Because I am a nerd, and because my closest friends home educate... I found myself at Fitzwilliam's museum recently on a day out in Cambridge. We had a very important date with a Chelsea bun so we decided to concentrate our visit on their special display called The Islanders. It did not disappoint.
The display concentrated on the historical relationship between three Island communities, Cyprus, Crete and *Sardinia, from 4000 years ago until present day. The curation was exquisite and for most of the exhibit you felt like you were exploring a mystical ship. We explored the way they swapped materials, long before there were trade roustes. The role of women, the tools, pots and inventions that marked the development of this community across the Millennia.
There was one black mug with red highlights which was in exquisite condition. It was created further away from the birth of Christ than we are today. It had not seen much life and must have sat in the cupboard without incident for millennia. It gave me a new level of respect for the way I treat my crockery which will not be around 4000 years from now.
The exhibit concluded with the picture of the bowl that was created in 700 BC and was entitled, the story of the elders. One of my favourite authors is Frederick Buechner and my favourite quote of his, apart from all my other favourites, is this ‘I tell you my story, not because it is mine, heavens no. I tell you my story, because if I tell it anywhere near well enough, you will see, it is also yours.’ It came to mind, as I studied this artefact, because I have sat in circles like those people from 700bc, I have harnessed the power of a shared story and it has created space for those who were present to become better humans. This silent pottery reminded me that we were storytelling animals, that their story was also mine. That my friends and I who shared that exhibit had spent the entire day up to that point sharing stories, that were ours, that were all of ours.
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