Bowes Swan Study Week

In 2021 The Bowes Museum brought together a team of curators and conservators to study and assess its most famous object, the Silver Swan Automaton. I was part of this team, alongside curators Anna Rolls and Dr David Rooney, fellow conservators Matthew Read and Daniela Corda, and pocket watch restorer Seth Kennedy.

The team partially disassembled the automaton in one of the museum’s public galleries, in order to gain and share a greater understanding of the mechanism, insights into patterns of wear (both historic and ongoing), and to interrogate what interventions might be legitimately considered for its future care, interpretation and use. 

​Considered by some to be the world’s most important 18th century automaton, the Swan was in need of complex conservation and curatorial decision making, and the study week was convened to bring a deeper understanding of the conservation dilemmas associated with such a unique and intricate object to a wider audience. Significant public engagement was achieved during the week with two live-streamed panel discussions and a short-form documentary film produced by Howell Film, as well as daily Q&A’s and demonstrations in the public gallery.