Royal Albert Memorial Museum Collections Review 2012-2013
Specialist
collections assessment:
North East
African material in RAMM’s Ethnographic collection
Indicative fee: £1500
inclusive of all expenses
Closing date for Expressions
of Interest: Friday 11 January 2013, 12 noon
Introduction
The
Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM) in Exeter seeks a consultant ethnographer, specialising
in North East African material, to assess and grade the significance of approximately
135 items from Egypt, Ethiopia, Somalia and the Sudan.
Background:
RAMM collections review
Between
2011 and 2013 RAMM is carrying out an extensive review of its collection of
almost one million objects. The review sets out to assess and grade the
collections for historical, cultural or scientific significance and potential
for research, audience diversification, learning and income generation.
RAMM’s
collections review has two elements:
- Preliminary Collections Assessment: primarily carried out internally by non-specialist museum professionals
- Expert review of selected material: carried out with input from specialist curators at RAMM, external experts and peers.
This
brief is for a piece of work as part of the second element; specialist / expert
review.
Why North East
Africa?
RAMM’s
Ethnography collection includes 135 items from this part of the world acquired
in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Few of these items have
been displayed, as opportunities to research the material have been limited. Public
awareness of the sub-collection is low. A preliminary collections assessment
has identified the material as a high priority for research and review.
Exploratory
work is needed to determine the cultural value of these objects and to
determine whether the material has any strengths (or otherwise) as a
sub-collection.
The
results of the review will help RAMM to develop plans for future usage and
accessibility of the material.
What kind
of material is involved?
The
sub-collection includes some decorated high status items, but exploratory work
is needed to better inform about their cultural value.
The
group consists largely of:
- Weapons and shields
- A small number of textiles
- Body ornaments
For
this commission, we would like the appointed Consultant Ethnographer to review
and assess this material, commenting on their cultural and historic importance.
The
material, together with associated documentation, will be made accessible by
arrangement in RAMM’s new Collections Study Centre or its on-site collections
store.
Outcome of
consultancy
As
a result of this expert review by a consultant, RAMM needs to:
- be sure that the North East African items are accurately described in the collections information, including information relating to the donor, function, and indigenous community wherever possible.
- identify highlights among the material.
- have an expert commentary on, and ranking of, the North East African material according to the following criteria:
- Provenance and history (e.g. connection to a person, place, indigenous group, event, activity, belief, custom, theme, etc)
- Representativeness and best examples of type (local, regional, international)
- Importance to the study or development of ethnography and our understanding of indigenous communities.
- to categorise the North East African items in terms of:
- Material which offers a high potential for research or other use
- Material which is unlikely to yield much useful information or have other use.
Preferred
methodology
The
consultant will be expected to:
- Review the relevant items in the store or Collections Study Centre, together with associated archival documentation
- Check, confirm, amend and expand upon existing collections documentation as appropriate
- Provide a brief expert commentary on each object assessed, grouping objects where appropriate and covering provenance, representativeness and importance to the study or development of ethnography and our understanding of indigenous communities, using a supplied template[1]
- Assess and grade the relative research or usage potential of objects or groups of objects, giving reasons for each assessment, using the supplied template
- Recommend a prioritisation or ranking of the material according to the above criteria. This will be cross-referenced to RAMM’s collections database in FileMaker Pro and provided in a format which facilitates straightforward transfer of consultancy findings to the database. (The consultant will not be expected to undertake any data transfer himself / herself)
- Suggest a sampling strategy for retention or disposal, in relation to the material assessed. For example, this could be a suggestion to retain 100% of the material or to transfer or dispose of 100%, or of sub-groups adjudged to be of lesser importance / relevance to RAMM. Again this will be in a format which facilitates easy transfer of information to RAMM’s collections database.
Deliverables
The
consultant will be required to:
- Populate a supplied template with his/her findings/assessment in respect of each object or group of objects
- Produce a report setting out his/her findings, gradings and recommendations, as outlined in the preferred methodology/approach (above).
Other requirements
The
consultant will be expected to:
- Work to recognised professional and ethical standards for this field of work
- Work within the overall framework of RAMM’s Collections Review.
Timescale
The work should be completed
by the end of March 2013.
Budget
The indicative budget for
this piece of work is £1500, inclusive of expenses.
Fee payment
The fee for this work is
payable as follows:
- 50% on return of signed contract or letter of agreement
- 50% on acceptance of completed report.
Consultant
specification
The successful consultant must have:
- A higher degree in a relevant area of Museum Ethnography, Anthropology or other relevant subject
- Specialism in North East African material culture.
- At least five years’ experience of post-graduate ethnographic or anthropological research and practice.
The successful consultant
will ideally have (though not
essential):
- Knowledge and experience of collections review methodologies
- Practical experience of carrying out collections reviews and / or assessing collections’ significance.
The successful consultant may also have:
- Understanding of the requirements of Museum Accreditation 2011 and Arts Council’s new priorities for museums
- An understanding of the latest developments and issues in collections management, including the Museums Association’s Effective Collections and models for assessing significance, would be advantageous, though is not essential.
Submission information
Consultants interested in
tendering for this contract should send a CV and Expression of Interest to the
address at the end of this document.
The Expression of Interest
should provide brief details of how the consultant meets the specification
above, including:
·
Details of
published material, including URLs where appropriate
·
Details of
similar work undertaken
·
How the
consultant would propose to carry out this contract, including any refinement
of the preferred approach/methodology outlined in this brief
· The number of days the
consultant would be able to dedicate to this work, within the fixed fee
available
· Details of two referees or
clients for whom the consultant has delivered similar work (including contact details)
The
consultant will be responsible for his or her own tax and National Insurance,
and may be required to provide evidence of self-employed status.
The
consultant should hold the relevant insurances, including public liability and
professional indemnity as appropriate.
Expressions
of interest should be sent to:
Claire
Gulliver, Collections Review Co-ordinator and Tony Eccles, Curator of
Ethnography, Royal Albert Memorial Museum
RAMM
Offices, Bradninch Place, Gandy Street, Exeter, EX4 3LS
Closing
date for Expression of Interest
Friday
11 January 2013, 12 noon
Any
questions about this consultancy contract should be emailed to Claire Gulliver
at the above address. Please note that Claire works at RAMM on Mondays,
Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Questions
about this collection of material should be emailed to Tony Eccles, Curator of
Ethnography, at the above address.
[1] The template is likely to take the form of
a set of records exported from RAMM’s FileMaker Pro collections database to a
spreadsheet or table, which can then be worked upon / added to by the
consultant.
