EXPERTS in Japanese swords are to share their knowledge with a popular Keighley museum.

Members of the Token Society of Great Britain are converging on Cliffe Castle next weekend for a study day.

They will examine the collection held by the Spring Gardens Lane museum, and provide more information about the items.

The Token Society, which this year celebrates its 60th anniversary, is dedicated to the study and preservation of Japanese swords.

Paul Bowman, for the society, says: "Since its foundation, the role of the society has been to encourage and support the study, appreciation and preservation of Japanese swords, fittings and associated artefacts within the UK.

"In recent years membership has increased, and we are now one of the largest groups outside of Japan dedicated to the study of the Japanese sword.

"We try to arrange days in partnership with museums, both national and provincial, to enable members to study swords held within the museums' collections. This also offers specialist assistance to museums to assess and describe their artefacts.

"The Token Society is delighted to have been given the opportunity to spend time studying Cliffe Castle’s Japanese sword collection, and we're extremely grateful to the curatorial team for arranging this. We hope that by the end of the study day, we will be able to offer a better understanding of the pieces within the collection."

Ernest Cockburn, a volunteer researcher at Cliffe Castle, is a member of the Token Society.

He says: "After a lifetime spent in healthcare delivery, 2023 marked the most important change in my working life.

"I met Dale Keeton, the conservator at Cliffe Castle Museum, and shortly afterwards became a volunteer researcher in the Japanese Gallery and discovered what I should have been doing all those years!

"Japanese art is a passion, and the Token Society study day marks a pinnacle for me. I cannot wait to read the appraisal of our swords."

Mr Keeton says: "Bradford District Museums and Galleries has been collecting and caring for objects since the late 1880s.

"We have an incredibly rich and diverse collection reflecting many cultures.

"The Japanese collection is truly beautiful. It has been captivating audiences for over a hundred years and will continue to do so for hundreds more. The work of researchers like Ernest and societies like the Token Society of Great Britain adds greater depth and texture to our understanding of these fascinating objects."