Sensational examples

Context

The Skiddaw Hermit using the stick while climbing/walking across difficult terrain.

Temporality

The history of the stick in use by the 19th century hermit, George Smith aka the Skiddaw Hermit.

Description

Given the nature of the extremely uneven terrain of the hills the Skiddaw Hermit would have to traverse, the walking stick would have been incredibly important for helping him safely get around. It is at a height for an average-height person to comfortably hold to support their balance.

Relationships

• Touch

Context

1. using the stick
2. reflecting on the history of the stick

Temporality

The act of using the stick as they reflect on its use for balance, and the history of the importance of using this type of tool for balance.

Physical

The walking stick is not as heavy as it looks but is still hefty. The width of the carved sections give a feeling of security, as though you are ballasted against wind or uneven ground. Walking using the stick made me feel supported, but not as though it was weighing me down. I did not have uneven or uphill terrain to try this on, but could imagine using it to walk up a fell, and that it would provide a feeling of security.

Knowing the story attributed to this object – that it was carved and used by George Smith, who has been given the moniker ‘the Skiddaw Hermit’ – makes it very evocative to hold and use. I not only imagined this stick being used to aid walking on a fell as a leisure activity, but also for someone living in a cave on Skiddaw, as Smith was. I could feel how difficult it would be, to be living your entire life on an incline and uneven terrain. Reports say the area where he lived was covered with moss, which adds an even further level of jeopardy to walking. With this in mind, the security offered by the wide, stable walking stick seemed not only helpful but entirely necessary for everyday life. Stories from the time say that Smith’s clothes were covered in mud, leading me to think he was also being weighed down by muddy and likely often wet clothes, which would also have made navigating the terrain harder.

Emotional

For me this stick makes me feel safer and steadier on my feet. The idea of living on the side of a fell with constant risk of slipping or tripping over makes me feel afraid – I have previously broken a wrist and so the idea of falling feels scarier than it did before this incident. The stick therefore makes me feel safer, as I imagine it steadying me when I am at risk of falling. Knowing the story to be that Smith gave the stick to a police officer to avoid detention, this makes me feel sad and concerned – going back to his home on the side of the fell without the stability offered by the stick could have been frightening.

Relationships

• Proprioceptive
• Touch

Context

The scene depicted in the artwork

Temporality

Early 20th century (when painted)

Description

There are sheep depicted on the image, which are likely to have a much different experience stood in the snowy hills than a person. Given that they have their thick winter coats on, and use the food fermenting in their stomach to generate heat, they will more ‘naturally’ warmed – inside and out – by their body functions.

Relationships

• Temperature

Context

Curator engaging with the artwork in their museum store. II am imagining myself inside this scene.

Temporality

No specific time really involved here – its almost a timeless encounter.

Physical

I am stranded in the Newlands valley during winter, with a thick layer of snow covering the ground and no-one else in sight. I can hear and feel the heavy throb of my heart beating inside my chest. The cold weather means that I can feel the pulse of my heartbeat around the edges of my ears as well. I can feel my fingers throb as the blood starts to pump around them at a rapid pace. I begin to breath more rapidly, to provide enough oxygen for the blood that is rapidly circulating around my body in a desperate attempt to keep warm. I haven’t eaten in some time, so my rumbling stomach makes the situation more dire – will I have the energy to escape? A tractor suddenly appears in the distance, heading in my direction. The muscles throughout my body relax with relief and I realise how tense I had been.

Emotional

My physical and emotional reactions in this situation are closely related, with one often causing or emphasising the other. My rapid breathing is made worse by my increasing sense of panic, which might lead to a panic attack. The stress of the situation means that I can hear and feel my heartbeat inside my chest. It feels like there is a tight band wrapped around my head, as this situation has made me very tense.

Relationships

• Interoceptive
• Pain
• Taste
• Temperature

Context

Walking in the shoes for a prolonged period of time during a social encounter.

Temporality

Assumed to be worn over an evening or day.

Description

The design of the heel provides a sturdy base to help with balance, but there would likely have been rubbing of the foot on the insides of the shoes, despite the fabric lining stopping friction. Importantly, the shoes would have put a much greater amount of weight and pressure on the balls of the feet, and toes would be forced into an unnaturally pointing position. This would be more tolerable if sat down, but walking in them would cause the pressure to rise and the toes to slip further into the pointed end.

Relationships

• Balance
• Touch

Context

The act of wearing these shoes to walk in.

Temporality

Thinking about being worn over a prolonged period of time (an evening/a day).

Physical

I imagine that pain receptors will be working if these shoes were to be worn.  They appear narrow and the supporting platform appears to be rigid, perhaps being made of wood.

Emotional

Red (High Level Unpleasant) I imagine the pain whilst wearing these tight, rigid items.

Relationships

• Proprioceptive
• Vestibular

Content warnings

Suicide, sexism/misogyny, classism, psychological abuse

This is an author’s manuscript which features death by suicide. Published in 1895, this novel overtly criticises the New Woman feminist ideal which emerged in response to late Victorian constraints on women.

The novel also contains classism, with prejudice against multiple social strata.

The novel’s focus on the role of Satan as the personification of evil.  Descriptions of Satan’s exercise of power may be interpreted as a trigger for psychological abuse.

Context

Reading the book

Temporality

21st century, interrupted time sat (likely) reading for an hour or so.

Description

Despite the manuscript not being in a useful format holding while sat reading, a published copy would be bound, and if softback, lighter to hold (maybe in one hand). When sat reading people are often in a number of settings and spaces – it could be at home in a comfy spot on the sofa or armchair or in bed at night, it could also be when commuting on a public transport or when eating lunch at work. The setting of the book, however, is certainly in contrast to the actual setting someone would be reading it in.

Relationships

• Touch
• Visual

Context

Marie Corelli handwriting her manuscript with ink and quill.

Temporality

At the time of writing, likely over several days, and several hours over those days.

Description

The author would be conscious of her body position, as she sat at the desk, her posture and hand/arm position, all essential for long periods of handwriting. Particularly if she was focussed on the content of what she was writing, she may have completely zoned out of her immediate surroundings.

Relationships

• Proprioceptive
• Mechanoreceptive

Context

When used to make a pot of tea

Temporality

The act of making the tea – smell of tea leaves brewing in the pot.

Description

The teapot would be the vessel for containing brewing tea, which, depending on the type of tea would give off different aromas, at different intensities. If something like an Earl Grey black tea, it would have the earthiness of the leaves and the floral/perfumey scent of the bergamot. The pot itself doesn’t have a particularly distinct smell, but it starts to smell like the remnants of the tea made in it over time, as washing doesn’t get it completely off.

Relationships

• Temperature

Context

Making and drinking a cup of tea using the teapot

Temporality

That period of time making and consuming the tea, and how smell is part of that act.

Physical

Touching and lifting this object makes me think of the act of brewing and pouring tea in a teapot. I lift the lid and use a teaspoon to heap tea leaves into the pot, then pick up the kettle and pour boiling water over the top. As the water hits, I can smell the scent of the earl grey tea. I swill the teapot around a few times to help the tea infuse. I have to hold it by the handle and the spout because the body of the teapot has become so hot to the touch. When the tea has had time to steep, I balance a strainer on the top of the china teacup and lift the teapot, pouring the tea into the cup, listening to the comforting burble of tea being poured. The teapot is heavy and I have to work to control the stream of hot tea. My left hand is holding the lid to ensure it doesn’t fall off and smash the delicate teacup. The smell is much stronger now that the tea has been poured. I add a drop of milk from a jug and hold the warm mug between my hands, enjoying the delicate floral scent of the tea. I take a sip and can feel the warm liquid travelling through my chest. Putting the cup down on its saucer, I hear the chink of china on china.

Emotional

The ritual of making tea in a teapot is an emotive experience for me. I use teabags and mugs at home, and using a fine china teapot brings up memories of making tea to share with family and friends, likely at a special occasion. My associations with having tea in this way is often as part of an afternoon tea at a restaurant, which is always a social event for me, and involves people coming together to share tea. I associate tea with being soothing and calming – the drinking but also the time it takes to make the tea and the ritual of that, even with a teabag. Holding the teapot makes me feel calm and contented, as I remember being with friends and family in a calm environment.

Relationships

• Interoceptive
• Pain
• Sound
• Taste
• Temperature
• Touch

Context

The act of blowing the whistle – thinking about sound that is made when someone blows into it.

Temporality

Expected to be a short noise, but can be altered depending on how long someone blows air through it – this could stretch out the noise.

Description

Blowing this whistle would make a shrill, high-pitched noise. It is likely to be short and sharp, although blowing for longer would elongate the noise. The noise would be loud, as it was used at a railway station so would have to be heard by workers over the hustle and bustle of people and potentially over the noise of a steam train.

Relationships

• Pain (loud sound)
• Proprioceptive (physical act of blowing the whistle)

Context

Various contexts of personal experiences and historic ones (where steam was still the usual form of rail travel)

Temporality

Both in the person’s childhood and adulthood, as well as thinking back to the 19th and early-mid 20th century.

Physical

When I think of hearing this whistle, I think of the other sounds of a train station that go along with it – people walking, talking, loading luggage on and off trains, and the chug of the steam engine. The whistle creates a sense of urgency – the train is about to leave and this makes me want to rush to get on board in time.

Emotional

Personally I associate this object with visits to heritage railways, which were often childhood days out. The whistle conjures up a sense of fun, as steam trains are heritage attractions for me rather than the normal travel they were when this whistle was used. However, at the time the railways were new (certainly to my town) so people likely had a similar level of excitement to how I feel using a heritage railway, or even more so. My ideas of everyday train travel are that it’s a hassle, but before the railways came to town it took much longer to get around the area, so you could even compare the experience to flying in more recent years – something that is revolutionary in terms of increasing speed of travel and access to new places.

Relationships

Proprioception (experiencing the space e.g. station)

Handling the book

When it would have been used to make recipes.

Temporality

When the book was used for cooking recipes in the 18th century.

Description

There are some ‘ingredients’ on the recipe book, a combination of oily staining and some green parts. Given the recipe page (of a pie) they appear to be oil from beef and potentially fresh parsley. These ingredients would have both a meaty and a fresh, herbal taste, which would come together to make a rounded salty and savoury pie with some sweetness from the herbs.

Relationships

• Balance
• Proprioception
• Smell
• Touch
• Visual

Context

Thinking about the food that could be made from these recipes.

Temporality

No specific sense of time.

Physical

it may make my mouth water if the recipes are for food and dishes I like and would eat.

Emotional

The recipes may make me full hungry if the recipes are appetising, or put me off food or make me feel nauseous if they are not appetizing.

Relationships

• Interoception
• Touch

Context

Filled with a ration of cider for farm labourers (like the one depicted in the engraving)

Temporality

When filled with liquid

Description

Depending on how cold the cider has been kept, this may make the horn cold to the touch. By the material, though, it feels like it would insulate quite well, so it may be the atmosphere that changes the temperature of the horn, as a natural material.

Relationships

• Touch

Context

Making the beaker in 19th century south-west England

Temporality

19th century – several days to make.

Physical

Horn becomes soft, plastic and malleable when heated; this would have been heated up to make it soft enough to mould into shape. The decoration was made with a hot, sharp tool, burning and charring the surface of the horn. The setting to make this would therefore also have been hot, and your body would get hotter when coming into contact with the horn.

Emotional

I would also likely feel tired, both from the exertion of the work but also from the heat of the space.

Context

Its condition once retrieved from a riverbed

Temporality

21st century, after 1800 years lay in debris and water.

Description

Surprisingly light; the blade is pitted and corroded now, but once was smooth.

Relationships

• Interoceptive
• Sound
• Temperature
• Visual

Context

Lay dormant on a riverbed with various things passing on and over it.

Temporality

1800 years sat on a riverbed.

Physical

It’s not clear either how this sword got into the river, or how the blade became bent. Probably the deformation is a result of 1800 years in the water, the weight of the water pressing on it, while generations of fish swam past, unconcerned. Was it deposited deliberately as a ritual offering, or lost in a careless accident?

Emotional

Difficult to add emotion to this, as it’s hard to either perceive being immovable for that period of time and/or we don’t know in what context it ended up in the river.

Relationships

• Visual

Context

Wearing the ring on little finger.

Temporality

Elizabethan England.

Description

The very shiny gold colour could make this easy to spot when someone is wearing it. It also was likely not ‘odd’ to see in higher society England, given people would have a family crest or personal emblem, would have it engraved on a signet ring, and would use this to seal documents. It would have been used to seal wax as the letters are in reverse, so would come out the right way when pressed into the wax.

Relationships

• Temperature
• Touch

Context

Using the ring for wax seals, to seal documents or imprint family insignia

Temporality

Elizabethan England.

Physical

By looking closely I notice smaller details such as a slight redness inside some of the indentations – the residue or remains of something. Knowing what I do about the object it’s probably wax from creating a seal. The way in which the light reflects differently draws the eye to it.

Emotional

Given the context of the object in our collection, it makes me think very clearly of William Shakespeare and the sense of a direct connection to him. This might be something he held. That emotional sense of connecting across time doesn’t happen with many items in our collection, we have so few things where this might be true and actually, for me seeing this is as important as feeling it. It makes me stop and think about him as a person, sealing a document. It triggers a clear vision of him doing this, which is interesting.

Relationships

• Temperature
• Touch