Japanese Archaeological Artifacts in the U.S. Museums: A Case Study from the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893

Summary

There are thousands of Japanese archaeological artifacts stored in the major arts and archaeology museums of the United States. Many of the collections came to this country during the late 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries. In those days, archaeological objects left their home countries more readily than today and reached at the foreign museums through expeditions, inter-institutional exchanges, purchases from private art galleries, and gifts from wealthy art collectors. Unfortunately, only a portion of these objects are currently on display in these museums, due primarily to the lack of proper investigation on these artifacts. I have been collaboratively working on a compilation of a catalogue of these artifacts for publication. Not only will it shed important light on the movement of such valued artifacts from Japan to the United States during the past 150 years; but it will also make the collections available for research and education across this country. A Japanese archaeological collection in the Penn Museum that was displayed at the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago exemplifies the movement of such collections to this country. A proper investigation will make this collection a valuable asset for research within this country.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 18763