Northumberland's newest museum has secured a deal to bring Anglo-Saxon 'treasures' to the region ahead of its opening in February next year.
Ad Gefrin in Wooler will loan a range of 6th and 7th century objects from the British Museum and the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust to tell the story of the Anglo-Saxon Golden Age, more specifically the former summer palace of the Northumbrian Kings and Queens, Yeavering. The site, which was not discovered until 1949 through aerial photography, was excavated between 1953 - 1962.
And its Great Hall will be recreated at the new visitor experience, which is hoping to become the Sutton Hoo (the site of an early medieval burial ground that includes the grave of an Anglo-Saxon king) of the north. On the way to achieving that aim, the museum has secured loans of a replica of the Franks Casket from the British Museum and one of the finest examples of Anglo-Saxon glass ever found in England, the Castle Eden Claw Beaker, which returns to the North East for the first time in more than three decades.
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The objects have been chosen in collaboration between Ad Gefrin's Director of Visitor Experience, Dr. Chris Ferguson, and the British Museum's Curator of European Early Medieval Collections, Dr. Sue Brunning with the aim of showcasing the world of the inhabitants of Early Medieval Yeavering. Other items include a Pseudo Roman Coin Pendant, and Silver Wrist Clasp from the British Museum, while a Great Square Headed Brooch and Shield Boss are on loan from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
Dr Ferguson said: "All of the objects fit into the context of the different parts of the themes we want to explore about power, craftsmanship, faith, the landscape and nature and how those things were used and how they reflect the Anglo-Saxon era. Effectively, they're showing what Yeavering is."
As well as being a royal palace and Great Hall, Yeavering hosted the Royal Court (as did nearby Bamburgh Castle ). Few remains were left on the site as high status objects travelled with the court, much like when we move house and take our furniture with us.
Chris continued: "All of the things they used in the Royal Court at Yeavering in life is the status and quality of the materials that were used in the Sutton Hoo burial. We're trying to bring that to life for visitors - the people in the stories and the colour of what a Royal Court would have looked like and these are the types of objects that were used - it's the high status and amazing artworks and artefacts that give that wider context."
Incredibly, the materials used in the shield boss from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust have not been on public display for decades. Chris continued: "The shield boss (the metal dome at the centre of a wooden shield) from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust is a very decorative one and the only equivalent shield of that status is in the Sutton Hoo burial and is a prime object in the British Museum.
"This is of the same level of quality and standard, and it's very generous to lend them because they're not on public display, and this material hasn't been on public display in decades! All of the objects are of a real high status, it's very exciting."
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Ad Gefrin was originally due to open this autumn but its launch was pushed back to February 2023 in early August. As well as the visitor experience, it will hold Northumberland's first whisky distillery, and Chris can't wait for the project to open its doors to the public.
He continued: "I just can't wait to show everybody all these objects and have everyone experience the rest of the immersive museum we're creating. The return of those objects originating from Northumbria and the historical context provided by all of the loans will illuminate the intricate craftsmanship and richness of the culture to be found in the royal court at Yeavering –the jewellery, ceramics, weaponry and art on display were sumptuous – truly a ‘golden age of Northumbria’."
And Chris hopes that the loans will be the first of many incredible artefacts to come to north Northumberland. The replica of Franks Casket, a 7th century rectangular whalebone box made in our region, is a coup, but on Chris's dream list to showcase at the museum in the future is the actual casket, which he considers to be one of the region's masterpieces.
He continued: "In my mind, there are three masterpieces of the Anglo Saxon Golden Age in Northumbria. The Lindisfarne Gospels ( which are returning to the North East on September 17 ), the Ruthwell Cross, and Franks Casket, all of which show the artistic output of Northumbria in the 7th century.
"The Franks casket is on permanent display in the British Museum and the replica allows us to show that story and tell it to people up here. It reunites both the casket and the plaque, which is still on display in France - but the dream would be to bring the original Franks Casket up here."
Chris adds of the Gospels, Cross and Casket: "These stories are so close to each other, the Royal Court at Yeavering is what leads you to the creation of the monasteries and the Lindisfarne Gospels. Without the Royal Court, what that group of people were doing, you wouldn't have got the creation of those articles."
Maria Bojanowska, Dorset Foundation Head of National Programmes at the British Museum, said: " This is a wonderful opportunity to showcase these rare Anglo Saxon objects in Northumbria, where they originated. The Castle Eden Claw Beaker is a highlight of our early medieval collections and it is hugely exciting to see it return to the North East for the first time in 32 years."
Rosalyn Sklar, Curator at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, said: " The finds on loan from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust represent two Anglo-Saxon burial sites in Stratford-upon-Avon and nearby Bidford-on-Avon (Warwickshire), part of the historic kingdom of Mercia. These collections are of national importance and are rarely seen by the public which makes the collaboration with Ad Gefrin so important. Our great square-headed brooch with inset Roman intaglio is perhaps unique amongst Anglo-Saxon finds."
"As the extraordinary discovery of Sutton Hoo unveiled the riches buried in death for the people of this time – the story of Yeavering, to be told at Ad Gefrin, reveals the riches found in life."
What would you like to see exhibited at Ad Gefrin? Let us know!
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