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The Hearst Museum gratefully acknowledges the following recent accessions:
Berta Bascom (promised gift from the estate of). 273 objects, the remainder of the personal African collection of Berta and William Bascom (director of the Museum from 1957 until his retirement in 1979). Most of these items had been on long-term loan to the Museum, but Mrs. Bascom also kept many of her favorite pieces in her home. Among the many Yoruba examples are a finely-carved divination bowl representing a woman holding a chicken, an important set of early "colonial" figures, twin figures, beadwork, iron and wooden dance staffs, and stools. Also included are West African textiles, Ashanti gold weights, masks from the Senufo, Baule, and Bamana peoples, and the remainder of a valuable set of 110 masks made by a single Igbo carver.
William and Berta Bascom have been among the Museum's most devoted patrons, second only to Phoebe Hearst. Nearly every year from 1959 until 1999, the couple made a donation to the Museum. Including the promised gifts, their donations total 2029 objects from Africa and other parts of the world.
Phyllis Ross Rutner and Alvin Bennett Rutner. One painted wooden coffin in the shape of a chicken, from the Ga people of Teshi, Ghana; one wooden mask from the Cross River area of the Cameroons. The large coffin (almost 7 feet long and over 5 feet high) was commissioned in early 2000 by the collectors, with the intention of giving it to a local museum. Coming in all kinds of fantastic sculptural shapes (such as automobiles, boats, tools, chili pods, onions, fish, birds), this decorative style of coffin was developed in the mid-20th century by one Ghanaian carpenter and his studio workers.
Hans J. Schiller, collector; given by the Schiller Family Trust. 110 Egyptian antiquities, that include a cartonnage mummy mask, two wooden funerary masks, ceramics, various figurines, coins, lamps, pipes, beads, and other small finds. These objects were collected in the early 1940s while Schiller was stationed in Egypt with the British Army Corps of Royal Engineers.
Eric Crystal, former Coordinator of the UC Center for Southeast Asian Studies, (collected with funds provided by the University). 23 textiles, baskets, and wooden masks from ethnic minority groups of Northern Vietnam including Yao, Hmong, Muong, Bahnar, White Tai, and Sedang peoples. Dr. Crystal made the collection while residing in Hanoi from August to December, 1999. Included are a shaman's vest, a baby carrier, a mourning cowl, children's tunics, women's skirts, wedding cloths, standing baskets, pack baskets, and death masks. Because of changing cultural practices in Vietnam, some of these textiles are not liable to be duplicated by future generations.
Jane E. and Sarah J. Gregory. 193 Native American dolls and accessories. This very well-documented collection is quite diverse, representing almost all parts of the continent. The oldest doll is from the 1920s, but most were made between 1965 and the early 1990s, and while some were made for Native use, the majority seem to have been made for sale. The dolls were purchased from Native makers, as well as dealers, shops, and collectors. The current donation is but one part of a larger, world-wide collection of dolls, the African part of which was given to the Museum by the Gregorys in 1984.
William Heick, photographer/donor. 49 black and white photographic prints of Native American subjects (Northwest Coast, California, Southwest, Plains), taken in 1951, and 1961-63, while Heick served as cinematographer for UC's American Indian Film Project. These had been shown at the Hearst Museum in an exhibition 1998-1999.
Dugan Aguilar (Maidu/Pit River/Paiute), photographer/donor. One black and white photographic print of Jennifer Bates (Northern Miwuk) demonstrating acorn soup cooking, at the Maidu Big Time, Oakland Museum, 1997. This image was included in a Hearst exhibition of his work 1997-1998.
Laura Thompson, bequest. Limited edition print of Short Bear, a Sioux, by Leonard Baskin (c.1972), purchased by Dr. Thompson in 1988 from an exhibit of his work in Honolulu.
Karen Olsen Bruhns. One huipil (woman's blouse) and belt; made in Nahaulá, Guatemala Highlands, purchased in a Guatemala City market in 1974.
James Putkey. One barkcloth from Tonga. Well-documented, the cloth was made by Sophia Féao (c.1985) probably for Queen Elizabeth's visit to Tonga.
Burt Tolerton. Outrigger canoe model, fish trap, and hoe made and collected in 1955 on Mortolok Island, Caroline Islands, Micronesia.
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