Special Exhibition Label: 'Eccentricity: Unexpected Objects and Irregular Behaviour' (10/5/2011 - 16/10/2011)
Time and tools
Even at the core of the Museum's collection - among the sundials - eccentricity lurks. Here is a dial that is absurdly large, a dial that is a spoon, and another that is a beer mat.
Far from the core, why does the Museum have a crimping or goffering machine for ironing ruffs or ruffles while keeping them frilly, or a woodworking plane from the 18th century decorated with the Christian symbol associated with the Jesuits?
Inventory no.
39466
Horizontal dial plate on a Polish beer mat, c.1960
Visitors might be divided over which is more eccentric - putting a sundial on a beer mat or displaying such an object in a museum.