Object of the Year 2024
The theme for Object for the Year 2024 is Stories of Place: Cornish Landscapes. This award is kindly sponsored by University of Exeter’s Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Cornwall, and the Institute of Cornish Studies.
This year we are turning the spotlight onto Cornwall’s unique places by drawing attention to objects that tell stories of both the natural and built landscape. A sense of place shapes our individual identities and shared cultures, and the relationships between object and place tell stories of our responses to our environment.
Each of these amazing objects tells a completely different story of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly from around 5000 BC to the present day. Please take a look at each of these seven objects, and click the links to each for a full description before placing your vote at the end of this page.
Lawrence House Museum, Launceston: 1830s Reform Flask
Commissioned by a Wine and Spirit Merchant based at Westminster Bridge, this 1830s flask celebrates the 1832 Reform Act, which changed the political landscape of Cornwall and Launceston.
Read the full description here: Lawrence House – Object Description
Kresen Kernow (Archives and Cornish Studies Service): Manor Map, Lelant and Trevethow
Map of the manor of Lelant and Trevethow (Trevethoe) in Lelant parish, surveyed by Charles Moody for William Praed esq, dated 1820-21, drawn in ink and watercolour. Manorial maps record some of the earliest representations of Cornwall’s landscape and how its people lived and worked.
Read the full description here: Kresen Kernow – Object Description
The Castle Heritage Centre, Bude: Wood from a Submerged Ancient Forest
A preserved piece of a tree trunk from an ancient prehistoric submerged forest, a unique part of the Cornish landscape. Unearthed at Crooklets beach, Bude, the site of one of several submerged ancient forests found throughout Cornwall.
Read the full description here: Bude – Object Description
Isles of Scilly Museum Association: The Grand Ball on Rosevear Quilt 2023
A community created appliqued and pieced story quilt, celebrating the building of the Bishop Rock Lighthouse and the fabled Grand Ball hosted by the chief engineer James Douglas to lift the spirits of the workers on the remote and desolate island of Rosevear, where they were billeted.
Read the full description here: IOS – Object Description
National Maritime Museum Cornwall: Irene, Falmouth Oyster Punt
Haul-tow punt Irene was built c.1950 specifically for use in the Falmouth Oyster Fishery. It is a unique fishery, preserved by byelaws, which ensure that oysters can only be fished by boats powered by oars or sails, which has made it very sustainable and preserved a traditional way of life.
Read the full description here: NMMC – Object Description
National Trust Lanhydrock: The Lanhydrock Atlas
The Lanhydrock Atlas was created in the 1690s most likely by the famous cartographer Joel Gascoyne. The atlas charts the land holding of the wealthy Robartes of Lanhydrock through 258 highly decorated maps recording roads, coastline, buildings and rivers from St Just to The Lizard, to the Tamar.
Read the full description here: Lanhydrock – Object Description
Museum of Cornish Life, Helston: Serpentine Works
The workshop of serpentine turner, Vivian Bosustow, from Church Cove, The Lizard. Serpentine as a commodity has fallen in and out of love with the public but this workshop is consistently loved by all our visitors.
Read the full description here: MOCL – Object Description
Voting Poll
The voting poll will be open until Monday 8 January at 5pm.