FIBS AND FIBULAE

Ever heard of a Leaf Rustler, a Hen Chafer or a Mould Foxer?

These are among strange and surprising artefacts from an imaginary folk museum, soon to go on display at Wiltshire Museum, Devizes, in an exhibition entitled Fibs & Fibulae.

They are highlights from an ongoing artwork, Leasingstede Museum, created by artist Jane Williams, who says “You often see in museums pieces of old pottery or crumpled metal which, according to their labels and to the witness of experts, are of great archaeological significance.

But it can’t just be me who thinks they look like bits of flowerpot or roadside scrap. And all those rows of hand axes, surely one or two of them are just oddly-shaped stones? With my museum, I am experimenting to see what happens when something of no value is treated as priceless. The objects on display, which have often been made from scavenged bits and pieces, are given the respect afforded to ‘real’ museum exhibits, which at first glance are what they look like.”

Among the exhibits at Fibs & Fibulae will be prehistoric, Roman and Saxon finds, obscure rural tools, a coin hoard and a musical instrument, and several items with links to the county of Wiltshire. During the course of the exhibition, the artist will put in appearances in the guise of a disaffected Leasingstede employee, known as the Other Curator.
The exhibition opens on 19 January and runs until 10 April, with the same opening times as Wiltshire Museum.
Cost: Included in standard Museum admission

OPENING TIMES:
Museum
Monday to Saturday – 10am to 5pm (last admission 4.30pm)
Sundays – noon to 4pm (last admission 3.30pm).