MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY

Description

Essentials about the Museum of Anthropology in brief

If you are interested in ethnology and especially in the cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest coast, you should definitely see the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver. It is one of the leading museums of First Nations culture in the Pacific Northwest. Located on the grounds of the University of British Columbia on the northwest tip of the Burrard Peninsula, the museum offers spectacular views of the Strait of Georgia in front and the mountains surrounding Vancouver. The museum is housed in an architecturally very interesting concrete building, whose architectural style is reminiscent of the half-timbering of the local indigenous people.

The collection of the Museum of Anthropology

The Museum of Anthropology’s collection includes approximately 50,000 ethnographic objects and approximately 535,000 archaeological objects, including numerous large sculptures, totem poles, and cultural objects. Although the museum specializes in the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, the collection also includes objects from all other continents and consists of both historical and contemporary objects.

The most famous exhibit is probably the sculpture “The Raven and the First Men,” made from the wood of the Nutka mock cypress tree by the famous Canadian artist Bill Reid. Other significant works by Reid include his Bear and Wasco sculptures, several examples of his gold jewelry, and a prototype Haida dugout tree he carved for the Expo 86 World’s Fair.

The museum also has several large artifacts of the Musqueam tribe from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These are particularly rare, as the Musqueam were one of the first peoples in the Northwest to be relocated by Europeans and decimated by introduced diseases. Also part of the museum is an extensive South Pacific collection and the Koerner Ceramics Gallery with 600 European ceramic objects.

The history of the Museum of Anthropology

Historically, the Museum of Anthropology traces its origins to the University of British Columbia’s ethnographic collection, which first went on public display in the basement of the university library in 1947. In 1976, the museum finally moved to its own building, designed by renowned Canadian architect Arthur Erickson.