History Comes Alive at the Museum of Antiquities

Our fifth interview done in this series was with Lindsay Goodwin, who is a member of the Saskatoon Historical Fencing Society. Having sent Lindsay a list of questions she sent me back her answers to help us at the Museum, and the wider community, understand better what her group is all about. Q: Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions Lindsay. The first thing I would like to know is what your position within your group is and how long have you been involved? A: All of the club members are fighters first and foremost. Together we are a community of fighters who share teaching positions within the club. This encourages our members to learn firsthand from our resources and share ideas with the group in a community learning environment. I became involved with the group in 2012, when I stumbled upon their poster in one of the University of Saskatchewan hallways. I went to one of their meetings and instantly fell in love. Q: That is fantastic! What inspired you t...

Our fourth interview was done with the Executive Director of the Saskatchewan Archaeological Society Dr. Tomasin Playford. Q: Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions Tomasin, we were very happy that you could join our event this year. Could you tell me a little bit about the Saskatchewan Archaeological Society and what it does? A: Well it’s a membership based society, and what we do is we bring together people interested in archaeology and we have been around for over 50 years. We celebrated our 50 th anniversary in 2013 and the society grew out of collectors that were going out on the landscape that came together wanting to learn more about the artifacts that they were finding. We offer about 20 different programs and services. So we have things that we do for our members and the general public: we publish a quarterly and occasional papers, we do an annual gathering and general meeting every year, bus tours, workshops, and we also have a library. One of our...

Our third interview was done with Dezz Windecker-Klassen from the Society for Creative Anachronism Barony of Myrgan Wood. She is the current interm Seneschal (president) of the local SCA chapter and has been working with the Museum on the Prairie Paladin Medieval Market and Faire since the very beginning. Q: Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions Dezz. The first thing I would like to know is what you do for your day time job, what your position within the SCA is and how long you have been involved? A: During the day I am an office manager and family law paralegal for a law firm in Saskatoon. My current position within the SCA is interm Seneschal (president) and I have been playing for 18 years. Q: That is fantastic to see the commitment you have to the SCA not only by being involved for so many years, but to also take on a larger leadership role within the group. What inspired you to join the SCA and what is your motivation to continue volunteering your ...

Our second spotlight interview of the Prairie Paladin Medieval Market and Faire series is with Luthier Weldon Gray. This is Weldon’s third year volunteering at the Museum’s medieval festival and he has been involved with the Museum since 2013 when the Museum curated an exhibit of his instruments known as Euphonia: Music for the Masses in the Middle Ages . His musical performances are enjoyed by all ages at the festival, and this year he is bringing with him an exciting new addition: Miz Weaver & the Ragamuffins, a youth choir that performs medieval music. It was my pleasure to sit down with Weldon to discuss the work that he does. Luthier Weldon Gray Q: Thank you Weldon for coming and doing this interview, I am excited to share all the things that you do. The first thing I would like to know is what do you do when you are not making instruments or performing, what motivates you to volunteer your time for the Museum festival? A: I spend the majority of my days being a...

With the Prairie Paladin Medieval Market and Faire fast approaching, the staff and volunteers of the Museum of Antiquities would like to acknowledge some of the groups that have made the medieval festival wildly successful. Throughout the coming weeks before the festival, the Museum will be posting interviews done with these groups, allowing our readers to understand better the different parts of the festival. Our first interview was with Diane Davis, the Demo Coordinator for the Saskatoon Scottish Country Dancers. Having sent Diane a list of questions she sent me back her answers to help us at the Museum, and the wider community, understand better what her group is all about. Q: Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions Diane. The first thing I would like to know is what your position within your group is and how long have you been involved? A: I am the Demo Coordinator for the Saskatoon Scottish Country Dance Demonstration Team and have been dancing with th...

The Museum of Antiquities at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) will host its annual Prairie Paladin Medieval Market and Faire on Saturday, September 26 th , 2015. As part of the national Culture Days initiative, the Museum of Antiquities is hosting its third annual medieval festival from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm in he Bowl and at Nobel Plaza on the U of S campus. The public will be able to enjoy combat demonstrations, a medieval market, musical and dance performances, games and children’s activities. The event will be run by Museum volunteers and community groups including the Society for Creative Anachronism, the Nordhere Viking Living History Re-Enactors, the Saskatoon Historical Fencing Society and the Saskatchewan Archaeological Society. The museum’s previous festivals known as Weapons and Warriors and Return of the Kynge sparked an interest in the community, which led to the creation of The Prairie Paladin Medieval Market and Faire in 2014, which received more than 7...

This coming Friday March 20, 2015 the Museum of Antiquities will be hosting its annual volunteer appreciation event.   The event, which includes a wine and cheese reception, is held not only to acknowledge and thank the volunteers for the hundreds of hours they put in at the Museum every year, but also to celebrate their many successes gained through the experience and knowledge obtained while at the Museum. As many of you know, the Museum has been around for some forty years now.   In some ways, the Museum and its collections had humble and lonely beginnings.   The collection was homeless for its first few years and had a keeper who wanted to reserve the collection for academic eyes only, as well as librarians who felt the nude statues should be covered up with fig leaves, or better yet locked away behind closed doors.   Fortunately in the early 1980s, a new permanent home for the collection was found in the Murray Library along with a new curator, Ms. Catherin...

In 1989 the Museum of Antiquities received a beautiful bronze bust from Judge John C. Currelly of Port Hope, Ontario. At this time, the true identity of the bust was unknown, and the general consensus was that it was a French baroque bronze portrait of the Emperor Hadrian. However research done by the previous Museum Director Catherine Gunderson and Professor Paul Hamilton (Department of Art and Art History) revealed the portrait to be Hannibal, accomplished Carthaginian general and nemesis to the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War (218-201 BCE). Moreover, this sculpture is a 17 th century CE French original crafted in the workshop of Francois Girardon (1628-1715). Girardon is best known for his position as a sculptor for King Louis XIV of France and primary contributor to the abundant artwork at the Palace of Versailles. Francois Souchal, Professor of Art History at the Paris West University Nanterre La Défense in France (now retired), a noted authority on 17 th and 18 th ...

Welcome to the Museum of Antiquities’ new blog! This is our inaugural post. Thank you for checking us out! As 2014 has now come to a close, we look back at the year in which the Museum’s collection  turned 40.   We take the opportunity to reflect on the Museum’s history and think about what we will strive toward in the future.   We celebrated our 40th anniversary on October 16 th , 2014 with a presentation in Convocation Hall and a reception in the Museum’s gallery.   Brent Nelson, Tracene Harvey, Dean Peter Stoicheff and President Gordon Barnhart spoke about the history of the Museum and its impact on the University, the students who have passed through the volunteer program, as well as the world of cast collections. We also unveiled our new acquisition: a replica bust of the Augustus Bevilacqua from the Atelier Moulages du Louvre workshop, which we were able to purchase thanks to the generosity of donors and supporters. The event was well attended and enjoyed ...