Images Dated 2019 January

Levant Mine, St Just in Penwith, Cornwall. 11th (?) July, 1894

Group of 29 miners posed underground at the 278 fathom level. The majority of the miners are wearing felt hats, either with the brim intact or with the brim removed. while others have tallow candles affixed to their hats with lumps of clay. Six of the group are smoking pipes. One miner holds a large saw. The group shows a whole range of ages. The youngest members of the group seem to be at the front, particularly the very young looking boy standing with drills tied with rope and slung around his shoulders, standing in the second row second from the left. Note the condition of the young miners boots, third from the left front row sitting. Photographer: John Charles Burrow.

© From the collection of the RIC

Queen Victoria Jubilee Head Silver Crown, England

The obverse of the silver crown features Queen Victoria's Jubilee portrait, facing left and wearing the small diamond crown, commissioned by her in 1870. VICTORIA D : G : BRITT : REG : F : D appear either side of the portrait with the engraver's initials J.E.B. (Joseph Edgar Boehm, 1834-1890) on the queen's shoulder. The reverse pictures Benedetto Pistrucci's St George on horseback, slaying the dragon, together with the initials B.P. and the year 1890. The jubilee head design was used from 1887, for silver and gold coins only, and was continued until 1893. It was introduced for the golden jubilee (50 years) of Queen Victoria's reign. Royal portraits have been used on English coins for over 1000 years. The British Crown came into circulation in 1707, after the Union of England and Scotland, to replace the English Crown and Scottish Dollar. The value was set at 5 shillings. It measures 38 mm in diameter and weighs around 28 grams.

© RIC, photographer Mike Searle

Pottery Bottle, Peru, South America

This bottle is likely to have been made by the Chimú people, who lived in northern Peru. It dates from AD1100-1300 and depicts a human-like figure holding a monkey. Much Chimúan pottery incorporates representations of human-like characters and animals, usually monkeys or seabirds, into their design. The geometric patterns on the pot are thought to represent waves, representing the culture's relationship with the sea and maritime excursions. The consistency of the shapes and decorations are often achieved via the mass production technique of 'press moulding'. The Chimú are best known for making black pottery, which is thought to have been accomplished by reducing oxygen levels during the clay firing process. Before firing the clay, they would often burnish the vessel in order to give it a unique silver sheen; it is because of this that Chimúan pottery was very rarely painted. The majority of Peruvian pottery is black in colour, characterised by a distinctive metallic look. The bottle is 21.0 cm high and 15.0 cm wide. TRURI : 1927.49

© RIC, photographer Mike Searle