Masters students Louise Mitchell (left), Lily Polaczuk and Florence Esson with the sandblasted glass door at the Royal Whanganui Opera House. Photo / Supplied
Masters students Louise Mitchell (left), Lily Polaczuk and Florence Esson with the sandblasted glass door at the Royal Whanganui Opera House. Photo / Supplied
This week the Sarjeant Happenings column is looking for your help.
Have you seen these doors? With their sleek, frosted-glass designs bearing everything from ballerinas to palm trees, they are a familiar sight around the city. Their history, on the other hand, is unknown to most people.
We are mastersstudents of Museum and Heritage Practice from Victoria University of Wellington and are working with the Sarjeant Gallery to unearth and share the history of these special glass panels. Manufactured locally by the Wanganui Glass Company from about 1930, doors, windows and mirrors bearing these designs are a lost piece of Whanganui's design and manufacturing heritage.
The doors, windows and mirrors feature intricate and unique frosted designs with a raised, tactile texture on the reverse. They are rich in detail, and the expertise involved in their design and manufacture is clear at first glance. They feature intricate deco borders, house numbers and emblems, as well as images of playing nymphs, soaring herons and even underwater scenes. A public example featuring the Whanganui District Council coat of arms can be found at the entrance to the Royal Whanganui Opera House.
The doors were created using a complex and painstaking process called sandblasting, in which a sheet of glass was progressively roughened or smoothed to produce shapes, shadows and highlights. While sandblasting is used in many industries today to create finishes on metals, it is rarely used on glass due to the time-intensive and technically demanding process. Recognisable for its elegant designs, the Wanganui Glass Company was known as a master of this technique.
In May, the Sarjeant opened an exhibition of Matakana-based artist Vicki Fanning's glass sculptures inspired by her grandfather, Aubrey Fanning, who worked at the Wanganui Glass Company. This led the Sarjeant Gallery to collect records, catalogues and stencils used by the company that have sparked a keen interest for the gallery in filling in the blanks of this local history. The project was created as part of the VUW Museum Studies initiative, He Waka Eke Noa, which pairs student teams with community organisations. We know we will find out some fascinating stories and look forward to hearing from the Whanganui community.
If you have a story to share about the company or doors, or you think you might have a Wanganui Glass Company door, window or mirror in your home or business, please get in touch. You can email us at museum-heritage@vuw.ac.nz. We would love to hear about your experience of living with these designs and are keen to match up designs with the stencils and catalogues from the company's records.
We will be presenting our findings, and your stories, in a free talk as part of Whanganui Heritage Month.
Saturday, October 29, 2pm Public Talk: The History of the Wanganui Glass Company of Keith St Te Herenga Waka (Victoria University of Wellington) Museum and Heritage Studies students present their primary research into the history of the Wanganui Glass Company Ltd. Venue: Sarjeant on the Quay, 38 Taupō Quay Entry: Free, but please book by phoning 06 349 0506 or email info@sarjeant.org.nz
