Butter Sculptures

Back
Butter Sculptures

Sorry, this film is not available for viewing in your region

Unfortunately, due to copyright permissions we are unable to show this video in your area.

Details

Location

Belfast

Year

1975

Date

Length

04min 28sec

Audio

sound

Format

16mm

colour

Source

Digitised as part of the BFI's Unlocking Film Heritage project

Courtesy

British Film Institute, UTV

Rights Holder

ITV

It is illegal to download, copy, print or otherwise utilise in any other form this material, without written consent from the copyright holder.

Description

I can’t believe it’s butter! Let butter man John Blaney show you the tools and tricks of the trade in preparation for the Balmoral Show. The work of the dairy goes on in the background as John describes his royal commissions in a delightfully matter of fact way. Unlike the Balmoral Show, butter sculpture is an ancient Tibetan Buddhist tradition. In Europe its recorded history dates back to 1536 when a grand banquet featured Hercules struggling with a lion sculpted from golden slabs of dairy.

Notes

Butter art may be a rare curiosity in Northern Ireland but the art form has become a staple in American state fairs. Laura Olson sculpts portraits of finalists for the Dairy Princess contest at the Minnesota State Fair, the resulting ‘butter heads’ are shown at museums, eaten at weddings and some even stored in freezers for over three decades by the girls’ families.

Credits

This material is courtesy of the UTV archive. It features an interview with John Blaney by Leslie Dawes.

Links

×

Please scroll to review and accept our terms and conditions (last updated on ) before viewing the moving images content.

To remember your terms and conditions acceptance, you can register as a site member or allow cookies on your browser.