Made in Bermuda is the title of the Bermuda National Gallery's newest exhibition, which opened last weekend.

Focussing on locally made silver, furniture and boat building, the exhibits are spread over the both floors and all public rooms of the gallery.

Noting that "Bermuda has a wonderful history of craft and design'', BNG director Laura Gorham says the exhibition was developed "to stimulate knowledge and curiosity in this area''.

It covers an extended time period from the beginning of Bermuda to the 1900s, and Mrs. Gorham stressed that the exhibition is "not definitive'' but "only the beginning''.

Most of the silver and cedar exhibits, which have been attractively displayed by design manager Will Collieson, are on loan from private collectors, and it is the Gallery's hope that seeing them will stimulate viewers to provide more information and/or photographs so that those who worked so assiduously on the exhibition can continue to "fill in the blanks'' in their knowledge of people who worked in silver or furniture in Bermuda over the years.

The advisory committee of 14 experts charged with researching and selecting items for this exhibition made a conscious decision not to borrow items from museums and other institutions because these are constantly in the public domain. Instead, the gallery has chosen to encourage people who visit this exhibition to also visit the other sites to augment their knowledge. A specially-produced takeaway map will soon be available which highlights the location of such exhibits around the Island.

While the main floors are devoted to silver and furniture, the Oondatje Wing features items made by Boer prisoners of war, World War I detainees, and convicts kept in hulks while they built the Dockyard. As a tribute to Bermudian boat builders, there are also model boats, as well as half models tracing the evolution of the Bermuda fitted dinghy's design.

The Watlington Room is devoted to a general survey of furniture. Here, various examples of dovetailing and feet and leg styles on cedar chests can be studied.

On the upper mezzanine, a special interactive education station has been created for children aged eight to 12.

"This is something very new for us,'' gallery education director Louisa Flannery says. "Different details from Made in Bermuda are highlighted, and it is meant to be a welcoming spot for teachers, parents and children alike.

Here they can experiment with dovetailing joints and watch video episodes of The Learnalots on the television screen. There are also other tidbits of information connecting various parts of the exhibition which will require students to look for silver marks and furniture details so they can learn more by looking and touching.'' Free material for teachers of Primary 5 and 6 students has also been prepared.

"Made in Bermuda is an excellent way for teachers to make history connections using the arts,'' Mrs. Flannery notes.

From research done in preparation for the exhibition, a timeline has been created near the main entrance which relates to Bermuda's history of work created by boat and house builders, silversmiths and furniture makers.

Throughout the gallery, informative labels place the exhibits in context.

"We know people are curious, so we have made extensive rather than minimal labels which give the history of the individual objects,'' senior curator Mrs.

Marlee Robinson explains.

Mrs. Robinson also hopes that, through seeing the exhibition -- which contains some hitherto very special and unrecorded silver and furniture -- Bermudians will become more curious and knowledgeable about the historical artifacts in their homes and surroundings.

"We encourage people to pass further information on to us about silver, or send in photographs of cedar chests so that we can continue to fill in blanks in the knowledge of those who have worked here over the years,'' the senior curator says. "This art and craft reflects the kind of lives people in Bermuda had. They lived in a very simple, utilitarian way. We want this information to be available to future generations of Bermudians.'' In the works is a special catalogue with researched articles on: local boatbuilding by Dr. Michael Jarvis; furniture by John Cox; silversmithing by Jeanne Sloan of Christie's in New York; prisoner of war/internees craftsmanship by Andrew Bermingham; architecture by Andrew Trimingham, and enslaved labour by Dr. Clarence Maxwell.

Made in Bermuda continues through January 27, 2001. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.

to 4 p.m. Monday to Saturday. Tours are held on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 1 p.m. Admission is $3, except for BNG members and children under 16, for whom there is no charge.

In addition, hour-long lunchtime talks will take place in the Gallery on Wednesdays at 12.30 p.m. and feature local historians and other Bermudians involved in creating and collecting Bermudian craftwork. See this paper's Bermuda Calendar for further information.

Two special events are also planned for October: a family day on October 14, and an antiques discovery day on October 28, when the public will be encouraged to bring in some of their "prized possessions'' for a panel of collectors and historians to give some insight on. Further details will be announced in due course.

Photos by Arthur Bean Bermudian beauties: Wainscot chairs (left) from the mid 1600s and high chairs with knobbed finials dating from 1690 to 1740 are just some of the superb examples of local craftsmanship in the Made in Bermuda exhibition. The wainscot chairs are the earliest examples in the show.

All that glistens: This collection of church silver, which is owned by Christ Church, Warwick, was made by various Bermuda silversmiths and includes chalices, salvers, a tankard and christening bowl. The collection is part of a fascinating display of locally made silver in the Bermuda National Gallery's current exhibition.