The New Murrey and Blue blog

In April 2022, the BBC published the following article: Mold Gold Cape: Artefact should be on display in Wales – academic – BBC News. In it were complaints from Wales that the above wonderful golden cape was kept in the British Museum, not in Wales. It was explained that at the time of the cape’s discovery at Mold in 1833 there weren’t any public museums in Wales, and that was the sole reason it went to London. But there are Welsh museums now, and so the cape should come home permanently.

The British Museum defends its corner saying “….Throughout our 263-year history, the general public has been able to visit the collection for free….” The cape has been on display in Wales twice in the past 10 years and had been on loan to Halle in Germany. Six million people visit the British Museum every year.

“….The Mold Gold Cape is described as one of the finest gold objects from Bronze Age Europe. The Bronze Age started around 2,000 BC and lasted about 1,500 years….” It is believed to be part of a ceremonial costume, because the shape of it would restrict movement of the arms (see the above photograph), so whoever wore it could walk, sit and hold things in his/her hands, but not raise their arms.

According to the British Museum website (cape | British Museum) “….The cape is one of the finest examples of prehistoric sheet-gold working and is quite unique in form and design. It was laboriously beaten out of a single ingot of gold, and then embellished with intense decoration of ribs and bosses to mimic multiple strings of beads amid folds of cloth. Perforations along the upper and lower edges indicate that it was once attached to a lining, perhaps of leather, which has decayed. The bronze strips founded with the cape may have served to strengthen the adornment further….”

Well, in July 2013 the cape did come back to Wales, temporarily if not permanently. See here Mold gold cape back on display in Cardiff and Wrexham – BBC News. It was shown at the National Museum, Cardiff, from 2 July to 4 August 2013, and then at the Wrexham County Borough Museum from 7 August to 14 September 2013.

When will it come home again? I don’t know. Will it ever be returned permanently? I don’t know that either. On the fence is where I sit with this, because I can see both points of view. I was born and brought up in Wales (Welsh mother, English father) and live in England close to the marches, so if I want to see the cape I have some distance to travel wherever it is, Mold or London. Which, I think, is the same for a great many people.

So perhaps we should all simply be very grateful to have such a wonderful item at all.

You can read more about the cape here: https://www.hunebednieuwscafe.nl/2019/06/the-mold-gold-cape/, here https://www.mythslegendsodditiesnorth-east-wales.co.uk/mold-gold-cape, here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mold_gold_cape and here https://www.historicmysteries.com/archaeology/mold-gold-cape/39351/.