Inside the Collection

2000/28/1 Sculpture, 'China.China' series, Bust 28, porcelain body-cast, with hand painted over-glaze enamel in polychrome landscape design , made by Ah Xian (LIU Jixian) in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, China in 1999.

The Chinese Collection at MAAS (Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences)

February 18, 2015

Min-Jung Kim
The Museum holds extensive Chinese collections including ceramics, bronze ware, lacquer ware, carvings in jade and ivory, textiles, dress and dress accessories. The Chinese collection has been shaped by a number of significant donations from collectors throughout the last 135 years.
Portrait of William Sixsmith (1815-1893) by Jacob Audet, 1879. MAAS Collection.

Australia and the Industrial Revolution – driving the first trains

February 13, 2015

Margaret Simpson
We've known for a long time that William Sixsmith drove the first train in New South Wales but we didn't know that much about him other than his important role during the construction, testing and operation of the first line from Sydney to Parramatta in 1855.
Photograph of women's swimsuit, 1968 Mexico Olympic Games, as worn by the Australian Team, nylon, Speedo, Australia, 1968.

The need for speed: saving the Speedo collection

February 9, 2015

Glynis Jones
Once proudly known as the great Aussie cossie, Speedo swimwear occupies an important place in Australia’s sporting and manufacturing heritage. From the company’s beginnings in the 1920s, its aim was to excel in the manufacture of competitive swimwear.
Compressed Air manual washing machine made by Wolter, Echberg and Company, 6 Russell Street, Melbourne, 1879. Powerhouse Musem collection, K1235. Purchased 1984.

The Compressed Air washing machine

January 30, 2015

Margaret Simpson
This space age looking piece of domestic technology, reminiscent of Mr Squiggle's rocket, is a manually operated washing machine made in Melbourne by Echberg, Wolter and Company in about 1879 and marketed as the 'compressed air' machine.
Photograph of Scrimshaw

Treasures from the collection: Scrimshaw

January 23, 2015

Anni Turnbull
Scrimshandering, Schrimshonter, schrimshander or scrimshaw as we know it, is the art of carving or decorating whale bone, whales teeth and walrus tusks. The Museum has eclectic and fascinating collections from parasols to fans, netsuke and scrimshaw.
Railway timetable cover from the 1954 Royal Tour of Australia

The Queen’s 1954 Royal Tour of Australia – a rare surviving memento

January 14, 2015

Margaret Simpson
Many of the objects which come into the Museum have great stories. One of the most delightful over the last few months was the acquisition of this very rare fabric-covered railway timetable. It was used in the Museum's superb 1901 Governor-General's railway carriage in which Queen Elizabeth II travelled to parts of New South Wales during her 1954 Royal Tour of Australia.
Photograph of the conservation team

The Astrographic Telescope: Part Two

January 5, 2015

Kate Chidlow
The Conservation staff undertook the initial sorting out of the various telescope parts at the Castle Hill store. Earlier in the year, Tim Morris, a metals and engineering conservator at MAAS, had begun the restoration of the Astrograph.