Cataloguing Hildburgh’s amulets

W. L. Hildburgh. Image: V&A

Walter Leo Hildburgh was a prolific collector of amulets from all over the world. When he died in 1955, he left his collection to the Wellcome Museum, and from there it was transferred in 1985 - along with thousands of other amulets including those collected by Lovett and de Mortillet - to the Pitt Rivers Museum.

The Wellcome Collection in London is currently engaged in a major revamp, and their new Reading Room will have fresh display spaces, for which they want to loan a number of the amulets now in Pitt Rivers. Some of the Wellcome staff visited Oxford recently and made a selection from the Hildburgh, Lovett and de Mortillet collections. While Lovett and de Mortillet have been the subjects of recent documentation projects, much of the Hildburgh collection remains uncatalogued. It was my task therefore, over the course of a three-month project, to ensure that the documentation for the selected objects was up-to-date, and that a digital image was provided for each.

Amulet for animals
© Pitt Rivers Museum, 1985.53.409

I started by completing the documentation of the Japanese section of the collection, which had already been started by two of my colleagues. From 1900, Hildburgh began a prolonged tour of Japan, India and China. He had a keen interest in anthropology and folklore - particularly magic and superstition. Many of the Japanese amulets are papers, printed with inscriptions and sometimes pictures, which you can buy at Shinto shrines and Japanese Buddhist temples. They can be for protection from various aliments, good luck, or for averting a particular calamity. Animals don’t have to go without protection, either: this amulet, from Hase-dera Temple in Kamakura, is for cows and horses.

Other amulets take the form of objects. They can be natural objects which are ascribed magic or amuletic properties, or they can be figures of deities or animals associated with good luck. One of these, the ‘maneki-neko’, the beckoning cat, is well-known outside Japan and can often be seen enticing customers to enter a Japanese restaurant. It does not bring luck exclusively to business owners, but to anyone who owns such a figurine. 

Maneki-neko and pig amulets
© Pitt Rivers Museum 1985.53.696 and 1985.50.154

Around 20 of Hildburgh’s Japanese amulets are going on display at the Wellcome Collection. To these are added some examples from Italy, Tunisia and Algeria. Amulets from these countries are often meant to be carried on the person for protection and double up as ornaments, e.g. pendants and brooches. This mother-of-pearl pig from Italy is a particularly pretty example. In his ‘Notes on Amulets’, Hildburgh writes that the pig stands for tranquility, an easy life and ‘all desired’.

Amulets are a particularly fascinating and pleasing subject. They are usually small, often beautiful, and come from all over the world, with interesting tales behind them. My project was only a very short one, and whilst I was able to complete the documentation of the Japanese section alone, much of Hildburgh’s collection awaits future projects to uncover the rest of its stories.

Elin Bornemann

De-installation of 'Charmed Life' exhibition at Wellcome Trust

A guest blog by PRM Curatorial Assistant, Maddie Ding:

© Wellcome Images

At the end of February I went to London with Andrew, a PRM Conservator, to de-install an exhibition of amulets at the Wellcome Trust. Curated by the artist Felicity Powell, Charmed Life was inspired by the collection of Edward Lovett’s amulets held by the PRM. I was involved with the original installation last autumn; now our job was to remove, check and pack the 381 objects lent by our Museum.

Maddie and Felicity Powell arranging amulets for display during
the installation of Charmed Life in 2011. © Wellcome Images

We worked from Monday to Wednesday. The first case lid was removed by the Wellcome Technicians team shortly after our arrival and objects were carried to the work table where they were condition checked by either Andrew or myself and countersigned by the Wellcome Trust conservator before being packed. The objects were removed from display in reverse order to how they'd been installed (i.e. the last one in was the first one out). Objects were placed in plastic bags and padded with foam. The bagged objects were packed in the appropriate plastic box. The wooden crate held nine plastic boxes each with a contents list.

Andrew and Luana (Wellcome conservator) checking objects under lamplight

Before the objects left the Pitt Rivers Museum for loan, they were assessed by another of our Conservation team, Jenny (who is now working on the Small Blessings project). She described and photographed each object so our role was to compare the object with the original condition report to check that no changes had occurred. Happily there no problems as the condition of all the objects matched the initial assessment. Each time we had a break, the objects we had de-installed were stored in the packing crate and the lid secured. The remaining objects were secured in the display case and the gallery locked.

© Wellcome Images

By Wednesday all the objects were packed safely into their crate. The time it takes to install or de-install an exhibition depends on the number, complexity, size or significance of the objects and working practices of the host museum. This de-installation was calculated to take about three days but if we needed more time the return transport could be delayed. The courier company provided a lorry with drivers to transport the objects back to Oxford, and Andrew and I personally accompanied the crate back to the Pitt Rivers Museum. Most of the objects will be re-packed for storage but a few will return to display.

Maddie

P.S. Even though the exhibition has now finished, you can see a selection of the Pitt Rivers Museum's Lovett amulets that were on display here.