At first sight, an objective picture of a beetle with a neutral scientific description, until you take a closer look at the label and see where it was found. French Equatorial Africa was a French colony from 1910 to 1960. Linking place names to items often indicates a particular time period with a particular worldview, in this case Eurocentric and colonial.
Also worth mentioning are about 50 magic lantern slides in the Folklore collection. These were used in a magic lantern, a type of slide projector that originally enlarged images painted on glass and projected them onto a white screen or light wall. The name 'magic lantern' or 'lanterna magica' is due to the magical powers that the spectators initially attributed to it.
The first lantern slides were hand-painted, but later a type of transfer decal was placed on the glass, known as decalcomania. The selected slide comes from a series of 12 and was produced by the Gebrüder Bing in Nuremberg (Germany) around 1895. It depicts Saint Nicholas, known to us as 'Sinterklaas' (Santa Claus), represented as a man with a long white beard in a brown robe and with a blue hat with a feather. The man first threatens with the birch rod, but ultimately rewards the well-behaved children with sweets.
Travel was one of the most popular topics for magic lantern shows. Audiences were quite literally taken on a journey through stories of old and new destinations. As a result, immersion and aesthetics are so pervasive in these presentations that we can also discern them in seemingly scientific, objective glass slides. This is evident in the slides from the Royal Geographical Society of Antwerp, whose archives are preserved in the Special Collections of the University of Antwerp's library. The glass slide featured above perfectly embodies what made the magic lantern so successful; the inseparable link between education and entertainment. Although specific tree species are depicted, as indicated on the slide's label, it is primarily the aesthetic of the image that catches the eye. The towering trees and the tiny people on the ground captivate the viewer's imagination, and ultimately, it is this kind of visual language that resonated with the audience and made the magic lantern such a successful mass medium.
This glass plate originates from the archives of the Royal Geographical Society of Antwerp (KAGA), which is part of the Special Collections of the University of Antwerp's university library. From 1876, this society organised numerous lectures by explorers, geographers and other scientists. At that time, lantern lectures, where images were projected onto glass plates, were extraordinarily popular as a mass medium. The depictions of distant, exotic lands, which were inaccessible to many Belgians, drew considerable interest.
The magic lantern was ubiquitous by the end of the 19th century, but the lantern presentations within the KAGA were notably exclusive. The members of this society belonged to the affluent economic class in Antwerp, which played a significant role in the colonisation of Central Africa. The lectures served to disseminate information about the colony, while also acting as networking events where the wealthy Antwerp elite spent their leisure time. The lantern slide with the map of Africa reflects the KAGA's desire to understand 'Africa' as an object. They held the lectures under the authority of 'science' and 'geography'. Numerous photographs from Central Africa were projected during these occasions, which are also preserved in the archive. At the time, the camera enjoyed a certain aura of objectivity, which underscored the importance of these 'authentic' images.
The Mechelen glazier guild model book contains designs for stained glass windows, an essential part of the entrance examination for those aspiring to be called a ‘master glazier’ or ‘master glassmaker’. This was part of a years-long training. The final test was the completion of the master’s piece, a mandatory work that the candidate had to present to the guild's board. Only after approval of this piece were they recognised as a master in the trade and allowed to practise the profession.
The masterpiece consists of two remnants from 18th-century pattern books containing designs for the work that had to be completed to achieve mastery as a glassmaker in the Saint Luke’s Guild in Bruges. The drawings provide a clear impression of the technical quality standards that were imposed on glaziers. These pattern books are rare and of great significance for the study of the guilds in the Southern Netherlands. Together with a 17th-century pattern book from Mechelen and two preserved masterpieces that are kept in Bruges and Leuven, the drawings testify to the operation of the guilds and the master’s examination in particular.
Two late 15th-century fragments with polyphonic musical notation, discovered at the end of the 20th century. Until then, the folios had served as covers for a bundle of accounts, stored in an inconspicuous and unclassified folder labelled 'miscellaneous'. The archival records originate from the Church of Saint Nicholas in Tongeren, which was demolished in the early 19th century.
Research indicates that the fragments likely date from the period 1470-1485. They contain snippets of nine compositions, which, with their combination of religious and polyphonic, vocal and instrumental works, form a diverse repertoire. More specifically, the four bifolia include parts of a 'Salve Regina', two French chansons, a song in Dutch and five instrumental pieces. With the exception of the French chansons, 'D'ung aultre amer' and 'Ma maistresse', composed by polyphonist Johannes Ockeghem (ca. 1410-1497), all the music fragments are anonymous. Although the manuscript is far from complete, it is notable for containing six unique pieces, including the song 'Te Loven in die goide stad' (In Leuven in the good city), which is significant for the Dutch-language song repertoire.
Additionally, several features in terms of notation grant the fragments an exceptional status. Notably, the arrangement of the parts includes both choirbook notation and score notation, where normally only one of these systems would be chosen in a manuscript. The fragments are also remarkable for their historically early use of bar lines and the addition of accidentals. Together with the 'limited' polyphony of the music snippets (two and three parts), these characteristics suggest that this manuscript might have been compiled for didactic purposes. Therefore, the anonymous creator of the manuscript can likely be found in the vicinity of the collegiate church of Our Lady in Tongeren, which was the only institution in the city providing a professional music education.
Source: Resonant, Centre for Musical Heritage.