience by drawing upon the idea of the cuming museum being hollow and untouchable because of the fire. Throught the exhibition I draw upon the idea of the object being untouchable. The larger installations within the middle of the room again draw upon the idea of objects being out of place in the enviroment. My hope is that this exhibition start to build awarness around the cuming museum as well as think about the challenges a fire can bring to a museum. I would like for peple to go away inspired by public museums and how much education is has t o o f f e r. P e o p l e s h o u l d u s e t h e i r p u b l i c museums more as they never know what they might find which sparks an interest or an idea.
T H E C U M I N G M U S E U M S TAT E M E N T The Cuming museum is based on the worldwide collection of the Cuming family and is also the mus e u m o f S o u t h w a r k ’s h i s t o r y. C o l l e c t i o n s i n c l u d e a r c h a e o l o g y, e t h n o g r a p h y, a r t , l o c a l h i s t o r y, s o c i a l history and natural hist o r y. W e a r e p a r t o f t h e C o u n c i l ’s h e r i t a g e s e r v i c e alongside Southwark Loc a l H i s t o r y L i b r a r y a n d A rchives on Borough High Street. Richard Cuming, and his son Henry Syer Cuming, lived locally and had a passion for collecting. Between them, during the late 18th and the 19th c e n t u r y, they acquired all kinds of objects from around the world. Henry left funds in his will to create a public museum, which opened above the Newington public library in 1906. As well as the Cumings’ worldwide col-
lection, the museum has many local history objects w h i c h r e f l e c t S o u t h w a r k ’s rich and diverse history a n d i t s u n f o l d i n g s t o r y. The museum opened new public spaces on the g r o u n d f l o o r o f t h e f o rm e r W a l w o r t h To w n H a l l in 2006. The changing exhibition space and activity room housed regular events and exhibitions plus two permanent displays showed key items f r o m t h e c o l l e c t i o n s . c u rrently closed due to a fire which affected the building housing the displays in March 2013. The Cuming museum will retur n to t h e f o r m e r W a l w o r t h To w n Hall building when it reopens in a few years. In the meantime we are working closely with colleagues in t h e l i b r a r i e s , a r t s a n d h e ritage services and developing new projects. ( S o u t h w a r k . g o v. u k , 2 0 1 5 )
THE CUMING COLLECTION AFRICA
The Cuming African collection includes at least one object from nearly every country on the continent. The regions more extensively represented in the collection are West Africa, Sudan, and Southern Africa. South African objects include the collection assembled by Dr Andrew Smith, the first Superintendent of the South African M u s e u m , C a p e To w n i n 1 8 2 5 . H i s e x p e d i tion of 1834 - 1836, in connection with the South African Association, to the interior of South Africa resulted in an exhibition in London in 1837. Richard Cuming purchased around 120 objects from the sale. The African collection also includes Z u l u o b j e c t s c o l l e c t e d i n t h e 1 8 4 0 ’s b y the naturalist Wilhelm Gueinzius, southern Sudanese objects brought to London by a native of Sudan, Mohamed Hamed S a f i r, a n d d e c o r a t e d l e a t h e r c o s t u m e a n d accessories from the region of the River G a m b i a . ( S o u t h w a r k . g o v. u k , 2 0 1 5 )
THE CUMING COLLECTION AMERICA
The Cuming collection from the Americas consists of a small number of pre-Columbian objects from Peru, Mexico (including fakes), Colombia and the Caribbean. The objects from the Eastern Woodlands and Great Lakes, North West Coast and, Arctic areas and from Tierra Del Fuego are generally late 18th to early 19th centur y. T h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t c o l l e c t i o n i s t h e Schomburgk collection, collected by the explorer Robert H. Schomburgk during an expedition to British Guyana from 1834 to 1839. It was sponsored by the Royal Geo g r a p h i c a l S o c i e t y. H e s u r v e y e d t h e u p per Guiana River basin and collected botanical specimens and other objects. On returning to London Schomburgk exhibited his collection of artefacts at the Cosmorama exhibition hall, Regent Street, in 1840. The collection was sold at auctiWon and Richard Cuming purchased around 50 objects. The Schomburgk material is an important record of South American tropical lowland life in the early part of the 1 9 t h c e n t u r y. ( S o ut h w a r k . g o v.u k , 2 0 1 5 )
THE CUMING COLLECTION OCEANIC
The Cuming Oceanic collection consists of objects collected in the late 18th cent u r y a n d e a r l y 1 9 t h c e n t u r y. S o m e o f t h e objects are associated with famous explorers and missionaries such as Captain Wilson, George Bennet and Captain James Cook. Objects in the Cuming collection known to have been collected on Captain Cook’S three great scientific voyages in 1768, 1772 and 1776 came via the Leverian Museum. Richard Cuming purchased several items that had been collected on C o o k ’s v o y a g e s b y t h e s c i e n t i s t s a n d o f ficers on his ships at the 1806 sale of the Leverian Museum. Richard Cuming continued to purchase other ethnographic mat e r i a l f r o m C o o k ’s v o y a g e s f r o m v a r i o u s sales and auctions in the following deca d e s . ( S o u t h w a r k . g o v. u k , 2 0 1 5 )
R I C H A R D
C U M I N G
Richard Cuming (1777 to 1870) was the son of a tinplater from Devon. The famil y m o v e d t o 3 D e a n ’s R o w i n t h e W a l w o r t h Road in 1779 when Richard Cuming was t w o y e a r s o l d . T h e s i t e o f 3 D e a n ’s R o w i s a p p r o x i m a t e l y w h e r e t h e M c D o n a l d ’s i s o n the Walworth Road. R i c h a r d C u m i n g ’s f i r s t m a j o r p u r c h a s e s were from the sale of the Leverian Museum in 1806. He continued to collect throughout his life from a range of sources including from auctions, sales and from neighbors and friends who made gifts and donations to him. G e o l o g y w a s R i c h a r d C u m i n g ’s f i r s t e n thusiasm. He kept his shells and rocks in a cabinet he made, which is now part of the collection. His nickname when young was “the young philosopher”, showing his passion for reading and learning about the t h i n g s h e c o l l e c t e d . L a t e r h e b e c a m e p a rticularly interested in science and natural h i s t o r y, a t t e n d i n g t h e C h e m i c a l S o c i e t y o f London, building scientific apparatus and buying stuffed animals. As his interest in c o l l e c t i n g g re w, h e b e g a n t o c o n c e n t r a t e on ‘Artificial Curiosities’, or man made objects. He was able to amass a huge collection of objects, many of them rare and curious examples of things from all over t h e w o r l d ( S o u t h w a r k . g o v. u k , 2 0 1 5 )
‘His nickname when young was “the young philosopher”, showing his passion for reading and learning about the things he collected.’
H E N R Y
C U M I N G
Henry Syer Cuming (1817 to 1902) continu e d h i s f a t h e r ’s w o r k o f c o l l e c t i n g t h i n g s from the everyday lives of people all over the world, but his special interests were the archaeology of London, folklore and British popular art and the lives of the people of South London. He collected many thousands of objects that revealed the ordinary lives of South Londoners in the 1800s, from theatre adverts and rail tickets to cheap toys and good luck charms. D u r i n g H e n r y ’s l i f e t i m e t h e g r o w i n g a n tiques market was flooded with fakes which Henry enjoyed collecting and exposing. When he died in 1902 he left the Cuming f a m i l y c o l l e c t i o n t o t h e p e o p l e o f t h e p a rish of St Mary Newington (now the Borough of Southwark). His will stated “My museum i l l u s t r a t i v e o f n a t u r a l h i s t o r y, a r c h a e o l o g y and ethnology with my coins and medals and along with all other curios” be exhibited in “a suitable and spacious gallery or apartments in connection with NeWwingt o n P u b l i c L i b r a r y. ” The museum was to be known ing Museum and he left a sum e m p l o y a c u r a t o r. T h e m u s e u m in 1906 by Lord Rothschild g o v. u k , 2 0 1 5 )
as the Cumof money to was opened (Southwark.
“Worldwide and local collections of the Cuming family as well as local and social history collecte d b y t h e b o r o u g h d u r i n g t h e 2 0 t h c e n t u r y. ” The Cuming Museum.”
AFTER THE FIRE