Enquiring Feet

It is good to have an enquiring mind,or so I have been told, but it's far, far better to have enquiring feet. I have been blessed and cursed with a set of the most enquiring feet for most of my life. And that's how it was that today, when my mind was made up to do my grocery shopping in double quick time, that my feet took me on an excursion to the dawn of history and to the remotest parts of the globe. Instead of the soulless aisles of Sainsbury's supermarket I found myself in the Cambridge University Museum Of Archaeology And Anthropology.

My mind, along with the minds of most of the population of Cambridge and many of its visitors, has known for many years that no one goes in there. There's a sign outside that says "Open to the public. Free Admission" but we all suspect it's a trick and know that it's really out of bounds for normal people.

But my feet are blissfully ignorant of all such preconceptions and prejudice and blundered in regardless, only to be met by......

.....an 'orrible visage staring out through the plate-glass of its display case. A sign informed me that it was a dance mask from the Torres Strait and was collected in the 1880s. But the collection started much nearer to home with the finds of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society who went out digging and delving in the local area.

Now some of you may remember this post called "Local Landmark" which revealed a Bronze Age burial mound not too far from my back door. In a follow-up post I wrote about the excavation of such mounds - well, this is where the finds ended up. Above are some grave-goods (items which were buried along with the dead) and below is a cremation urn.

But some of the earliest finds on display were these flint tools...

....all of which were found within a few miles of Cambridge. During the nineteenth century though historians turned their attention to societies further afield and encouraged collecting of artefacts from distant lands or, to look at it another way, stealing stuff from unwary societies. This kind of attitude has landed the University in hot water on many occasions but...

....these casts made of Mayan carvings are studied more than the originals which have been allowed to deteriorate terribly. And there is also a huge totem pole from Canada....

.....seen from below. And from gallery level where its immense size can really be appreciated....

And from the gallery you can see down into the main exhibition area...

....since it is the school summer holidays there were a few children present....

But perhaps my favourite exhibit was this lovely Buddha from Burma...

....or maybe this Indian snakes-and-ladders board...

Now, did you know that this child's game has existed for at least 800 years in India?

Despite the vast age-range of the exhibits and their origins in different parts of the world it is striking that we can still enjoy their beauty and craftsmanship, a point that was made equally forcefully by the contemporary art exhibition which the Museum houses at present.

These paintings were made by Rachel Gadsden and the Bambanani artist-activist Group in South Africa.

So if you've got enquiring feet let them take you to the building above, you'll be transported!

Take care.