The George Brown Collection at Minpaku
An introduction to the life and work of George Brown, and his collection of ethnological artefacts.
The History of George Brown Collection
1917 George Brown passed away in Sydney, Australia. His will suggested that his collection was offered back to Barnard Castle.
George Brown's house in Sydney. His collection was exhibited in the room avobe(left=outside, middle=inside).
1921 George Brown Collection was sent from Sydney to Barnard Castle, Brown’s hometown.
And it had been kept at Dixon’s homestead.
1924 George Brown Collection was purchased by the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle.
1924 Pitt Rivers Museum obtained approx.60 artefacts of
George Brown Collection from the Bowes Museum by exchange.
The list is
here.(PDF)
1954 King’s College (present Newcastle University) bought George Brown Collection from the Bowes Museum.
1974 The Hancock Museum (present Great North Museum: Hancock) bore managerial responsibility of the collection.
1984 The Hancock Museum held 'Special from the South Seas’ a selection from the George Brown Collection.
1986 The Hancock Museum sold aprox.3000 artefacts of George Brown Collection to National Museum of Ethnology, Japan.
Nineteen
ethnographic items were not allowed to be exported.
Within the nineteen items, The Sainsbury Centre(University of East Anglia) purchased 6 items,
City Museum and Art Gallery(Birmingham) 1 item and The British Museum 4 items.
Some pieces of the original collection and related documentation are still kept at Discovery Museum.
1993 The George Brown Collection was displayed at the National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka, from 11 March to 31 May 1999,
in a special exhibition 'Cultural Heritage of the South Pacific:The George Brown Collection'.