MISSIONARY-ETHNOLOGICAL MUSEUM

Peacocks Under a Cherry Tree

Being restored thanks to the generosity of the Massachussets Chapter

This elegant folding screen (Byobu) is made of wood and completely covered with thin sheets of Japanese paper. The colored romantic painting in the center represents two peacocks under a blossoming cherry tree. The delicacy and care for the smallest details make this piece superb both for its quality and beauty. The square border of the painting is made with damask tissue. This painting was possibly executed by the artist Maruyama Okyo (1733-1795) and was presented as a gift from Dr. Ermanno Granert to Pope Pius XI in 1931.

Six panels from the fascinating Temple of Borobudur, Indonesia

Being restored thanks to the generosity of the Illinois Chapter

The Ethnological Museum is proud to present the astonishing collection of the only existing plaster copies of the original friezes of the temple of Borobudur, in Indonesia. Borobudur is a wonderful ninth-century Mahayana Buddhist Monument in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. They show the complete frieze of the walls of the temple that were subsequently lost forever due to the humid climate of the island of Java. This is the largest and most popular religious temple among the Indonesian islands. The monument is comprised of six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. The main dome, located at the center of the top platform, is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues. Evidence suggests Borobudur was abandoned following the fourteenth century decline of the Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in Java, and the Javanese conversion to Islam. This holy site was lost to the world until 1814 when Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the then British ruler of Java, rediscovered its location thanks to help of the native Indonesians. In 1920, a German Company made plaster copies of the wall relieves. This project was carried on in order to save the images which were slowly and irreversibly deteriorating due to humidity and rain corrosion. Borobudur was finally restored through more modern techniques in 1975 and 1982 by the Indonesian government and UNESCO. Successively, the temple was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The 24 plaster copies entered the Vatican for the Universal World Exposition in 1925 during the Papacy of Pope Pius XI. The restoration proposed this year will focus on 6 of the 24 panels that are in the worst condition and need immediate restoration.

Polynesian Reliquary

Being restored thanks to the generosity of Mrs Nicholas Biddle, International Chapter

This extremely rare sacred piece comes from the island of Tematangi, Tuamotu Islands Polynesia, and is one of the most important pieces in the Ethnological Museum Collection. It was acquired by the Fathers Fierens and Terlyn, missionaries who were preaching in the island between 1881 and 1885. Because of its importance, this piece has also been studied by Dr. Kaeppler from the Smithsonian Institute in Washington. The case of this reliquary is made of wood wrapped with coconut leaves. The restoration will enable the researchers to study the inside of this piece. In fact, the missionaries wrote about the content of this reliquary, reporting that the inside is divided into three sections with pig teeth, bones of the ancestors and beards of old men from the village.