| 1438002 | CENTENARY GALLERY: A HUNDRED YEARS OF COLLECTING |
| Type | Exhibition - Galleries/Museums |
| Start Date | Thursday 1st January 2009 |
| End Date | Wednesday 30th December 2009 |
| Description | The Centenary Gallery puts on show anthropological artefacts from cultures and civilisations from every continent. The gallery focuses on the changes in perspective of collectors over the last 100 years, from amateur enthusiasts like Frederick Horniman himself, to academic anthropologists such as Alfred Cort Haddon, the Museum's first advisory curator. Items collected by recent anthropology curators from places such as Nigeria, the American Southwest and Nepal show how collecting has become a much more collaborative enterprise.
Dense displays and varied lighting provide a sense of spectacle and depth to the fascinating collection of more than 1,000 objects and convey something of the richness, beauty and diversity of the Museum's collections.
Highlights include a dramatic papier maché figure of Kali from Calcutta collected in 1894, serene Buddha images from Burma and Japan, and some very rare dance crests from New Britain, made for a ceremony which takes place every 25 years.
One of the most fascinating exhibits is the Museum's 'Spanish Inquisition' torture chair. One of Frederick Horniman's original purchases, it was reputed to have been used in a dungeon in Cuenca in Spain in the seventeenth century. While some parts were added in the nineteenth century, most components do seem to be genuine.
Location: Lower ground floor |
| Location | Horniman Museum and Gardens |
| Post code | SE23 3PQ |
Venue details |
Horniman Museum and Gardens |
Address
 | 100 London Road
London
SE23 3PQ |
| Telephone No. | 020 8699 1872 |
| Opening times | Museum
Open: Daily 10.30am - 5.30pm
Closed: 24 - 26 December |
 | Venue details |
| E-mail | enquiry@horniman.ac.uk |
| Other events at this venue. |
