The Hunter Cup
The Hunter Cup, on display in the Hunterian Museum, was commissioned in 2007 to mark the bicentenary of the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery. The designer was chosen after a competition between 3rd and 4th year silversmithing and jewellery students at the Glasgow School of Art. The winner was Leah Black, a 3rd year student.
The 2007 interpretation of the original Hunter’s Cup, which dates from 1783, is silver as was the original (the lights of in the Hunterian and in the display cabinet make it look gold but I assure you, it is silver). The older Hunter’s Cup was a prized possession of Dr William Hunter, the museum’s founder, and had been presented to him as a tribute from his anatomy students.
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Kelvin Gallery
The Kelvin Gallery, located in the north-west section of the University’s Main Building, is currently being used to house some of the artefacts of the Hunterian Museum‘s main gallery while it’s undergoing roof works. I’m quite looking forward to the main gallery of the museum opening next year. There’ll be a flood of photos from the Hunterian’s collections once it does open to the public again.
[Nov-Dec 2010 Poll: Should the University Library be open 24 hours a day?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Museum of Anatomy
Within the Thomson Building is the Museum of Anatomy, known as the Laboratory of Human Anatomy. The difference between this particular museum and the others on campus is that entrance is apparently by appointment only, according to the museum websites (although several people have told me otherwise). The Museum of Anatomy opened in 1902 and has three main collections: the Hunterian collection, the John Cleland collections, and a modern collection, and is also a work space for anatomy classes. It’s one of the spots around campus I really want to go photograph one day. One day.
[Nov-Dec 2010 Poll: Should the University Library be open 24 hours a day?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
A is for… Archaeology [ABC Sundae]
![A is for... Archaeology [ABC Sundae]](https://i0.wp.com/farm5.static.flickr.com/4087/4985055758_74ff0175ca_z.jpg)
A new year of ABC Sundae kicks of with Archaeology. I’ll explain my reasons for choosing Archaeology later on. The Archaeology Department, now under the School of Humanities, is the largest archaeology department in Scotland. According to the Guardian University Guide 2011, the course is the fifth in the UK and first in Scotland for Archaeology.
In addition to the study and research of archaeology at the University of Glasgow, the Hunterian Museum holds vast collections of Romans in Scotland (available virtually on their website), among other archaeological treasures. When the main wing of the Hunterian Museum reopens next spring, these collections will probably be back on display. The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum also has several archaeological collections, including the flint arrowheads which we got to examine during the first Archaeology tutorial.
The reason I’m choosing to highlight Archaeology over other subjects at the University of Glasgow is because I took Archaeology Level 1 last year as my elective “fun” course. As a part of this course we were taken on three field trips during the year, to some of the numerous archaeological sites around Scotland. Naturally, I have numerous photos from those trips.
The first of those trips took the class to the West of Scotland, to Argyll and Bute. The main sites there were Kilmartin Linear Cemetery, Temple Wood, Nether Largie Cairn, Kilmartin Cemetery, Dunadd Hillfort and Achnabreck. You can view the photos of the first trip here.
The second trip took us to Glasgow Cathedral, the Roman fort of Rough Castle on the Antonine Wall, Linlithgow Palace and Cairnpapple Hill. You can view the photos of the second trip here.
The third trip took us to Dunblane Cathedral, Doune Castle, Tappoch Broch and the Roman fort of Bar Hill. You can view the photos of the third trip here.
[Sept-Oct 2010 Poll: What societies have you been a member of at Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Z is for… Zoology [ABC Sundae]
![Z is for... Zoology [ABC Sundae]](https://i0.wp.com/farm5.static.flickr.com/4100/4893109985_021defd4f2_z.jpg)
The Hunterian Museum‘s zoological collections are one of the “hidden” museums around campus (the Anatomy Museum in the Thompson Building is probably the most elusive one). Hidden in the Graham Kerr Building since 1923, the Zoology Museum is packed full of a large variety of animal life (dead and alive), and also includes areas for teaching and studying.
The original specimens in the zoological collections come from the private collections of William Hunter and were mostly composed of shells, insects and corals. The collections have been substantially extended over the years. The insect collections are especially extensive, with drawers upon drawers upon display cabinets full of insects and invertebrates, again both dead and alive. When I say extensive, I mean extensive, because some 90% of the roughly 600,000 specimens in the Zoology Museum are insect specimens.
It’s well worth an elongated visit, as there really is a wealth of stuff to see. I’ve paid the museum three visits so far and only on the third visit did I notice that there are live specimens in some of the display cases (except for the iguana at the entrance to the museum, which is quite hard to miss. Wait, was it two iguanas? I forget.), as well as dead insects in the pull-out drawers.
[Summer 2010 Poll: Where Are You From?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Y is for… Young Elephant [ABC Sundae]
![Y is for... Young Elephant [ABC Sundae]](https://i0.wp.com/farm5.static.flickr.com/4113/4984452561_a405855c88_z.jpg)
The centre piece of the Hunterian Museum (especially now that the main hall is still closed for a new roof to be put in) is a skeleton of a young male Indian Elephant. The skeleton was originally acquired by the University in 1888 when the Anderson College closed its museum.
The skeleton then sat at the Zoology Museum until it was moved to the foyer of the Hunterian Museum in time for the bicentenary celebrations in 2007. The Hunterian website has a time lapse video of the skeleton’s disassembly and reassembly.
Specimen was conserved, repaired and re-articulated for show in the Entrance Gallery of the main Hunterian as part of the Bicentenary refurbishment programme in 2007.
There are actually two elephants in Glasgow’s West End, the other, Sir Roger, being just down the road at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Unlike Sir Roger, this elephant doesn’t seem to have a name, unless the the Hunterian curators have given him a name. Although, the online catalogue does list the specimen as “*Elephas indicus* J”. So… is he called “Jay”?
[Summer 2010 Poll: Where Are You From?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Time’s Up
At the very top of the Blackstone Chair, featured yesterday, is an hour-glass. Today when we write our exams we usually have several hours of sitting in Bute Hall or elsewhere writing and staring at the clock. Before 1858, when the examinations were oral, students would sit on this chair and be asked questions on their subject for as long as the sand in the hourglass at the top of the chair flowed.
So how long did the oral examination take and how did it go about? According to the plaque on the chair:
As the examination began, the Bedellus bearing the mace set the time-glass and after about 20 minutes, when all the sand had flowed through, grounded the mace with word Fluxit (“It has flowed through“). He then turned to the senior examiner with the words Ad alium, Domine (“On to the next one, Sir“).
Aren’t you glad the University switched to written examinations? They might be much longer today, but next time you’re stressing about your exams, think about how things used to be for students back in the day.
[Poll #12: What is your favourite place to study for exams?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
The Blackstone Chair
The April/May 2010/2011 examinations are pretty much over and as we eagerly await our precious results (by checking WebSurf numerous times a day), allow me to briefly take you back to a time before written examinations.
Currently sitting in the Hunterian Museum, the oak and black stone chair seen above used to be used in the ritual of oral examinations. This chair was made in 1775-1776, and incorporates a slab of dolerite, called the Black Stone. The ritual of students being seated on the stone while being examined, and the stone slab itself, dates back to the founding of the University in 1451.
Use of the Blackstone Chair ended in 1858 with the introduction of written examinations. Well, kinda. The chair is still used in the Cowan Medal examination in the Classics Department and at honorary graduations.
[Poll #12: What is your favourite place to study for exams?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Oldest Public Museum in Scotland
The Hunterian Museum of the University of Glasgow, which opened in 1807, is the oldest public museum in Scotland. 24 years earlier William Hunter had bequeathed his substantial collections to the University, leading to the establishment of the museum which bares his name. Originally the museum was located on High Street in the city’s East End, adjoining the Old College.
The Hunterian Museum has a section dedicated to the original Hunterian, even with the majority of the museum closed for roofworks. The model above is the centrepiece of that installation, and allows a glimpse of the original purpose-built Hunterian Museum. The closed area of the museum can be seen in the top right corner of the photo.
[Poll #12: What is your favourite place to study for exams?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Mackintosh House (What Is That?)
![Mackintosh House [What Is That?]](https://i0.wp.com/farm3.static.flickr.com/2785/4161138138_14de3d8e70.jpg)
Right, so the picture posted last Monday wasn’t the face of a four-eyed monster. If you have ever seen any of the furniture designed by Glasgow’s very own Charles Rennie Mackintosh, you would have quickly recognized the photo as a detail of one of his works.
To be more precise, the detail was of the door of the Mackintosh House on Library Hill, attached to the Hunterian Art Gallery. Anyone care to take a stab at why the door is so high off the ground? And if the vertical slit on the door is the mailbox, how do you fit anything through it?
[Poll #10: Do you vote in Student Elections at University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
How Did That Get There?
Someone has taken the time to draw the letter ‘A’ on a window within the Hunterian Museum, just next to where I took yesterday’s photo. Why is this significant or note-worthy? Because, a) the window is above a tall and wide display, b) it’s drawn on the outside of the window, and c) it’s on the second floor.
How did that get there? That’s really quite impressive, and at the same time mind-bogglingly odd.
On second though, what’s more mind-boggling is how dirty that window is. It looks like it hasn’t been washed a single time since the building was built in the 1880s. How long has that ‘A’ been there?!?
[Poll #10: Do you vote in Student Elections at University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Hunterian All Packed Up
Remember the photo from a month back of the part of the North Front of the Main Building that was covered in scaffolding? Here’s the reason for the packaging. The Hunterian Museum has closed up, packed up and cleared out the large part of the Museum for roof renovations.
Here’s an earlier photo of the same area before every was packed away.
The reconstruction of the roof will apparently take over a year and the Hunterian Museum is set to reopen some time around April 2011.
[Poll #10: Do you vote in Student Elections at University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Art Gallery, Library, Hub
Earlier today I was allowed a rare experience to be invited on a tour of the back areas of the University Library, the extensive areas behind the scenes which students never really get to see or experience. Naturally I took my camera with me and snapped some pictures on the tour of the back areas. I’ll post those photos and a write up of the tour and what I learned in a few weeks when I get my thoughts together and manage to pick the best photos. I’ll announce on the Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/GlasgowUniPhoto when I’ll have the next Library Week on this here photo blog. So, to find out when the Library Week is coming, become a Fan of Photos from Glasgow University on Facebook. Now. Do it.
[Poll #9: What is the best source of food on campus?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Stairs to the Hunterian Museum and Bute Hall
This staircase is in the Main Building, leading up to Bute Hall and the Hunterian Museum. The doorway on the right is the Hunterian Museum, and the one on the right is the door to Bute Hall. Below that is a doorway to the Cloisters.
The shining glass displays contain various museum artifacts. I’ll post a photo of each display one day. The one which contains the Old College Plaque featured yesterday is just under the stairs on the left hand side of the photo.
This is another one of those spots around campus where there’s often someone trying to get a good shot but it’s a bit tricky to get that perfect shot. I tried to get a good one, but settled for an unorthodox one, on account of the angle and spot where the photo was taken.
[Poll #9: What is the best source of food on campus?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Wikipedia @ The Hunterian
Today the Hunterian Museum took part in the Britain Loves Wikipedia event, taking place in museums all over the UK during the month of February. The aim of the event is to increase the number of pictures available to illustrate Wikipedia articles, and to inspire new articles. There are also prizes to be won. I got several reminders from the folks at the Hunterian Museum, inviting me through Flickr, Twitter and the blog to come out and take some photos. I was looking forward to it.
Unfortunately, I forgot to set myself an alarm and overslept, and I kinda forgot to read the rules beforehand, so most of the photos I took aren’t eligible, not that I got that many. Missed the Archaeology part which I was most interested in. In terms of the rules, I didn’t know that I had to take 2 photos of everything, including the label in the second photo. Oh well. The competition runs until the end of February so if you’re interested, you still have time to head to a museum and take some photos to submit to Wikipedia. Remember, all museums most likely have some rules about photography within the museum, so you should always ask before taking a photo. The Hunterian Museum, for instance, doesn’t allow flash photography or tripods.
Oh, speaking of the Hunterian Museum, remember that photo of the Main Building covered in scaffolding I posted last week? The Hunterian Museum’s Main Hall is undergoing roof works at the moment and is currently closed off to the public. A part of the Hunterian Museum is still open though.
Oh, and the fossilised fish is a Dentex leptacanthus, from the Eocene period (55-33 Million years ago), and has extant relatives alive today, according to the label.
You can find out more about the event from the University press release, the Hunterian Museum website, and the official Britain Loves Wikipedia website.
I’ll post some of the photos I took at the Hunterian Museum a bit later on when I have the next Museum Week on this here photo blog.
[Poll #9: What is the best source of food on campus?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below! © 2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Here’s To A Brand New Year!
Welcome to 2010! A new year, a new decade. Let’s see what the new year brings to this photo blog. I’ve made a few changes to the blog, namely the name change. Without blowing up the blog to bloated proportions, I’ll be adding new sections and features during the year, including guest posts by readers and my friends at University, especially for the summer months when I might not be around the University.
I’ve been quite pleased at the reaction the blog and my photos have received thus far. Some of the photos have found their way to a world outside the photoblog: My photo of the Lilybank House was used by the Economic and Social History Department at the course enrolment and introduction lecture, my photo of the Library during the winter is currently used by the Library on their Facebook page and their blog, and three of my photos will apparently be used in a 2010 calendar of student photos given to prospective students and school teachers to promote the university. All this and the many comments I receive from readers is what keeps me and the blog going, so a big thank you to everyone who’s commented and found further use for my photos!
Here’s to a brand new year!
[Poll #8: What's Your New Year's Resolution for 2010?]
Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below!
© 2009-2010 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Diagram of an Object
Sitting just outside the Hunterian Art Gallery, next to one of the busiest stretches of walkway on campus, is a bronze piece of art. How many students can name it?
That’s the problem with art on a University campus. Most students don’t know/care about art or statues or random bronze shapes.
The above piece of art, located on one of the most visible spots on campus, is called Diagram of an Object, 1990, by Indian-born Dhruva Mistry.
[Poll #6: What is the UGLIEST BUILDING at Glasgow University?]
Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below!
© 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Edvard Munch Prints at the Hunterian Art Gallery
Just a few days left to see the the prints of the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch (of The Scream fame) at the Hunterian Art Gallery! The exhibition, which features many of Munch’s most famous prints, including The Scream and Madonna, is on loan to the University of Glasgow until September5th 2009, so if you haven’t gone to the exhibition yet, you have until 5pm this Saturday. The exhibit is free for all. More information on the Hunterian Website.
If you look closely you can see The Scream reproduced on the sides of the entrance to the Art Gallery.
As Freshers’ Week ’09 is just around the corner, help me out by having your say in the poll below!
[Poll #4: Which Student Union(s) do you belong to (or use to belong to)?]
Click on the photo above for a larger version. Please rate the photo below!
© 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Hunterian Zoology Museum [Museum Week]
Stepping out of the Main Building and the main Hunterian Museum, we have the Graham Kerr Building close by. Sir John Graham Kerr was named Regius Professor of Natural History at the University of Glasgow in 1902. This title was renamed Regius Professor of Zoology the following year.
The Zoology wing of the Hunterian Museum is located within the Graham Kerr Building, which is open to the public. In addition, the students of Zoology use the museum space for research and teaching, as well as independent study, as you can tell by the photo (taken a few weeks before spring exams last academic year).
More information on the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery can be found at http://www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk/, as well as its supplementary Facebook Page, Flickr Group, and on Twitter.
This post is a part of Museum Week (July 20th – 26th)
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Deformed Boar Thingamabob [Museum Week]
Or, according to the part of the base which is visible in the photo, its a [Something] Asymmetrus Pig. Although the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery is composed of William Hunter’s extensive book and coin collections, among much much more, he was first and foremost an anatomist, which leads to some, frankly, interesting specimens in the collections, such as the pig above with 4 legs, 3 arms, 2 tails, and a head. The collections also include conjoined deer twins, a fetus in a uterus preserved in vinegar or such, and other interests to tweak your curiosity or churn your stomach.
More information on the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery can be found at http://www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk/, as well as its supplementary Facebook Page, Flickr Group, and on Twitter.
This post is a part of Museum Week (July 20th – 26th)
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Mesolite Crystals on Basalt [Museum Week]
![Mesolite Crystals on Basalt [Museum Week]](https://i0.wp.com/farm4.static.flickr.com/3066/3577170315_f8079a9f4f.jpg)
Amongst the collections of the Hunterian Museum at Glasgow University, next to the dinosaur bones, fossils, buddha statues and egyptian artefacts, lies a collection of geological wonders and other specimens, such as this piece of mesolite with a “radiating spray of terminated crystals” on basalt, all the way from Bombay, India.
More information on the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery can be found at http://www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk/, as well as its supplementary Facebook Page, Flickr Group, and on Twitter.
This post is a part of Museum Week (July 20th – 26th)
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Cross-Section of a Human Brain [Museum Week]
SECTION 1″ POSTERIOR TO THE AURICULO-BREGMATIC PLANE.
That’s about as much as information I can give you on the above photo. If anyone wishes to fill me in on more information about this cross-section of a brain, do so in the comments.
The above is from the anatomical collections of the Hunterian Museum, usually hidden away from public in the Anatomy Museum in the Thompson Building, usually only admissable to students of anatomy for teaching and research. Now worries, there is now a permanent exhibition at the main Hunterian Museum called ‘A Healing Passion: Medicine in Glasgow Past and Present’ which incorporates items from the Anatomy Museum.
More information on the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery can be found at http://www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk/, as well as its supplementary Facebook Page, Flickr Group, and on Twitter.
This post is a part of Museum Week (July 20th – 26th)
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
World’s Smallest Dinosaur Footprint [Museum Week]
Can you see it?
This is the world’s smallest dinosaur footprint and has been officially recognized by the book of Guinness World Records in 2006. The Hunterian’s curator of fossils discovered it by chance in 2005 while examining a larger footprint on the surface of the same rock. The smaller one was found between its toes. The dinosaur that made this tiny footprint was no bigger that a blackbird. The footprint is from the Middle Jurassic Period (170 million years old).
The fossilized footprint, the bigger one which is about 10cm long, was found in Trotternish, Isle of Skye, Scotland. The smaller footprint, within the larger one, is a mere 1.78cm long.
So, assuming you can’t see it in the pic above, you can find a few better shots, showing the tiny tiny footprint in the Hunterian Collections Catalogue at http://www.huntsearch.gla.ac.uk. (The link directs you to the tiny footprint page.)
More information on the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery can be found at http://www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk/, as well as its supplementary Facebook Page, Flickr Group, and on Twitter.
This post is a part of Museum Week (July 20th – 26th)
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
The Skull of Robert the Bruce [Museum Week]
![The Skull of Robert the Bruce [Museum Week]](https://i0.wp.com/farm4.static.flickr.com/3354/3550119981_818512513c.jpg)
The skull above is the skull of Robert the Bruce, otherwise known as Robert I, King of the Scots (reigned 1306-1329).
Well, kinda.
It’s actually a plaster cast of the skull of Robert the Bruce, which sits on display in the Hunterian Museum, in the Main Building of the University of Glasgow. His actual skull, along with his body, lies in the Dunfermline Abbey in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. His heart, on the other hand, is buried at Melrose Abbey, encased in lead.
The Hunterian Museum is a public museum (Scotland’s oldest), and as such is open to the public and admission is free in the main Hunterian Museum, the Art Gallery, and the Zoology Museum. The Mackintosh House has a £3/£2 entrance fee, although it is free for students and staff of the University. The Anatomy Museum is open only by appointment, although I’ve heard that there are times when it is freely open to students and staff.
Photography is actually permitted in certain areas of the main Hunterian Museum and the Zoology Museum, although one must ask a member of staff before taking any photos and the use of a tripod or flash are not permitted in any circumstances. The Art Gallery, the Mackintosh House, and the Anatomy Museum only grant permission to photograph in exceptional circumstances and permission must be sought in advance and in writing.
You reckon that maintaining a photo blog about the University of Glasgow would be considered an exceptional circumstance? =)
More information on the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery can be found at http://www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk/, as well as its supplementary Facebook Page, Flickr Group, and on Twitter.
This post is a part of Museum Week (July 20th – 26th)
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Photos from Glasgow University 