American Museum of Natural History. Collections from the Philippine Islands.

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Exist Dates

1909 - 1961

Biographical or Historical Note

abstract
Permanent exhibition. Opened 1909 and closed between 1958-1961. Located on Floor 4, Section 8. The Collections from the Philippine Islands at the American Museum of Natural History was an ethnology hall installed in the newly built West Wing in 1909-1910. (1, 1910, p. 16) It was mainly devoted to the Philippines, but also housed collections from Malaysia and Java (2, 1911, p. 93; 2, 1920, p. 122). The collection was reinstalled in 1918 by A.L. Kroeber, L.R. Sullivan, and William A. Sabine (1, 1918, p. 86). The last documentation of this hall is in the 1958 General Guide (5, 1958, p. 199).

The Philippine Hall exhibited a variety of cultural objects from the Philippines, including brass-work, jewelry, weapons, basketry, pottery, and textiles. The hall featured exhibits on the industrial life of the Bagobo people of Mindanao, a model of a bamboo-walled, a thatched-roof house, a life-size replica of a tree-house typically built by Moros near Lake Lanao, a model of a woman weaving on a loom, and a case of life casts (2, 1911, p. 93; 2, 1920, p. 122).

In 1918 Professor A.L. Kroeber of the University of California came to the Museum through an exchange of services with Associate Curator Robert H. Lowie. Kroeber worked on a reinstallation of the Philippine Island Hall, which included preparation of labels and writing a visitor’s handbook. In cooperation with Assistant Curator L.R. Sullivan, Kroeber made a study which resulted in casts, busts, and diagrams that were displayed in the hall (1, 1918, p. 86).

Due to space restraints elsewhere in the Museum, several exhibits more relevant to other halls were exhibited in the Philippine Hall, such as approximately 200 primitive costumes arranged by M.D.C. Crawford which were displayed in 1918 (1, 1918, p. 43). In 1925, while the Museum was determining a location for an Australian Hall, an exhibition of the Australian collections was displayed in the center of the Philippine Hall (1, 1925, p. 21). In 1928 objects from Japan, Europe, and Egypt donated by Dr. Walter L. Hildburgh were temporarily exhibited in the Philippine Hall (1, 1928, p. 54). In 1928 some objects from a collection of material from Japan, Europe, and Egypt donated by Dr. Walter L. Hildburgh were temporarily exhibited in the Philippine Hall (1, 1928 p. 54). n 1934, objects collected by Dr. Margaret Mead in New Guinea between 1931-1933 were installed in the Philippine Islands Hall as the Pacific Islands Hall, also referred to as the South Sea Island Hall, did not provide sufficient space (1, 1934, p. 10).

Sources

    (1) American Museum of Natural History. Annual Reports. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1910-1934.
    (2) American Museum of Natural History. General Guide [to the Exhibition Halls of] the American Museum of Natural History. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1911-1958.
    Information for the hall appears in the following Museum publications:
    American Museum of Natural History Annual Reports for years 1910 (page 16); 1911 (page 37); 1918 (page 43, 86); 1921 (page 25); 1928 (page 54); 1934 (page 10)
    American Museum of Natural History General Guides for years 1919 (Table of Contents, page 99, 122); 1921 (Table of Contents, page 99, 122); 1922 (Table of Contents, page 99, 123); 1923 (Table of Contents, page 99, 123); 1926 (page 39); 1927 (page 39); 1928 (page 111); 1930 (page 111); 1931 (Table of Contents, page 128); 1932 (Table of Contents, page 128); 1933 (Table of Contents, page 130); 1934 (Table of Contents, page 133); 1935 (Table of Contents, page 133); 1936 (Table of Contents, page 133); 1939 (page 19, 151); 1943 (page 19, 161); 1945 (page 19, 161); 1947 (page 19, 161); 1949 (page 19, 161); 1953 (Floor plans, page 196); 1956 (page 197); 1958 (page 199)

Terms

place
New YorkExternal link
AMNH: Floor 4, Section 8. Additional Location information: Floor 4, section 8 (Southwest Pavilion/West Wing)

Related Corporate, Personal, and Family Names

Crawford, M.D.C (Morris De Camp) 1882-1949
Curated temporary exhibition in hall (1, 1918, p. 43).
Hildburgh, Walter Leo, 1876-1955External link
Donor, objects in hall (2, 1928, p. 54).
Kroeber, A. L. (Alfred Louis) 1876-1960
Curator for hall (1, 1918, p. 86).
Margaret Mead Hall of Pacific Peoples
The Margaret Mead Hall of Pacific Peoples replaced the Collections from the Philippine Islands and South Sea Island Hall of a part the Museum's 10-year exhibition program (1, 1965/64, p. 4-5).
Mead, Margaret 1901-1978
Collected series exhibied in hall (overspill from South Sea Island Hall) (2, 1934, p. 10).
Sabine, William A.
Employee, Department of Anthropology, worked on reinstallation in hall (2, 1918, p. 86).
South Sea Island Hall
Series, overspill from South Sea Island Hall exhibied in Philippine Hall (2, 1934, p. 10).
Sullivan, Louis R. (Louis Robert) 1892-1925
Curator for hall (1, 1918, p. 86).

Related Resources

subjectOf
Historic Halls of the American Museum of Natural History
Curated digital images of permanent halls in the American Museum of Natural History Library, Digital Special Collections.

Written by: Clare O'Dowd
Last modified: 2018 December 7


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