Monthly museum news from the University of Sydney
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Spring has sprung! The image above features Ethel Carrick Fox's rendition of a flower market in southern France. While no-one is travelling at the moment, it is heartening to see spring flowers starting to bloom. This month we take you behind the scenes as we continue moving our collections into the new museum, explore the concept of deep time in our Object Matters podcast and share lots of news from the museum and our community.
David Ellis
Director, Chau Chak Wing Museum
Nip and tuck
Some of our natural history specimens were treated to an extreme makeover by expert conservator Sasha Stollman, in preparation for our opening exhibitions.
Hathor's epic journey
How do you move a 3.5 tonne Egyptian goddess? Watch Hathor's path from the Nicholson Museum over to our new Egyptian galleries in this latest video.
Object Matters podcast: Episode 5
Curator Matt Poll explores the concept of deep time using a 45,000 year-old hand axe from the Sydney basin.
Priceless artefacts
on the move
The ABC came down to witness the moves of our largest and most fragile artefacts and specimens!
Upcoming event reminder
From Pompeii to Tharros:
Wed 9 September, 8pm
Associate Professor Steven Ellis discusses excavating ancient Roman urban neighbourhoods.
New learning resources
Secondary students
Our education team have created new learning resources for high school History, Ancient History and English students.
Other news
– Entomologist Matt Huan is taking over our Instagram feed this week.
– Vale artist John Nixon who passed away in August.
– Dr Shuxia Chen was awarded an Australian Academy of the Humanities 2020 Humanities Travelling Fellowship.
– Candace Richards spoke to Neos Kosmos and SBS about how you can help identify locations within historic photos of Greece.
– Work with us: Front of House Operations Manager.
– Deputy Director Paul Donnelly joins Twitter.
– The Power Institute have launched their 2020 Sydney Asian Art Series.
Collection item of the month
National Threatened Species Day
The Banded Hare-wallaby is the sole survivor of an ancient group of kangaroos. Once found throughout the southern mainland of Australia, the only naturally occurring populations are now on the Bernier and Dorre Islands off the coast of Western Australia.
This very cute specimen was collected in 1870 around Albany in the south-west of WA and was photographed by artist Anne Ferran in 2014, as part of research using the Macleay Collections. It will be on display when the Chau Chak Wing Museum opens to the public in November.
National Threatened Species Day is commemorated across the country on 7 September to raise awareness of plants and animals at risk of extinction. The Banded Hare-wallaby is highly vulnerable to feral predators but the good news is that conservation efforts have seen numbers grow in recent years. Read more
Image details (in order of appearance)
1. Banner image: Ethel Carrick Fox, Flower market southern France, c.1935, oil on board, University Art Collection, UA2018.42.
2. Isurus oxyrinchus, mako shark, Macleay Collections, NHF.1669.
3. Hammer stone, unknown Koori maker/s, Castlereagh, NSW, c.45,000, Macleay Collections ET2014.431.
4. Hathor being moved across campus.
5. Hermes outside the Chau Chak Wing Museum.
6. Excavations at Pompeii. Photo: Steven Ellis.
7. Object-based learning with high school students.
8. Entomologist Matthew Huan with butterfly specimens.
9. John Nixon, Self Portrait (History Painting), 1984. Purchased with funds from the J W Power Bequest 1988. JW Power collection, The University of Sydney, managed by Museum of Contemporary Art. PW1988.12.1-6
10. Lagostrophus fasciatus (Lesueur & Péron, 1807), common name Banded Hare-wallaby, Macleay Collections, NHM.442. Photo: Anne Ferran.
