A restoration effort by a County Durham museum to bring back to life a dormant automated mechanical swan has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help fund the final leg of the project.
£146,324 has already been donated to The Bowes Museum by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to delicately restore the Silver Swan, a 1773 life-sized solid silver curio containing 2,000 moving parts.
However, organisers have revealed that a further £18,000 is needed to reach the project's target of £199,142, as they seek to raise the funds with Art Fund Art Happens by December 6.
Donators to the campaign have been promised to win exclusive awards including swan postcards, a behind-the-scenes look at the swan and even the chance to wind the Silver Swan for its first performance since 2020.
Kelly Smith, The Bowes Museum's Director of Development and Communications, said: “This is a really exciting campaign that we're hoping will touch that sense of pride that people in the community feel towards the Silver Swan.
“It has a special place in people's memories, from them remembering their grandparents putting a sixpence in the slot to make it perform to being spellbound by its graceful movements.
“We are grateful to the Art Fund for helping us to put together this campaign.”
Work to restore and conserve the Silver Swan is being carried out by the Cumbria Clock Company alongside a team from The Bowes Museum itself.
Following the National Lottery grant funding the project, Hannah Fox, The Bowes Museum’s Executive Director, spoke of the impact the swan can have on the next generation.
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“Thank you to The National Lottery Heritage Fund for supporting this project, we are delighted with the outcome of our grant application.
“The Silver Swan is incredibly important to our communities. We can’t wait to get started and inspire the next generation of artists, makers, designers, and inventors.”
There will also be a series of projects for the public to get involved with from talks to workshops in the run up to Christmas.
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