Teece Museum of Classical Antiquities

Rings were widely worn in the ancient world. They were great indicators of wealth and status, formed part of the betrothal process, and also served a practical function when paired with an engraved stone or intaglio.

Intaglio rings were primarily worn by men and could be used as a tool to secure valuables, food products and important contracts and private letters. The stone would be pressed into a wax or clay seal, leaving behind the unique image which acted as a signature. Intaglios were used alongside signatures on legally binding contracts to verify the identities of the participants. The combination of the signature and seal made the document valid, especially as seals could be faked or used without permission.

This example from the Canterbury Museum collection is a carnelian intaglio ring with a carved image of Pegasus. The setting is silver with simple edge detailing around the stone. It is highly likely that in antiquity this ring belonged to a male and was used a seal, although intaglios could also be worn for decorative purposes.

Image Credits: Canterbury Museum EA1988.16, Ring
Photographed by Corey Blackburn, UC Photographer

My name is Sharin, and I have been helping out around the Teece Museum for years. I’m currently a gallery host, but I still help out behind the scenes with cataloguing, updating databases and other little projects. I studied Classics and History, and graduated with a Post-Graduate Diploma in Classics. I have always been fascinated by how the ancient Greek and Roman people lived, and working at the Teece Museum lets me see parts of ancient life up close. One of the perks of working here is getting behind the scenes to see the artefacts up close in different contexts.

Outside of history, I like to be involved with sport. I’m videographer for a local rugby club, and you can usually find me on the sidelines on a Saturday holding my camera.

I’m currently working on a Certificate in Museum Practice with the help of Terri and the Teece Museum. I’m looking forward to widening my experience and being able to apply my knowledge in a practical way.

Text: Sharin Manson
Image: Corey Blackburn, UC Photographer

The Teece Museum will be open as usual for Matariki 11am - 4pm.

Why not bring your friends and whānau along to the Teece and enjoy our FREE family activities. Learn about how food connects Maori celebrations of the new year with Roman midwinter festivals through our Kai for Cena activity booklet. We also invite you to write a the name of a loved one who has made a difference to your life this year on a token to be put in our offering krater.

July school holidays are just around the corner. If you have a creative child who enjoys reading and creative writing then our upcoming poetry workshop may be just the trick!

Local poet and author Rebecca Nash will draw on the ancient Greek and Roman objects in the Teece for inspiration, and guide young poets to respond and experiment in a variety of styles. The workshop is best for poets 12 years and older. No previous writing experience is necessary.

Tues 9 July, 2pm-3.30pm
$5 per person, caregivers free
Places are limited, so please register via Humanitix or see our FB event.

Great to see an enthusiastic turn-out at the Classics lecture for UC Discovery Day this year. Of course, the Logie Collection artefacts were the star attraction - though Dr Gary Morrison did a great job entertaining the crowd!

Discovery Day is an annual event for Year 12 students thinking of studying at Canterbury. It is a chance to come to campus, explore their options and experience what it's like to study at university.

As we prepare to celebrate Matariki next week we invite you to take part in some special activities in the UC Teece Museum with your whānau as you remember, celebrate and look to the future!

Join us in our FREE activity Kai for Cena – A midwinter celebration. Saturn has been harvesting and has filled his cornucopia with plenty of kai. But it looks like he has dropped the horn, and now the food is scattered around the museum. Help Tupuānuku gather the kai in her kete (bag) to put in the pātaka (store house). When you find each piece of kai, write the Latin name in the spaces provided.

While at the museum we also invite you to remember a loved one who made a difference to your life this year by writing their name and a message on a token and placing it in the offering krater in the Museum. You could also write a token of hope and place it in the krater. What dreams do you and your family have for the coming year?

Kia ora! I’m Ash, one of the gallery hosts currently working at the Teece Museum. I graduated from UC in 2021 majoring in both Classics and Sociology. I find most branches of Classics compelling but I am drawn to areas around ancient philosophy, literature and theatre. Outside of work, I enjoy reading, writing, and creating art.

One of my favourite things about working at the Teece is the ability to go behind the scenes, specifically being able to help with completing the yearly collection inventory. This process involves assessing every object in the Logie Collection - ensuring each artefact is in good condition and stored in the right location. I adored being able to work directly with such beautiful and ancient artefacts. Being able to actually hold them, assess their condition and view all the items not currently on display was incredible, to say the least.

At the moment, I am considering various options for the future, starting with a self-development course. I am excited to see where my attention is drawn but, as of right now, I enjoy working at the Teece Museum. I think it is well worth your time to come down and check out our exhibition. Hope to see you there!

Text: Ash Evergreen
Image: Corey Blackburn, UC Photographer

Last week a group from the Teece had the opportunity to attend a workshop on Te Papa's Audience Impact Model held at Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum.

The workshop focused on how to use the Audience Impact Model to evaluate museum experiences using more than just visitor numbers. The model measures the impact an experience has on individuals by using various forms of feedback and can be used to help plan exhibitions and public programmes by understanding what you want your audience to get out of the experience.

And of course like all good museum professionals while we were there we had to take a look at some of the fantastic exhibitions currently on at Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum!

A huge thank you to Adrian Kingston from Te Papa for leading the workshop and sharing his knowledge with us, and to Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum for hosting us!

These days the Logie Collection lives in our cosy storeroom at the UC Arts city location in the Arts Centre, but we still take collection items back to Ilam campus for special classes and tutorials. In this particular classics lecture, students were examining and interpreting inscriptions on a range of ancient artefacts.

One of the objects the students considered was a lip-cup attributed to the Centaur Painter, dating to ca. 540-535 BCE. The inscription on the side of this wine up reads XAIPEKAIΠIEIEY, which has been translated roughly as 'you will drink and enjoy' or ‘be of good cheer and drink well’.

Image credit: JLMC52.57, lip-cup
Photographer Duncan Shaw Brown

Kia ora koutou,

My name is Ellie and I am currently completing my honours in Classics at the University of Canterbury. I became involved with the Teece Museum while studying towards my Bachelor of Arts when I completed an internship looking at Egyptian pots. This gave me the opportunity to tackle a research project and experience what it was like to present my own research in an academic setting.

The Teece Museum has always had a great community which is one of my favourite parts of the job; it’s an environment of learning and interest which is always motivating, and is especially handy as a student when you’re in need of advice or support.

While one of my main interests is in history and the classical world, I love to read, listen to podcasts, visit art galleries and pass lots of time chatting! Travelling is another big interest of mine and I’ve been lucky enough to see some great displays and artefacts from history while travelling overseas.

I would love to complete my Masters over in Ireland, potentially in Classics. Other areas I would like to explore are Heritage conservation and management, particularly of historical buildings. I plan to complete a Postgraduate Certificate in Commerce once I finish my honours in Classics which will provide me with some new skills to take forward, and hopefully lead to some exciting opportunities!

Text: Ellie Rice
Image: Corey Blackburn, UC Photographer

Kia Ora, salvete, χαίρετε!

I have enjoyed my time studying at the Teece thoroughly! Being able to handle and research artifacts that are thousands of years old is a uniquely special experience, and contributing to the museum's preservation and understanding of them has been such an honour. I have been primarily focusing on artifacts from the archaeological excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum, but my most surprising and exciting project has been working on deciphering a wooden tag with a Greek inscription, which I have come to believe is the name tag of an Egyptian mummy!

The writing on the name tag remains very difficult to read, but with the help of Professor Victor Parker from UC's Classics Department, I have been able to discover that the mummy died at the age of 35 during the Egyptian month of Phaophi, and that it was most likely a woman. Known mummy tags in the collections of other museums date to the Roman period of Egyptian history (c.1st century BCE-3rd century CE), which suggests that this one is too. For wood to have survived in such great condition is very rare, but the super dry climate in parts of Egypt are some of the only places in the world that make it possible.

Thank you again to the team at the Teece for this amazing opportunity to work with these precious pieces of history!

Nga mihi, valete, χαίρετε,
Jackson

Image Credits:
1. Canterbury Museum EA1980.340, Wooden Plaque
2. Jackson at work in the museum

The end of the semester is rapidly approaching and with it the end of my internship here at the Teece Museum. I’ve spent a fascinating couple of months handling, thinking about, and researching a collection of seven small animal figurines – trying to figure out where and when they’re from, and why they were made. For a couple of the items I was able to answer some of these questions, in part by comparing them with artefacts in other museum collections.

One of the objects I am examining is a hollow bronze figurine of a bear’s head. It has a lot in common with Roman bear-shaped ampullae (oil flasks) that hinge at the neck, so it is possible that it originally formed part of such an object.

There is also a terracotta ram, which at first seemed like it may have been made to rock from side to side due to its odd, curved base. However, I found several Villanovan and Etruscan pots and cups with almost identical shaped pieces that form decorative elements to handles. I think this was likely the original function of the one in the collection here.

Unfortunately, some of the other items proved trickier and remain a mystery – at least for now...

Text: Eleanor O'Neill
Image Credits:
1. Canterbury Museum EA1992.24, Head of a bear
2. Eleanor at work in the museum
3. Canterbury Museum EA1980.567, Figurine of a ram

Held within the Logie Collection's archives is a collection of letters sent between Eleanor Grantham and Miss Marion Steven which document the process of Grantham’s sales and donations of artefacts to the Logie Collection. Grantham provided the Collection with several artefacts including a comic mask and stone scarab. In addition to giving details of acquisitions, these letters provide an insight into who Grantham was, which is fortunate as little is known about her.

The letters between Grantham and Steven span seven years from 1971 to 1978. From the letters, we learn that a retired Grantham first contacts Steven after hearing a talk by her on the radio, inspiring her to send a comic theatre mask to Steven on loan. This was later purchased for the Collection. Over time, a clear friendship developed between the two, as we see in the letters the sharing of personal details alongside more gifts and sales. Grantham and Steven seemed to relate to one another, so much so that Steven visited Grantham in Auckland multiple times. Subsequently, from reading these letters, one garners a real sense of both women’s personalities. This at times results in reading some excellent quotes and passages you would have otherwise never learnt about, as both women feel comfortable enough to write freely. One characterising quote from Grantham is when she states that more teachers should be like Steven but instead she complains that education is ruled by “the ambition of what they consider to be ‘the up and up’, the personal ambition to be realised at all costs….. ‘Dedicated’ is a dirty word!”.

Clearly, keeping old letters is not only important to record information about artefacts, but can also add colour to the lives of those who helped make this Collection and museum a reality. This is especially true for Grantham, about whom we may have never known a thing without these letters.

Text: Finn Adams
Image credits:
1. Typed letter from Eleanor Grantham to Marion Steven, 1971
2. JLMC 114.71, terracotta comic slave theatre mask, 3rd century BCE (if authentic)
3. JLMC 118.71, Egyptian stone scarab, ca. 1500-1300 BCE

During my internship at the Teece Museum, I have worked on two different projects. Both projects involve researching jewellery and both have been incredibly rewarding. One topic in particular that I enjoyed researching was what jewellery in the Ancient Roman world could have been used for.

Jewellery in this ancient society had multiple uses, much like it does today. Even bracelets like the ones I have been studying would have held incredible significance, they could have been tributes to a deity or an heirloom from a soldier to his family. One of the bracelets (see first image) I believe existed as a reward for soldiers, taking the shape of a coiled snake with two heads. This piece is my favourite of the three because of how legible the snakeheads are. These bracelets could have had any number of possible uses or significance within Ancient Roman society.

Learning more about the symbolism behind the imagery and different materials used when crafting these pieces has helped me understand this ancient society much deeper and I hope I will continue this research even after this project is finished.

Text: Aidan Kays
Images: Corey Blackburn, UC Photographer

Hey there- My name is Ash, and I’m currently one of the gallery hosts at the Teece! When I was a student at UC I studied History as my major, and graduated with honours in 2022. My thesis looked at how gender was portrayed in Barbadoes Street Cemetery- our city's oldest established settler cemetery. Outside of work, I tend to do things like make bread, read, craft, and try to see friends.

One of my favourite things about working at the Teece is the ability to go behind the scenes of a museum and get to occasionally interact with artefacts in the collection, as well as show some of them off to the public. This ability to interact with tangible aspects of history, these parts of material culture, the ability to actually hold something so old- it’s an aspect I’ve always found compelling. On a less serious note, I’m also a big fan of our hidden Lego 'I spy' games we set up for children during school holidays.

Currently, the Teece is also helping me to complete my certificate in museum practice, which I’ve been finding really helpful to further my study, as well as being able to go on to apply that knowledge within my role. I’m interested to see where further opportunities may take me in the future, but for now have been really enjoying working at this museum. I might be biased in favour, but I’d highly recommend coming in and checking our exhibition out - especially if you haven’t come along before!

Text: Ash McNeur
Image: Corey Blackburn, UC Photographer

The Teece is excited to be hosting the 'Arts For All' Ōtautahi Christchurch Network meeting on Tuesday 21 May from 10am-12.30pm.

In this session, Amy Boswell-Hore from Access Quest NZ and Teece Museum curator Terri Elder will be sharing information about the process of conducting an accessibility audit at the Teece Museum.

The Arts For All Network aims to encourage artists, festivals, performing arts companies, literary organisations, museums, galleries, venues and producers to improve their access to Deaf and disabled artists and audiences. The Network, which includes representatives from the disability sector, shares insights, information and resources, and is a forum where you can ask questions and get advice.

If you are interested in running your own accessibility audit and would like to attend, please RSVP to Milly Hampton at Arts Access Aotearoa. Find out more about Arts for All online at artsaccess.org.nz

Image description: members of the accessibility audit focus group look at an exhibit in the Teece Museum with Terri and Amy.

Careers in Heritage 2024 is coming!

This is a special free event for high school and university students who want a career in the heritage sector. Ten speakers from museums, galleries, archives and libraries will tell you all about what they do, and offer inspiring and practical information about the wide variety of roles in the sector.

This year we are also offering a small number of travel grants to assist regional schools to attend. Please get in touch with the Teece team for more details.

WHEN: Monday 5th August, 3.30-5.30pm
WHERE: TSB space, Level 1, Tūranga, Christchurch City Central Library
Register to attend via Humanitix

After multiple years at the Teece Museum I am saying goodbye to my role as a Gallery Host. I am incredibly excited to start working as an Investigations Intern at the UN Development Program Headquarters in NYC for six months, before returning to NZ to start as a Judge’s Clerk at the Court of Appeal.

The Teece Museum and the amazing team behind it have been such a positive influence during my university studies. I have met some amazing people and received so much support from my fellow Hosts and the curatorial team. In many ways, working at the Museum fuelled my interest in cultural property regulation, allowing me to find a niche that combines my legal and classical knowledge.

It has been fantastic to see the popularity of the Museum grow and watch people get excited about classical history and art in new ways. Deciding to volunteer in 2021 has turned out to be one of the best decisions I have made, I will certainly miss chatting to all of the interesting visitors who have come in.

Text Aoife Hyland
Image: photographer Corey Blackburn

According to myth, which warrior and craftsman built the Trojan horse? Agapenor, Automedon, Epeius or Tlepolemus?

If you know the answer to that question - you should definitely be signing up to attend the 'Battle of the Classical Wits' quiz night this Friday 3 May! And if you didn't know the answer, come along to the quiz night anyway and sharpen up your classical wits so you can dazzle your friends!

When: Friday 3 May, 6.30pm
Where: Teece Museum, 3 Hereford St, Christchurch
General Public $5 per person entry. FREE for current Classoc members.
Register via our FB event page, or follow the link via What's On at www.teecemuseum.com

Image: The Mykonos Vase, Travelling Runes, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

For those of you who just have to know - the answer is Epeius.

We had a minotaur in the gallery last week, enjoying the school holidays - no bull!

Alicia from Christchurch City Libraries led a great Storytimes session all about Theseus and the Minotaur, and lots of mini mythology enthusiasts came along to listen in.

Huge thanks to the fantastic team at Christchurch City Libraries for bringing these ancient tales to life.

The Teece Museum will be open as usual on ANZAC Day from 11am to 4pm.

As ANZAC day is a day for remembrance, while visiting the Arts Centre be sure to take the opportunity to stop in at the Great Hall to view the Memorial Window. The window is dedicated to the memory of all staff and students from Canterbury College (now the University of Canterbury) who served in WWI.

Teece volunteer and UC student Isobel France attended an ICOMOS meeting recently, with the theme of 'What is heritage now?'. Here is Izzy's report on the session.

This talk explored the changing definitions of heritage, such as tapuwae, which defines heritage as ancestral treasures or ‘sacred footprints’. Panellist Dr Ann McEwan, heritage consultant, opened with the idea that heritage is all about telling stories. She urged that stories are whakapapa, and that heritage ought to be a lasting concern. McEwan also touched on how heritage is feminised and can therefore be an under-appreciated discipline.

Andrew Marriott, a Chartered engineer based at Downer Christchurch, shared thoughts from a post-quake experience, discussing how heritage is defined by our past and informs our future. Topics arose around what heritage might look like going forward according to what we define as heritage today, and how we learn from those who have preceded.

Finally, Nicola Jackson, Deputy Chief Executive of Operations at Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, explained that heritage is wide ranging; it is about what we collectively value but is thought about on different personal levels too. Jackson discussed heritage fabric and how the story behind a heritage item or place determines it, not necessarily the material which we immediately see it for. She added that an extended period of time is usually important to reflect on the meaning of heritage too. Last of all, Jackson explored how putting names before heritage can be limiting, using the example of historic, cultural, and natural heritage.

The informal discussion touched on how heritage seems to be determined according to a continuing assessment of its value, while the value of the natural world appears to be a constant. Overarching points of the talk included how stories define heritage, and how we could define today what heritage might be in the future.

Text: Isobel France
Image: Panelists talking at the ICOMOS meeting

Take a look at some of our young writers-in-the-making at work during the creative workshop with local author Karen Healey.

Thank you to everyone who attended. We loved hearing your modern take on ancient myth and reinterpretation of familiar characters into new settings and genres! Who would have thought Athena could be a commander on a space station in the year 2300 CE.

And of course a big thank you to Karen for leading such an enjoyable workshop!

Keep an eye out for more exciting writers workshops coming up later in the year here at the Teece!
writes.things

The Teece is part of a thriving community in the Arts Centre Te Matatiki Toi Ora, where we are just one of a passionate number of businesses and organisations that believe in the value of the arts.

The Arts Centre Te Matatiki Toi Ora is a non-profit creative arts trust that is kaitiaki of 20+ beloved listed historic buildings, including the one UC leases, Old Chemistry. However, funding for the Trust is at risk. This year’s proposed Christchurch City Council Long Term Plan has no mention of any support for The Arts Centre.

Here's how you can help. Make a submission to the council by SUNDAY 21 APRIL - It only takes a minute!
https://hubs.la/Q02sZk-H0

Follow on Facebook and Instagram to stay updated.

Kia ora, my name is Finn and I am one of the Teece gallery hosts. A couple weeks ago I went to visit the city of Melbourne, home to the Hellenic Museum which houses a large collection of Greek antiquities. The Curator of the Teece Museum works us hard and subsequently commanded that I visit this museum and gather intel for the Teece.

In reality, of course, I was planning to go to this museum already as a typical classics student would. I was certainly not disappointed. They have an excellent ancient Greek collection but also post-classical artefacts leading up to the modern day. Their first exhibit was the largest and probably my favourite. It displayed Greek antiques in a timeline from the Bronze Age up until the twentieth century, providing different artefacts for each era. In this chronology I was specifically awed by the Byzantine artefacts, betraying my loyalties to classics. There were a few other smaller displays dedicated to antiquity which were also very interesting, probably the most striking of these was one focused on ancient warfare. The sheer amount of armour on display was remarkable; one small room likely contained more classical helmets than all of the collections combined in NZ.

Overall, it was an amazing collection displayed through several exhibits on Greek history. I would highly recommend visiting if you’re in Melbourne CBD.

Text and images by Finn Adams

This school holidays the Teece Museum is excited to be part of the Ōtautahi Autumn Holiday Trail.

The Autumn Trail is centred around the City Nature Challenge and is filled with fun activities designed to take you on a journey around the city. It is sure to be an exciting way to spend some time these school holidays. You can pick up a booklet from the Museum or any of the other participating centres.

The Teece will be open seven days during the holidays 11am - 4pm to give you plenty of time to come and explore!

Herakles has been given a heroic new task. He has to set up a magical zoo of mythical animals – but first he has to find them! Can you help Herakles spot the mythical minifigure animals in the museum?

This school holidays come along to the Teece Museum and have a go at finding all the mythical creatures hidden around the gallery. Complete the activity sheet and go into the draw to win an awesome prize pack!

We are also open seven days a week during the school holidays from 11am - 4pm.

The Teece is running a series of creative writing workshops for young writers this year.

Next up in the series is a 'Modern Myth' creative writing workshop with NZ author Karen Healey. Be inspired by ancient objects from the Logie Collection and take your writing in new directions by reimagining mythology or mythological figures in contemporary settings.

Karen Healey lives in Christchurch, New Zealand. She writes speculative fiction and magical romance for young adults and adults, including the award winning When We Wake duology and Guardian of the Dead. Her recent books include Bespoke and Bespelled and (as Kate Healey) the Olympus Inc. series.

WHEN: Tues 16 April 2024, 2-3.30pm
WHERE: UC Teece Museum, 3 Hereford St
TICKETS: $5 per person via Humanitix

Places are limited, so bookings will be essential. Register via the FB event post, or see follow the link from our website www.teecemuseum.nz

Kia ora. My name is Aidan, and I am one of the Teece Museum's newest interns! I am doing my internship as a second year through the PACE program at the University of Canterbury.

The project I have chosen has me working closely with some artefacts from the Canterbury Museum collection. I am focussing on three bracelets, about which little is known. My job is to look deeper into these objects’ origins and significance, as well as looking into the significance of band accessories in ancient history in general. My research will help properly place these bracelets in their right places in the catalogue, as well as hopefully helping those looking into jewellery history in the future.

I chose this project because I really enjoy the process of researching and answering questions, filling in blanks and learning, so when I was offered this project it seemed perfect. There will definitely be some dead ends and pitfalls, but it is all a part of the process and will make finding real leads and answers just that much better! Wish me luck!

Text: Aidan Kays
Image 1 - Aidan at work in the Museum examining a bracelet with a magnifying glass. Image 2 - Close up of one of the bracelets in Aidan's hands. Photographer Corey Blackburn