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ducollections.bsky.social
Durham University Collections
@ducollections.bsky.social
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Collections from @durham-university.bsky.social museums, art collection, biosciences, archives and special collections. Not monitored 24/7. @dulib.bsky.social

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Durham University Collections @ducollections.bsky.social · Jan 13
Hello #Bluesky! Let us introduce ourselves...

We're Durham University Collections, home to collections from our museums, art collection, biosciences, archives and special collections. Posting about amazing items, research, conservation and all things museums and archives!

Great to see you all 👋
A selection of objects from Durham University collections on a yellow and blue background.
ducollections.bsky.social
To celebrate #LumiereDurham, a spectacular Light Art festival we have scoured the collections for images of light.

This illustration is titled ‘The City with the Moon and the Tower’, and was created in Japan and printed c. 2011
DUROM.2012.64

#DUCollections
A digital illustration of a city street with stone frontage western style houses overlooking a stone flagged street. Gas lantern style street lights line the street on both sides. In the foreground are various large flowers in white, blue, red and yellow. There are several human figures in the street, mostly wearing long capes, big hats and carnival masks in various styles. The main figure in the centre of the image is a young child wearing a top hat and an oversize shirt pulled up over its mouth and nose. In the background at the end of the street is a large, angular structure rising up into the sky and tipped with a point like a corkscrew. Suspended in the sky above this is a large circular gold and red disc covered with regular geometric patterns and faintly resembling a clock face.
November 13, 2025 at 1:22 PM
ducollections.bsky.social
There’s only a few days left to experience the wonder of storytelling through our MA students’ exhibition, Telling Tales, at the Oriental Museum. This family-friendly exhibition will be closing; 9th of November. 
Unable to make it? Check out our online exhibition and audio guide. #TellingTales
A poster with the text: Telling Tales: Making Stories Come to Life. It has illustrations of a Javanese puppet, the Soga Brothers, woodblock prints, a blue-white ceramic, a scary Noh mask, a blue Peking Opera face painting, a musician playing a horn, an orange robe with a golden dragon and a colourful shadow puppet. 
November 3, 2025 at 3:13 PM
ducollections.bsky.social
💀Happy Halloween!💀 This Danse Macabre woodcut by Michael Wolgemut reflects 15th-century Europe's obsession with death and the afterlife. Found in the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle. 📖 Ref: SA 0166 #DanseMacabre #NurembergChronicle #RareBooks #MedievalArt
Woodcut illustration of the Danse Macabre, showing skeletal figures dancing.  
October 31, 2025 at 4:04 PM
ducollections.bsky.social
Friday 7 November our Conservation team will be running an annual takeover of our social media for #AskAConservator day! Conservators around the world will be discussing their work and sharing how they care for collections. Ask us questions and follow the hashtag to see who else is participating.
A Conservator cleaning the books and historic interior in Cosin’s Library using a soft, dry brush and a museum backpack vacuum on a low suction to remove the surface dirt.  
October 31, 2025 at 12:09 PM
ducollections.bsky.social
Only one week left to see ‘Beasts and Legends: Adventures through North East Folklore’ - a great way to get ready for the spooky season! #BeastsandLegends #DUCollections
The cauld lad, a boar and the Lambton worm as shadows hovering over the shadow of a soldier with a sword. The shadow is attached to a small boy standing in a doorway.  
October 30, 2025 at 2:53 PM
ducollections.bsky.social
#NationalCatDay - and we’re remembering one very special feline: Tinkerbelle who lived with the Poor Clares Darlington from 2007-2013. 
More than a pet — a quiet companion in the cloister, a curious presence, and a gentle soul who made her mark in quiet ways. 
#DUCollections
An artistic photo of a brown tabby named Tinkerbelle lounging on a concrete sidewalk, looking off into distance from 2007. A brown tabby named Tinkerbelle rolled over onto her back on a concrete sidewalk with a pen written label of July 2013, A nun, holding a brown tabby named Tinkerbelle up to a camera and waving the cats right paw from 2007. Artistic photo of a brown tabby named Tinkerbelle laying sideways on a concrete sidewalk. 
October 29, 2025 at 11:44 AM
ducollections.bsky.social
👻 Ainsley’s Durham Almanac (1887) tells of Flass Well, haunted by Janet Ramshaw’s ghost. Since 1789, locals have spotted her eerie form and heard strange shrieks, keeping people away at night. Would you dare visit? 📖 Ref: XL 059.4281 AIN/15 #DurhamGhosts #DUCollections
Open book displaying the beginning of a story alongside an illustration of a man walking away from a well. 
October 28, 2025 at 10:40 AM
ducollections.bsky.social
Artist Dinah Kelly has created a unique jewellery series inspired by the heritage of the indigenous Berber (Amazigh) people of North Africa.
They are on display in Enchanted Objects – Adornment and Personal Protection from Amulets to the Mobile Phone at the Oriental Museum until 9th November.
Dinah installing jewellery
October 22, 2025 at 12:58 PM
ducollections.bsky.social
Can you spot the skeleton? 💀 Skeletons appear in resurrection imagery, like in Elementa Philosophica de Cive (1647). This volume has pencil marks in the religious section, possibly by Bishop John Cosin! 📚 Ref: Cosin T.5.57 #HiddenSkeletons #RareBooks
Bookplate featuring religious imagery depicting a resurrection scene.  Bookplate featuring religious imagery depicting a resurrection scene. 
October 21, 2025 at 10:27 AM
ducollections.bsky.social
Happy #NationalFetchDay! 

Even in the peaceful world of the Poor Clares, Darlington, dogs brought joy and companionship. 

These archival photos show nuns sharing quiet moments with a furry friend—perhaps after a game of fetch? 

Poor Clares, Darlington Collection, MISC.2024/25:34 
#DUCollections
A side profile of a nun playing with a brindle boxer, standing on hind legs and grabbing a ball with his mouth. Nun playing ball with brindle boxer wearing a white cape, dog standing on all fours waiting.
October 17, 2025 at 1:12 PM
ducollections.bsky.social
Step into the spooky past with The Haunted Library (1880)! 👻 John F. Layson shares ghostly tales from a Newcastle library. Have you ever seen a ghost in ours? 👀📚 Explore the mystery! 📖 Ref: SC 10874 #HauntedLibrary #GhostStories #NewcastleHistory #DUCollections
Book cover illustration featuring ghosts, ghouls, and spooky imagery.
October 16, 2025 at 12:37 PM
ducollections.bsky.social
💀 Discover a skeleton working a printing press in the Peter Isaac Collection! Peter Isaac, an engineer turned printing enthusiast, focused on the English provincial book trade. The collection is being catalogued — more surprises to come! #RareBooks #PrintingHistory #Archives
Printed illustration of a skeleton operating a printing press. 
October 7, 2025 at 2:19 PM
ducollections.bsky.social
We’re kicking off the spooky season with an unexpected discovery - Bram Stoker’s signature in Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving (Vol. 1), part of the Virginia Surtees Collection. Not Dracula — but a glimpse into the world that helped inspire it. 🖋️📖 #BramStoker #ArchivesUncovered #Dracula
Open book showing a page with Bram Stoker’s handwritten signature.  Bram Stoker’s handwritten signature. 
October 2, 2025 at 10:17 AM
ducollections.bsky.social
Back to school or uni (or very nearly!) The change in the weather has got us thinking about what we did on our summer holidays!

In partnership with @rabycastleofficial we introduced local garden enthusiasts to gardening history resources and celebrated the famous ‘Raby Redcurrant’.

#RabyCastle
Several books on a table supported by cushions. Several people looking at a phone
September 26, 2025 at 3:58 PM
ducollections.bsky.social
Look👀what is on at The Oriental Museum-a new exhibition ‘Journey of a Century:From the Forbidden City to the Palace Museum’opening Friday 26 September. This photography exhibition takes you for a journey to the Forbidden City in the heart of Beijing-from imperial residence to global cultural icon.
View of the Palace Museum in the 1920s and 2025; Photos: © The Palace Museum; Image designed by Ziyu Zhou 
September 22, 2025 at 7:03 PM
ducollections.bsky.social
We’re excited to announce the addition of a new collection! The Graham Noble collection includes materials from legendary figures and moments from the history of Martial Arts! It offers a unique look into martial arts and its cultural influence. 
#DUCollections #MartialArtsArchives
Image of the Graham Noble archival collection on the shelf, including Lever-arch files with the following titles, left to right: Jui-Jitsu in the West, Ju-Jutsu and Judo in Japan, Judo and Goshinjutsu (Self-Defence), Jiu-Jitsu and Self-Defence Books, Judo, Western Traditions 
September 16, 2025 at 12:35 PM
ducollections.bsky.social
Artist Dinah Kelly uses found paper to make collages like this atmospheric example created during a trip to Morocco.  
You can see this in Dinah’s installation Enchanted Objects – Adornment and Personal Protection from Amulets to the Mobile Phone at the Oriental Museum until 9th November
A paper collage of the landscape of Morocco
September 10, 2025 at 9:57 AM
ducollections.bsky.social
On 9th September Japan celebrates National Chrysanthemum Day. The flower is the official crest of the Japanese imperial family, seen on the passport and 50 yen coin. This chrysanthemum shaped tea caddy by artist Kosaka Susumu is made up of over 1,000 layers of lacquer and took 3 years to make.
An orange, black and red striped tea caddy container shaped like a chrysanthemum made of lacquer with inlayed petal shapes and a curved surface.
September 9, 2025 at 11:49 AM
ducollections.bsky.social
Hi! We’re Poppy & Izzy from Archaeology. Over 3 weeks on placement at the #DUMuseumofArchaeology, we explored collections care & curation. We repacked & updated records for the Greek collection and helped design a coin map showing ancient city-states through mythology & trade #DUCollections
An image of Greek collection before the repacking project surrounded by tissue paper A display of one of our student placements preparing to create new storage for the Greek collection. Our Greek collection after the repacking project in their now homes. Our Greek collection after the repacking project in their now homes.
August 27, 2025 at 1:06 PM
ducollections.bsky.social
Artist Dinah Kelly's work is inspired by amulets, charms and talismans. She is interested in how in the 21st century we continue to place power in symbols and everyday objects, particularly the importance placed on mobile phones as tools of connection and security.    
#textileart #recycled
Image of a mannequin standing in a display case. The mannequin is dressed in a long dark blue dress with light pink stripes. Attached to the front of the dress are rectangular shaped amulets decorated with protective symbols.  
August 21, 2025 at 10:44 AM
ducollections.bsky.social
Unable to visit us? You can still visit our free online exhibition Show and Tell: Stories That Connect Us and be guided by John and Mei as they share stories together. You can also listen to our free audio guide on our website. stories.durham.ac.uk/show-and-tell
#TellingTales #BeastsandLegends
On the left hand side is a character in black armour with short hair and waving and smiling. In the middle is the title Show and Tell: Stories that Connect Us. On the other side is another drawn character in a red theatre robe, holding flags and waving and smiling.
August 19, 2025 at 3:52 PM
ducollections.bsky.social
Is KPop Demon Hunters the soundtrack to your summer? Then come and see our new K-Pop display curated by our talented work experience students!
The students were given items from #DUOrinentalMuseum K-Pop collection and worked hard to research their chosen objects, write labels, and plan the display.
Colour photograph of a group of people wearing purple nitrile gloves examining books and objects. Colour photograph of a group of people sat at a bright red table completing forms. Colour photograph of a group of people wearing purple nitrile gloves putting items into a museum display case. Colour photograph of a museum display case filled with objects.
August 8, 2025 at 1:35 PM
ducollections.bsky.social
At 8.15am 6th August 1945 an atomic bomb exploded in Hiroshima. In 2023 the exhibition 'Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki' in partnership with Hiroshima Peace Memorial & Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museums held @ Oriental Museum, including this watch. The force of the blast stopped the watch at 8.15am.
A brass pocket watch telling the time of 8:15am.
August 6, 2025 at 12:14 PM
ducollections.bsky.social
While traveling contemporary artist Dinah Kelly always carries a sketch book and pencils. After creating preliminary sketches of the people and places she visits, she uses different found and collected paper to produce vivid collages like this example produced during a trip to Morocco in 2014.
Paper collage of a building in Morocco. The paper used to create the collage is covered in Arabic writing.  
August 6, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Reposted by Durham University Collections
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OPPORTUNITY 📯

Applications are now open for the @ducollections.bsky.social Collections Fellowships and Visiting Fellowships, enabling research across the historic collections of Durham!

Deadline: 3 September 2025

More details at durhamcollections.org.uk
The aim of the Durham Collections Fellowships is to enable and foster research across the three historic collections of Durham — those held by Durham University, Durham Cathedral and Ushaw Historic House, Chapels and Gardens, all of which have internationally significant collections of books and other materials that deserve to be brought to a wider scholarly and public audience. In addition to libraries this includes archives, collections of visual and material culture, and architectural assets.
July 9, 2025 at 11:41 AM