'the imjin' magazine Summer 2020 | Page 14

What’s on-line
Round-up of the best
‘stay-at-home’ content
MUSEUMS
Forgotten
Masters of
the East India
Company
The Wallace Collection
www.wallacecollection.org
The elegant 18th century
London townhouse is an
unlikely place to hold one
of the largest collections of
arms and armour in Britain.
But the ‘Wallace Collection’,
displayed in Hertford
House, a few minutes’
walk from Oxford Street,
contains an overflowing
armoury that would be the
envy of any Renaissance
prince.
One of the unexpected
gems is the highly-gilded
Mughal dagger (pictured),
fashioned from rock crystal
and inlaid with gold, rubies
and emeralds. It is seriously
bling.
The dagger dates back to
before the period of the
British Empire in India, and
formed the centrepiece
of a recent exhibition on
‘forgotten masterpieces’ of
Indian art commissioned by
the English merchants of the
East India Company.
It probably belonged to a
Frenchman called Claude
Martin who fought against
the British in India, but
changed sides following the
siege and fall of Pondicherry
in 1790-1. He joined the army
of the British East India
Company as an Ensign,
working his way up through
the ranks to become Major
General in charge of the
Lucknow Arsenal.
The exhibition is now
closed to the public, but
many of the exhibits can
still be enjoyed on-line,
alongside other selected
highlights from the
collection’s spectacular
armoury, including 16th-
century German field armour,
Northern Italian parade
shields and Napoleonic-era
flint-lock pistols.
And as soon as the lockdown
restrictions are lifted be sure
to come and see them at
close quarters.
Highlights from
The Wallace Collection
bit.ly/Wallcoll
© National Army Museum
Battle of the
Imjin River
National Army Museum
nam.ac.uk/explore
The National Army Museum in
Chelsea was due to launch a
major exhibition this summer
exploring the British Army’s
period in Germany through the
Cold War.
14
SUMMER 2020 the imjin
Dagger by unknown
creator, c. 1620.
© The Wallace
Collection, London.
The exhibits include items
sourced from Imjin Barracks
from our Corps’s time based in
Rheindahlen.
The Germany exhibition is now
postponed, but you can still order
the book from the publisher
bit.ly/profileBFG
Meanwhile it’s worth exploring the
many stories researched by the
Museum’s staff on their website,
including a focus on the Battle of
the Imjin River bit.ly/NAMimjin
Put to the
Sword War Rugs of
Afghanistan
The D-Day Story
theddaystory.com The University of Vermont
www.uvm.edu/fleming
Last June,
the ARRC
released
a pigeon
on Sword
Beach to
commemorate
1st British
Corps’s role during the D-Day
beach landings. Since the
Soviet
invasion of
Afghanistan
in 1979,
traditional
Afghan rug
weavers
have been incorporating stylised
representations of Kalashnikovs
and tanks amid colourful floral
and geometric patterns – designs
reflecting a familiar reality in this
war-torn region.
This year, with the coronavirus
lockdown, the pigeons will have
the Normandy coastline all to
themselves.
The ‘D-Day Story’ museum in
Portsmouth is offering virtual
tours – via YouTube.
Their unique collection includes a
vast embroidery commemorating
the 1944 amphibious landings –
just like a 20th-century version of
the original Bayeux Tapestry.
Visit The D-Day Story on YouTube
bit.ly/DDayYT
The motifs in ‘War Rugs of
Afghanistan’ can be reminiscent
of 1980s pixelated computer
graphics. And they will be equally
evocative to any NATO soldier
who has recently spent time in
the country.
This touring exhibition was due to
be in Vermont, USA, and you can
view selected highlights online
bit.ly/WARPrug