Wax museum
A wax museum or waxworks usually consists of a collection of wax sculptures representing famous people from history and contemporary personalities exhibited in lifelike poses, wearing real clothes.
Some wax
History before 1800
The making of life-size wax figures wearing real clothes grew out of the funeral practices of European royalty. In the Middle Ages it was the habit to carry the corpse, fully dressed, on top of the coffin at royal funerals, but this sometimes had unfortunate consequences in hot weather, and the custom of making an effigy in wax for this role grew, again wearing actual clothes so that only the head and hands needed wax models. After the funeral these were often displayed by the tomb or elsewhere in the church, and became a popular attraction for visitors, which it was often necessary to pay to view.[1]
The
In European courts including that of France the making of posed wax figures became popular.
The 'Moving Wax Works of the Royal Court of England', a museum or exhibition of 140 life-size figures, some apparently with clockwork moving parts, opened by Mrs Mary in Fleet Street in London was doing excellent business in 1711. Philippe Curtius, waxwork modeller to the French court, opened his Cabinet de Cire as a tourist attraction in Paris in 1770, which remained open until 1802. In 1783 this added a Caverne des Grands Voleurs ("Cave of the Great Thieves"), an early "Chamber of Horrors". He bequeathed his collection to his protégée Marie Tussaud, who during the French Revolution made death masks of the executed royals.[5]
Notable wax museums
Madame Tussauds, historically associated with London, is the most famous name associated with wax museums, although it was not the earliest wax museum, as is sometimes thought. In 1835 Madame Tussaud established her first permanent exhibition in London's Baker Street. By the late 19th century most large cities had some kind of commercial wax museum, like the Musée Grévin in Paris or the Panoptikum Hamburg, and for a century these remained highly popular. In the late 20th century it became harder for them to compete with other attractions.
Today there are also Madame Tussauds in
Louis Tussaud's wax museum in
Among the most notable wax museums is the Life of Christ Museum located in Fatima, the city internationally known for the phenomenon of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary that allegedly occurred in Portugal. Tony Julius, director of the London company that manufactured the wax figures and former collaborator of the Madame Tussauds Museum, considered it the third best wax museum in the world.
One of the most popular wax museums in the United States for decades was The Movieland Wax Museum in Buena Park, California, near Knott's Berry Farm. The museum opened in 1962 and through the years added many wax figures of famous show business figures. Several stars attended the unveilings of the wax incarnations. The museum closed its doors on October 31, 2005, after years of dwindling attendance.
However, the most enduring museum in the United States is the
Another popular wax museum is the Musée Conti Wax Museum in
BibleWalk is a Christian wax museum in Mansfield, Ohio.[7][8] It has received attention for its use of celebrity wax figures in its religious scenes,[9] originally a cost-saving measure when new wax figures were deemed too expensive.[7]
The Royal London Wax Museum was open in downtown Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, from 1970 to 2010 in the Steamship Terminal building, it featured "royalty to rogues and the renowned." It was forced to close when the building required seismic upgrades.
The
The National Presidential Wax Museum [citation needed] in Keystone, South Dakota is the only wax museum in the world to feature every U.S. president. Their exhibits also include other notable figures from history such as General George Custer, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, and Sitting Bull. Originally created by the famed sculptor Katherine Stubergh, the museum includes death and life masks of notable Hollywood celebrities including Mae West and Sid Grauman. Their most revered exhibit is a depiction of George W. Bush standing on the rubble of the World Trade Center with NYFD fireman Bob Beckwith following the attacks on September 11, 2001.
India's first wax museum opened in December 2005 in Kanyakumari. Now located to Lonavala it contains 100 wax statues of celebrities at Lonavala Square Mall. The biggest wax museum in India named Mother's Wax Museum was opened in November 2014 in New Town, Kolkata.[10] Another branch opened in July 2008 at the historical site of Old Goa with a collection of religious statues.
Madame Tussauds opened its first museum in India at New Delhi in 2017.
Depictions
- Mystery of the Wax Museum
- House of Wax (1953 film)
- Museo del horror
- Terror in the Wax Museum
- Waxwork (film)
- House of Wax (2005 film)
See also
Notes
- ^ a b "Royals".
- ^ "Edward III and Philippa of Hainault".
- ^ Westminster Abbey, "Horatio, Viscount Nelson".
- ^ Taylor, 37
- ^ Taylor, 37-38
- ^ "The Musee Conti Wax Museum plans to move to the new Jazzland theme park – eventually". 20 July 2016.
- ^ a b "About Us". BibleWalk. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
- ^ "Biblewalk Wax Museum". YouTube. July 2, 2010. Archived from the original on 2021-12-11. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
- ^ Lawler, David (August 13, 2015). "Wax figures of British royals appear at US Biblical museum". The Telegraph. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
- ^ "Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan's wax statues at Kolkata's wax museum - Times of India". The Times of India.
References
- Taylor, Lou, The Study of Dress History, 2002, Manchester University Press, ISBN 0719040655, 9780719040658, google books