Hidden Treasures Temporary Exhibition
Royal College of Music
Role: Conservator
Employment: 2022 - Present
Overview:
Containing 50 fascinating items from the collection storage, the Hidden Treasures Exhibition 2023 contained an array of objects often not seen by the public eye. A set of engravings and prints, donated to the Royal College of Music by honorary doctorate recipient Christopher Hogwood, following his death, were on display for the first time as well as coloured etchings by British illustrator George Cruikshank who was a friend and illustrator for Charles Dickens. Visitors could also explore the lives of some of the leading sopranos of the 20th century including rarely seen items from the personal collection of Mary Garden, and a portrait of Austrian soprano Hilde Gueden drawn by Milein Cosman. Also featured were instruments from the Royal Collections including a Yueqin from the ancient city of Guangzhou, and items showcasing the musical connections between the Great Exhibition of 1851 and the Crystal Palace that housed it.
Instruments from across Asia and the Middle East each required varying degrees of treatment and to be strung for display purposes of the exhibition.
Click each image for treatment details:
