Berndt Museum of Anthropology
Bronze statue, Asian Collections
The Asian Collections
In 1996, the Museum was bequeathed the personal collection of Asian art assembled by the late Professor Ronald M. and Dr Catherine H. Berndt over nearly seventy years.The collection is spectacular in its breadth and in its eclecticism, and is particularly strong in the area of Himalayan art from both Tibet and Nepal.
Highlights
Among the most important pieces in the Asian collections are stone and bronze Buddhas, rare Tibetan thangkas, and delicate miniature Mughal court paintings, as well as Japanese prints and netsuke figures.Some highlights of the Asian collections can be seen in the Virtual Tour.
The Kalighat bazaar paintings from 19th-century India will be featured in a forthcoming exhibition. An earlier exhibition focussed on Buddhist bronzes from the Asian collections.
Objects Held
The Asian collections include 162 bronze sculptures, jade seal, 15 stone sculptures, 8 wooden sculptures, 2 copper tea-pots, 94 blue and white ceramics, 3 vestments, 2 containers, prayer wheel, skull drum, paper knife, incense holder, 16 terracotta sculptures, 2 ivory figures, 3 silver bowls, opium pipe, Japanese woodcut, and Kaligut drawing.Further Information
More information about the Asian collections can be found in:Wiltshire, T. 1996. âA very private collectionâ, Uniview (University of Western Australia) 15(3), 10-11.
