March 9, 2016

2363 UNITED KINGDOM (Turks and Caicos Islands) - National Museum in Cockburn Town


Established in the 1980s and opened in 1991, the Turks and Caicos National Museum is housed in one of the oldest stone structures in Grand Turk Island, Guinep House, located on Front Street to the north of Cockburn Town, the capital of the archipelago.  The house, built prior to 1885 in local limestone by a former shipwright, was named after the large guinep tree in the front yard. Its structural material came from local shipwrecks, including a ship's mast, which is one of the building's main supports.

The museum exhibits pre-historic Lucayan culture and records the history of the islands of the colonial era and the slave trade, all related to the sea. On the ground floor is the Molasses Reef Wreck, which is dated to 1505 and is considered the oldest shipwreck located in the Americas. A separate room showcases maritime displays. Another interesting exhibit is the display of the bottles with messages that floated to the beaches here from all over the world, and which were collected and exhibited.

Upstairs exhibits include the history of the early settlers of the island. There are displays on Lucayan artefacts, sisal and salt industries, Caicos postage stamps, history of the slave trade, royal events, and pottery. Another important display is of the salt trade, which was the worlds' largest at one time, located on the island of Salt Cay. An arboretum is attached to museum facility. A walking tour of the Lucayan Cave is offered to explore artifacts made of wood.

About the stamp
The stamp is part of the series Shells and Marine Snails,about which I wrote here.

References
Turks and Caicos National Museum - Wikipedia

Sender: Denise 
Sent from Providenciales (Providenciales / TCI), on 17.04.2015

No comments:

Post a Comment