Macclesfield Psalter goes on display in spectacular new exhibition

"This show is full of treasures" * * * * - The Times (28/10/08) Many of The Fitzwilliam Museum's most spectacular acquisitions - including the 14th-century Macclesfield Psalter - are brought together for the first time in a remarkable exhibition opening today.

‘I turned it into a palace: Sir Sydney Cockerell and The Fitzwilliam Museum celebrates one of the most dynamic periods in the Fitzwilliam's history: the Directorship of Sir Sydney Cockerell from 1908 to 1937. This richly diverse exhibition includes works by the Pre-Raphaelites, William Blake and Samuel Palmer, with drawings by Boticelli, Rubens and Turner alongside Ancient Egyptian papyrus, original scores by Mozart and Scarlatti and literary autographs by Keats and Hardy, as well as treasures from the Museum's world-class collection of medieval illuminated manuscripts.

This exhibition marks the first time that the extraordinary Macclesfield Psalter - which was secured for the Museum in 2005 by a high-profile fundraising campaign - has been redisplayed since its conservation. Web users can visit the exhibition homepage to explore the Psalter and learn about its fascinating conservation, or be guided through the exhibition’s displays with a new online virtual exhibition. Details of the wide range of events, talks and workshops taking place in association with ‘I turned it into a palace’ are also available.

Read the full Times review of ‘I turned it into a palace’ here.

Watch the Cambridge Evening News interview with exhibition curator Dr. Stella Panayotova here.

4 November 2008