Tuesday 5 June 2018

5 in 5 - June 2018 - The South Asia Collection Museum In Norwich

Welcome to '5 in 5' where on the 5th of
each month I post 5 photos that I have 
taken in 5 minutes.


Last week I visited the 'Turn A Page Book Art Fair' in Norwich and one of my exhibiting friends told me of a place I might like to visit, just round the corner. What I discovered was a hidden treasure!  The building was built as an indoor skating rink in 1876 (this was a surprise in itself) and it was worth visiting just for the building itself. 

But once inside I was immediately transported to the far east, and amazed at the displays and diverse collections on view. Part shop, part Museum, I wondered how I had never heard of The South Asia Collection Museum before, and was very grateful for my friends tip off. The skating rink was not long lasting, and the over the following years the building was used as a Vaudeville Theatre, a temporary home for the Salvation Army, storage for tinned meat, and a warehouse for a building manufacturer. Philip and Jeannie Millward purchased the Rink in the early 1990's and renovated it, making it what it is today. I thoroughly recommend a visit if ever you are in Norwich, and it was the perfect place to take 5 photos in 5 minutes. But before I share these, let me quickly show you the building itself:




Some of the exhibits are large pieces of architecture and furniture.

Upstairs you could look across and admire the beautiful beams and wooden ceiling. Back on the ground floor I set my mobile timer and got my camera ready:

This teakwood spinning wheel was used for winding bobbins, for fabric weaving.


I was excited to see antique wood blocks, used for the printing of fabrics.  I had to add these to the collection I bought in India!


And it was lovely to see examples of dyes used and printing in the museum section.  Upstairs the shop sells fabric and linens as well as clothes. Again everything was beautifully laid out and it reminded me of a recent visit to Liberty's in London.   

Other interesting things I found was this collection of padlocks.  I thought of the beautiful doors I had seen in India that were architectural works of art in themselves. 

This bowl of goat bells attracted me too. So much of Indian wares are beautifully decorated and detailed. 

I could have stayed longer, browsing and admiring the exhibits. But I had gone to Norwich for the Book Art Fair and still had more to see; and so this hidden treasure will be a place to visit again. 

Meantime I look forward to using my new wood blocks. I have a workshop planned 'Inspired by India' where we will be printing our own fabric and Khadi Papers to make book covers, and making a book. I'll be back to show you these another time. 

For now, I invite you to join me in this monthly photo challenge. This is what you do: 

1.  Choose a location.

2.  Have your camera ready.

3.  Set a mobile timer for 5 minutes.

4.  Take as many photos you can until the time is up.

5.  Choose 5 photos to download and share by using the link tool.
   You have until the 25th of the month to add your photos.  

If you want to know more there are details here.

And one more thing - when you use the link tool, please click on your post title.  This will show the web address. Please right click, copy and paste this as your link.  This will take readers directly to your '5 in 5' blog page and be easier for them to find.

Thank you for visiting and I hope you have had some recent good discoveries of your own.

Celebrating 5 years!! 

Next month this monthly photo challenge will be celebrating 5 years! That's a good reason to mark the occasion and I would love to hear any ideas that you may have. Please leave a comment below and I will be back with more news and updates soon. 


3 comments:

  1. Sandie what an amazing find this building is & the exhibit. The ceiling is so amazing in building ability. The goat bells made me chuckle. You could use those bells for SPSH ...

    ReplyDelete
  2. That’s a remarkable building as well as an interesting exhibition.
    5 years! My goodness! Perhaps an extra challenge of a photo per year of the challenge?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fascinating collections, but it's the wonderful building that captured my attention!

    ReplyDelete

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