Past Matters
Museums, galleries and historic houses are treasure troves of items from the past. But how easy is it at these sites to unknowingly just walk straight past an object with an incredible story to tell? In this podcast series host Ploy Radford talks to the experts at different museums, galleries and historic houses about the most underrated objects in their collection, and unveils some fantastic facts.
Show episodes
In this New Year special to round off season 4, author Amber Chen reveals the historical influences behind her silkpunk fantasy novel ‘Of Jade and Dragons’.
Luc Amkreutz, curator of the prehistory collections at the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, reveals the story behind the Sword of Ommerschans, currently on display as part of the 'Bronze Age: Fires of Change' exhibition. The giant ceremonial Bronze Age sword provides a fascinating insight into an overloo
This episode shines a light on Christine de Pizan, one of the overlooked women from history featured in the British Library's exhibition 'Medieval Women: In their own Words'. Curator Eleanor Jackson tells host Ploy Radford-Taylor about this extraordinary woman who was Europe's first professional female author and goes
Leighton House's new exhibition 'Leighton and Landscape: Impressions from Nature shines a new light on its famous former occupant. In this episode, senior curator Daniel Robbins shares the story behind Frederic, Lord Leighton's landscapes and what went into putting together this first of a kind exhibition.
Host Ploy Radford-Taylor returns to the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum where a chat with curator Duncan Walker about some innocuous Japanese souvenirs leads to a much wider discussion about changing Japanese society, the rise of tourism and the lives of Sir Merton and Lady Russell-Cotes.
While you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, you can’t deny that clothes can reveal a lot about a person, or the past, as host Ploy Radford-Taylor finds when she visits Blandford Fashion Museum.
