11 Exhibition Pieces Of Pirate Life On Display At The National Maritime Museum
Swashbuckling pirates have long held a fascination over us with their apparent diabolical lives. Reading about the great pirates of yore, names like Edward ‘Blackbeard’ Teach, William Kidd, Anne Bonny and Mary Read stand out as some of the most notorious of the lot. But while fictionalized versions of these legendary adventurers have run rampant, the National Maritime Museum attempts to debunk any myths associated with these characters often portrayed as tricksters and scoundrels.
The latest exhibition that the museum is working on covers pirates from around the world. Though in the past pirates have been associated with the Caribbean seas, this display attempts to unveil more information about the South China Sea, Indian Ocean and Barbary pirates who operated off the coast of North Africa.
More info: Royal Museum Greenwich
#1 Original costume for Will Turner from The Curse of the Black Pearl
Cotton, leather, wool and other materials, designed by Penny Rose, about 2002 © Penny Rose / CosProp
#2 A General History of the Pyrates by Captain Charles Johnson, published by J. Watts, 1725
A General History of the Pyrates – Page spread of illustration of Blackbeard the Pirate on the left an Title page (A General History of Pyrates, Their Robberies and Murders…) on the right © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London.
#3 Bust of a Moroccan man – terracotta, by an unknown maker, about 1700 © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London.
Pirate bust, Three quarter raised
The man wears a headdress typical of the Rif people of north-eastern Morocco. The subject and maker are both unknown.
#4 Compass – brass, iron, wood and other materials, by Jonathan Eade, London, about 1750
Mariner’s Compass – National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London.
#5 Centrepiece commemorating the Bombardment of Algiers (silver-gilt, by Paul Storr, London, 1817–18)
PLT0047 / B9054-D; Cutout to white of B9054-D. Table centerpiece.
© National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London.
The British officers at Algiers commissioned this centrepiece from the leading London silversmith Paul Storr. They presented it to their commander, Admiral Pellew. It shows the fortress at Algiers, with tiers of guns and scenes of the bombardment.
#6 Presentation sword – steel, fish-skin, gilt wire and other materials, by Dudley, Portsmouth, 1837 © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London.
This sword was presented to Captain Robert Gore of HMS Andromache by the merchants and insurance underwriters of Bombay (present-day Mumbai). It was a reward for his successful operation against pirates in the Straits of Malacca in 1836.
#7 The Bombardment of Algiers, 27 August 1816 – oil on canvas, by George Chambers, 1836 © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London. Greenwich Hospital Collection.
George Chambers depicts the Bombardment of Algiers, dramatically foregrounding British ships.
#8 Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, published by Cassell, London, 1886 © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London.
The historical pirates that dominated the high seas are not the only feature of the showcase. Theatre, film and fashion are some of the aspects being highlighted with a focus on “material from early literature on piracy in the eighteenth century to 1980s fashion”, according to the organizers. Further adding that, “The exhibition will show nearly 200 objects including loans from the National Archives, V&A and BFI”.
#9 Hanging depicting Ziwei Dadi – painted cotton, made in China, before 1849 © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London.
This hanging was seized from one of Shap Ng-tsai’s pirate junks on 20–21 October 1849. It is from a shipboard shine and shows Ziewi Dadi, one of the Four Heavenly Emperors in Cantonese cosmology.
#10 Davy Jones’s Locker – oil on canvas, by William Lionel Wyllie, 1890 © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London. Purchased with the assistance of the Society for Nautical Research Macpherson Collection Endowment Fund.
Davy Jones’s locker by William Lionel Wyllie 1890. Oil painting in frame ZBA5055
Wyllie depicts the world of Davy Jones, the mythical figure said to rule over the evil spirits of the deep.
#11 Dummy book – ink and watercolour on paper with metal binding, by John Ryan, 1953–55 © Isabel Ryan / Estate of John Ryan
John Ryan initially struggled to find a publisher for Captain Pugwash. After 12 rejections, publishers The Bodley Head saw the character’s potential. Captain Pugwash: a pirate story finally appeared in 1957. More than 20 other Pugwash books followed.
Tickets now available at rmg.co.uk/pirates.
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