Bears were once a familiar sight in Nottingham and now a new exhibition will reveal how they've influenced our local heritage; from art and entertainment to religious beliefs and commercial products.
The 'Bears! Nature, Culture and Beyond' exhibition opens at the University of Nottingham Museum on Saturday 8th July. It explores why bears continue to haunt our imaginations, even though they no longer live in the countryside around us. The exhibition also reveals the surprising relationship between humans and bears in the East Midlands.
Visitors will be able to see the real bones of bears that have lived in Britain since the Ice Age. They will also spot a bear collar, possibly for a dancing bear, which were a popular and common form of street entertainment in Britain and Europe in the Middle Ages. The exhibition features 18th century bear pots made in Nottingham at a time when bear baiting was a popular sport. The stoneware pots were sold by potteries in Nottingham and Staffordshire until bear baiting was banned in the 19th century. Bears were also depicted on a variety of other local commercial products; the exhibition includes a cigarette card from the Nottingham Player's cigarette factory, a Fox's Glacier Mints sweet jar and a bar of soap from Boots – all featuring bear emblems.
Bears have long been considered to be spiritual. The exhibition features an extremely rare carved Roman jet bear - one of only nine known in the world. These bear carvings were often found in children's graves and it's thought they were used as a form of protection in the afterlife.
The exhibition has been curated by Professor Hannah O'Regan and Dr Liam Lewis from the AHRC-funded 'Box Office Bears' project and Department of Classics and Archaeology at the University of Nottingham.
The exhibition is an opportunity for people in Nottingham to immerse themselves in perhaps a lesser-known area of local history. From ancient bones and real bear paw prints to Roman pottery and teddy bears, visitors will discover the surprising role that bears played in the Midlands and the many ways that they have shaped our culture and heritage.
The displays will feature items that are of interest to all age-groups, including Playmobil bears and a life-size bear pawprint from a rescued bear, so that visitors can see how their own paws measure up! The exhibits have been lent from a number of galleries and museums across the country, including the Sheffield Museums Trust, The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Coventry, Nottingham City Museums & Galleries; Leicestershire County Council Museums, The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent, Museum of London Archaeology, Derbyshire County Council, Buxton Museum and Art Gallery.
The exhibition is informed by wider research at the University of Nottingham.
We're researching bears as they lived in England - both in the wild and as captive bears, which were widely used for entertainment. Their images are all around us in the modern world and bears are an ideal animal to think about when we consider our changing relationships with animals over the last few thousand years.
Admission is free and the museum is open Thursday-Sunday from 12-4pm. Dr Liam Lewis and Professor Hannah O'Regan will also be giving free guided talks at the museum on Saturday 15th July and Thursday 10th August (1-2pm & 2:30-3:30pm).
The exhibition is part of a series of free events designed for families over the summer holiday. Dr Clare Pickersgill, Keeper of the University of Nottingham Museum, says: 'We have a great programme of events around the exhibition including talks, tours and a free family drop in event on the 26th October where visitors can make their own clay bears to take away."
