Exhibitions
currently running:
Utsavam - Music from India - Until November 2008 the Horniman Museum is holding a major exhibition showcasing a new collection of relatively unknown musical instruments from rural areas of India. The exhibition provides glimpses of the cultural, musical and linguistic diversity of the sub-continent, by exploring the music and musical instruments of communities that are representative of the four main language groups of India (Dravidian, Indo-Aryan, Tibeto-Burman and Austroasiatic).
African
World - The first permanent exhibition in Britain dedicated to
African art and culture, African Worlds celebrates the continent's diversity,
history and creativity. It brings together a rich mixture of sculpture and decorative
arts explained through the voices of elders, maskers, drummers, diviners, artists,
exiles, curators and anthropologists. Objects from across Africa are displayed
from Egypt to Zimbabwe, and from African related cultures including Brazil and
Trinidad. Highlights include masterpieces of the bronze casters art from Benin
which depict the arrival of the first Europeans to Africa, and the spectacular
Igbo Ijele, Africa's largest mask, and the only one of its kind on display in
Britain. The
Ijele sits alongside other impressive Dogon and Bwa masks from Mali and Burkina
Faso which themselves tower up to five metres high. The gallery also features
three religious altars from Benin, Haiti and Brazil which reveal an insight into
non Western religious beliefs and draw parallels between African societies. One
of the most popular displays is dedicated to Kemet (Ancient Egypt) and showcases
Egyptian mummies and other artefacts collected by Frederick Horniman. Permanent.
Centenary gallery: 100 Years of Collecting - The world cultures collection has a new permanent space in the newly opened
Centenary gallery with artefacts from cultures and civilisations from every continent
on display. The gallery focuses on the collectors who have brought the objects
to the Horniman over the last 100 years, from Frederick Horniman himself to esteemed
anthropologist Alfred Cort Haddon to current curators who have travelled as far
afield as Nigeria, South West America and Papua New Guinea.
Dense
displays and varied lighting provide a sense of spectacle and depth to the amazing
collection of more than 1,000 objects and convey something of the richness, beauty
and diversity of the Museum's collections.
Highlights
include beautifully crafted images of the Buddha from Japan and Burma and very
rare dance crests from Papua New Guinea made for a ceremony which only takes place
every 25 years.
One
of the most fascinating exhibits is the Museum's very own Spanish Inquisition
Torture chair. One of Frederick Horniman's original purchases, it reputedly originated
from Cuenca in 1646 but has been subsequently believed to be a fake!
For more details please visit www.horniman.ac.uk
