Following a £15 million transformation last year, Manchester Museum introduced two new galleries celebrating Asian culture and history.
The new South Asia Gallery and Lee Kai Hung Chinese Culture Gallery each draw on personal stories and experiences to provide diverse understandings of culture and identity.
The South Asia Gallery, in particular, was co-curated by a group of 30 community leaders, educators, artists, historians, journalists, scientists, musicians and students, who contributed a range of objects that sit alongside collections from Manchester Museum and the British Museum.
For the exhibitions’ curators, it was critical to balance a desire to allow visitors to get up close and personal with these collections, while ensuring they remain properly protected and preserved.
The museum turned to Glasshaus Displays Ltd, specialists in premium conservation grade display cases, which designed and fitted 23 cases made from Pilkington OptiView Protect to securely showcase its new collections.
Georgina Young, Head of Exhibitions and Collections at Manchester Museum, said: “The Lee Kai Hung Chinese Culture Gallery and South Asia Gallery are both key to our mission of building understanding between cultures and a more sustainable world.
Spectacular and historic objects sit alongside objects with deep personal significance, telling stories that communicate the richness of South Asian and Chinese cultural experience. So, understandably, we feel a strong duty of care to these collections and the lives and stories encapsulated by them.”
Glasshaus specified Pilkington OptiView Protect 11.5 to provide an ultra-clear view of artefacts, provided by its neutral colour and anti-reflective qualities.
The casing is also designed to preserve the objects from degradation. The glass provides 99% UV protection, which minimises the risk of fading from objects’ exposure to sunlight. The casing is also hermetically sealed to ensure it’s airtight for added protection.
Security was also essential to the design. Pilkington OptiView Protect is highly durable, improving the safety of the items on display. The glass achieves BS EN 356 Class P4A, above the standard recognised by the British Museum for being durable enough to resist physical attack.
Each case is also fitted with a high security metal lock to minimise the risk of theft.
Craig Bain, VA Sales Manager at Pilkington UK, said: “By its very nature, a high-quality display case is intended to act as an almost invisible barrier between the viewer and the object inside. The low reflective and colour neutral properties of the glass help to reveal the object in its most natural form.
“This means that the expertise that goes into designing such cases and the materials used can go unrecognised, but without the careful considerations made by Glasshaus, these vital pieces of history in Manchester Museum risk being damaged or lost. Pilkington OptiView Protect is the ideal glass to provide the strength and protection needed at the galleries, without compromising on clarity.”
Mike Leeson-McHugh, Business Development Manager at Glasshaus, said: “Protection is our priority and that’s why we chose to use Pilkington OptiView Protect for the refurbishment of Manchester Museum’s Lee Kai Hung Chinese Culture Gallery and South Asia Galleries, as well as for every other project we undertake.
“With a specification above industry standard, the high-performance glass enables us to deliver the most durable casings not only so we can meet the needs of the Manchester Museum, but also because we owe it to the history of the artefacts to ensure that they are viewed as they are intended.”
The South Asia Gallery, a British Museum partnership, is the first permanent gallery in the UK to celebrate the experiences and contribution of the South Asian diaspora, and it displays world-class material from the British Museum alongside the best of South Asian collections in Manchester.
Meanwhile, the Lee Kai Hung Chinese Cultural Gallery explores the rich legacy of the relationship and enduring links between Manchester and China. It has been informed by the research of academics and international collaborations to offer a nuanced understanding of Chinese culture that includes natural history as well as the humanities.