Position: Assistant Curator Asia, World Cultures
Level: Collections Care/Conservation
Job Type: Permanent
Deadline: 09 August 2020, 23:59
Location: National Museum Of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh, UK
National Museums Scotland is one of the leading museum groups in Europe. With one of the largest and most diverse collections in the world, we are responsible for the acquisition, preservation and display of a substantial part of Scotland’s cultural, historic and national heritage.
Millions of local and international visitors enjoy our four museums each year, and we also introduce our collections to a much wider audience than can physically visit our museums through, touring exhibitions, loans, community engagement, digital programmes and research.
Over the last decade, we have invested over £120 million in our sites and have more than doubled our visitor numbers, with over 3 million people now visiting our four museums. Alongside this, we have continued to transform how we communicate and engage with our audiences. 2019 has seen the completion of our Masterplan for the National Museum of Scotland with the opening of three new galleries dedicated to Ancient Egypt, East Asia and the Art of Ceramics.
Supporting our Asia collection with a focus on the East Asia collection from Japan, China and Korea.
The Asia Section cares for more than 40,000 objects from China, Japan, Korea, the Middle East, and South and Southeast Asia. Collecting started from the middle of the 19th century, focussing on the arts and crafts of this region but also included prehistoric and ethnographical material. Particularly noteworthy, for example, are our Chinese ceramics which represent the production of many kilns in China from the late Neolithic period to the Cultural Revolution era. The strength of the Iranian collection is attributable largely to the influence of Sir Robert Murdoch Smith (1835-1900) who contributed significantly during his tenure as director between 1885-1900. Our collections from South and Southeast Asia are mainly a legacy of missionaries, military men, and civil administrators of the British empire. We regularly add to these collections through donations and purchase acquisitions from the art market, artists, and private individuals, strengthening existing and developing new areas in response to contemporary issues such as gender, environment or nation building processes.
You will work across the respective collection supporting the delivery of our strategic priority projects, loans, exhibitions and digitisation programmes.
With a degree in a related subject (anthropology, archaeology, art history, ancient history, classical archaeology, archaeology of the ancient world, or equivalent), you will have knowledge of, or interest in, working with non-European art, archaeology or ethnographic collections. You will be able to demonstrate existing specialist knowledge, or the potential to develop specialist knowledge, relevant to the collections and subject areas of the role.
Proven experience in paid or unpaid work in museums or similar environment is essential. You will be organised and methodical, with good verbal and written communication skills and Office 365 skills. You should also have experience of managing your own time and workload, working to deadlines and handling multiple priorities.
For more information on how to apply please see the website here.
