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Mary Rose – International Superstar

Portsmouth is at the heart of the Mary Rose story – it is where the ship was built in 1510, where it sank in 1545 and where it was recovered to in 1982. Its history, however, belongs to everyone and over the last 50 years its stories have been shared worldwide.

It is important to interact with tangible objects from history so we can relate to and better understand the past better. However, the Mary Rose’s hull cannot be transported to different museums to tell her own story. Luckily, there were over 19,000 objects found with the ship that could be carefully transported and displayed to represent important aspects of life aboard the Mary Rose, her origins, her purpose, and her crew.

 

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Portsmouth Museum, Virginia, ready for the grand opening of Mary Rose: Henry VIII’s lost warship.

Coming to America

In the years during the discovery and excavation of the ship, a massive conservation effort prepared many objects for display ahead of the original museum opening in July 1984. Following an article written for the May 1983 volume of National Geographic, Margaret Rule (Research Director, Mary Rose Trust) and Dr Armand Hammer (President of the U.S Society for the Archaeological Study of the Mary Rose Inc) collaborated to bring an exhibition to America in October 1984 to help raise the Mary Rose’s international profile.

After a well-regarded opening at the National Geographic Magazine headquarters, Washington DC, it was announced that the exhibition would be toured. In total 180 objects were on tour for nearly four years!

Starting in the twin city of Portsmouth, Virginia, the display travelled across nine states, even crossing the border into two Canadian cities, reporting approximately 1 million visitors throughout. Venues ranged from naval or maritime museums, technology centres, art galleries, and city museums. Most of these exhibitions were opened with grand fundraising galas of up to 500 guests, including Tudor feasts, music, and dancing.

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Commemorative patch from Warrnambool Art gallery, recently added to the collection.

From under the sea to ‘Down Under’!

For their next adventure, over 160 objects from the collection were flown to the other side of the world! Opening at the Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney, in June 1994 and spanning 17 months, the exhibition visited three further museums, Warrnambool Art Gallery, Queensland Museum, and Western Australian Maritime Museum.

Much like the museum today, this travelling exhibition (Life and Death on Henry VIII’s Lost Warship) contained interactive features such as replica game boards, contemporary prints, and videos on raising the hull. It was important to fully engage the audience to convey the significance and uniqueness of the Mary Rose.

Between every stop on these tours, objects were carefully couriered in climate-controlled vehicles and padded containers, each with specific instructions for display and handling. After each journey, every object was surveyed to check its condition and approved for display.

Smaller collections have been sent overseas to help build international relations, such as a display of fewer than 20 objects in Genoa, Italy, for the 1992 exhibition; Columbus: The Ship and the Sea, and a cultural exchange with the Swedish warship Vasa in 1998. After a twenty-year absence, the Mary Rose returned to the U.S.A in 2006 for a short tour, fundraising for the new museum. This time only a dozen objects were selected to highlight the significance of the ship at three conferences in Washington, New York, and Boston. A selection of objects was taken by delegates to represent the museum again in 2009 for the premier of a musical tribute called “The Mary Rose” by composer Callen Clarke in Oklahoma.

The Mary Rose still has an impact internationally, and further! In 2011, a wooden parrel-ball (part of the rigging system) was loaned to NASA for the final flight of the space shuttle Endeavour, and spent 17 days orbiting the planet. Now vacuum sealed, this artefact is a reminder of the scale and reach of the Mary Rose project, integrating new and old technologies to inspire future generations.

It is incredible to imagine how the creators and owners of these objects would react to the impact their work has had, travelling in fantastical vehicles to lands they would not have known, and even into the heavens!

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