Current Lecture Programme
Tuesdays at 6:00pm. Members and Guests.
Society of Antiquaries of London, Burlington House, Piccadilly W1J 0BE
Lectures are restricted to members and their guests. It is not normally necessary to inform the Society that you will be atttending, but if attendance is expected to be exceptionally high the Society will inform members well in advance if booking a seat is a requirement of attendance at a particular lecture.
If you are not a member, and would like to attend a lecture as a guest of the Society, click here to send your name, contact details, and the subject of the lecture you would like to attend. We will confirm your attendance by email. The Society welcomes new members. If you are interested in joining the Society further details can be given to you when you attend the lecture.
2019
24 September
Maria Maclennan
Forensic jewellery
Despite rarely being the sole identifier in an investigation, the ‘forensic’ use of jewellery is not an entirely new phenomenon. Jewellery has personal, sentimental, religious, cultural, geographic and regional significance; demonstrating a connection to identity across time, place, and space. Dr Maria Maclennan, the world’s first ‘Forensic Jeweller’, will discuss some of her award-winning PhD research exploring how jewellery can assist in investigations of crime, death, and disaster. Maria has previously worked alongside a number of high-profile organisations within both law enforcement and academia internationally, deploying across the globe to assist with identifying the jewellery recovered after mass fatalities. She is a regular public speaker on the topic of ‘Forensic Jewellery’, having previously delivered talks to the likes of the National Crime Agency, Library of Congress, European Academy of Forensic Science, V&A, and TEDx, in addition to appearing on television and radio broadcasts such as BBC’s Crimewatch Roadshow, BBC Radio 4 Live, and a recent historical crime documentary on BBC One.
22 October
Sarah Steele, Léonard Pouy, Sigrid van Roode
New Research on Jewellery
Three speakers will each present a 20-minute paper about their discoveries. In a talk entitled Jet in Jewellery, Sarah Steele, a craftsman with a background in geology and gemmology, will identify the unique gemmological properties of jet and discuss its use in jewellery. The paper presented by Dr Léonard Pouy of the School of Jewellery Arts, Paris is entitled Paris, a Pearl Capital? He will consider why and how in the late 19th and early 20th century the French capital briefly become the global centre of the pearl industry. Finally, in a talk entitled Silver of the possessed: Egyptian zār jewellery from ca. 1900 – 1980, Sigrid van Roode will introduce the topic of her ongoing PhD at Leiden University. So-called zār jewellery was worn by women dancing during possession ceremonies in the Nile Valley that originated in the deep south of Ethiopia.
26 November
Rachel Church
Brooches, badges and pins at the Victoria and Albert Museum
Brooches and badges are jewels which began as vital dress fasteners but soon evolved into intricate and versatile works of art. In this talk, Rachel Church will discuss the role of the brooch as a gift of love and friendship and as a sign of social and political identity, and will consider how its use and appearance mirrored wider changes in dress.
2020
28 January
Thomas Holman
A Box Full of Buttons: The Life and Work of Frederick James Partridge (1877-1945)
25 February
Stephen Whittaker
24 March
Carol Michaelson
Chinese jade jewellery and ornaments from the Neolithic to the Present
26 May
Ute Decker
23 June
Kirstin Kennedy
22 September
27 October
24 November
Links to previous Lecture Programmes
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