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Museum Director, Kevin Moore, Geoffrey Piper (NWBLT) and Artist Deborah Moses with the trophy |
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| Brenda Parkerson (NWBLT), Kevin Moore, Deborah Moses, Geoffrey Piper |
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Lever Prize artist visits National Football Museum
Deborah Moses, the artist who designed and made the Lever Prize trophy won by the National Football Museum earlier this year, recently visited the museum to enjoy a personal guided tour. She was delighted to see the trophy being given pride of place in the Museum’s reception area.
Deborah, who primarily works with glass, was commissioned by the North West Business Leadership Team (NWBLT) to design the 2009 trophy.
Her innovative designs have both movement and a soft but contemporary structured nature about them, with her inspirations coming from music, water, ice & rock formations as well as her Cheshire surroundings. She commented on her inspiration for the award called ‘Severn Arcs’:
'It’s based on a project that was close to Lord Lever's heart. In the grand plan for his Rivington Gardens he had a very specific idea for a seven arched "Romanesque" bridge. He took his inspiration for the bridge from one he had seen in Nigeria.
'I wanted to create the feel of water yet include the structure of the bridge and the surrounding grassland. The photograph I had was in black & white so I kept the sculpture in monochrome to reflect that, and also to give it a contemporary feel.'
She continues 'The glass is all cut by hand with a diamond wheel. It’s then fired at a temp of 790 degrees C. From being placed into the kiln and going through various firing stages the bridge was fired in total for 49hrs! After this all the fused glass elements then had to be polished and bonded together.'
'While the bridge's aesthetic qualities inspired the design for the trophy, it is also pleasing to note that a bridge can be a poetic symbol to echo the bridging of the Arts and Business communities, which the North West Business Leadership Team aims to establish.'
Kevin Moore, Museum Director said ‘We are very pleased that Deborah took the time to visit us. It is wonderful to have this unique trophy on display as a symbol of this prestigious award.'
- For further information about Deborah Moses' work visit her website www.thesilverzebra.co.uk
- The North West Business Leadership Team (NWBLT) brings together a group of the most influential business leaders in North West England, to address key strategic issues affecting the well-being of the region and the quality of life of its people. It operates as a not-for-profit organisation with a small office based in Warrington.
- The Lever Prize was the brainchild of one of the NWBLT members Michael Oglesby, and it honours the memory of William Lever – a great business leader and arts collector and benefactor. Lever was born and bred in Bolton and built up what we now known as Unilever, primarily through his pioneering work in Port Sunlight, in Wirral.
- With the support of Arts and Business North West, the NWBLT awards the Lever Prize each year to a North West cultural organisation.
60’s, being their top scorer for eight straight seasons. His record of being highest league scorer for the club still stands.
Visitors to the museum on the day were surprised and delighted to see Roger and a group of local school children were lucky enough to meet him and get to ask him questions about the cap.
His cap will now join other 1966 objects on display including the replica Jules Rimet Trophy, the shirt worn by team member George Cohen and of course the match winning ball from the final.
Roger, who is now the Chair of the Pools Panel commented: 'The National Football Museum is a wonderful place, packed full of great football memories. The cap has been in storage for such a long time and I decided that the best way to let others see it was to lend it to the museum for display.'
David Pearson, Museum Manager said: ‘We are absolutely delighted that Roger has been kind enough to loan his cap to the museum and that he took the time to deliver it in person. The cap is a marvellous addition to our unique collection of 1966 objects and is one of only two 1966 caps on display – the other belongs to Gordon Banks.'
Roger Hunt's 1966 World Cup Cap is now on display in the museum.