Xylophones are instruments that originated in West Africa by the mid-14th century, and their use subsequently spread to the central and eastern regions of Africa. The kundung xylophone was introduced to the Berom people of Nigeria by the Bagirmi people of Chad in the 1930s. While many musical traditions vanished through British colonization and the … [Read more...] about African Kundung Xylophone: Researched, Conserved, and Repaired by Ashley McLaughlin
American badgers are stocky, solitary creatures with large, sharp claws that enable them to dig burrows for their homes as well as to dig into the burrows of their prey, which include insects, rodents, and snakes. They live in grasslands, prairies, fields, and pastures from western North America to Ohio, and from the central Canadian provinces down to … [Read more...] about Taxidermy Badger: Researched and Conserved by Hannah Whaley
Beaded items are part of a long tradition in Native American art. By the late eighteenth century, the Iroquois had begun creating traditionally beaded items for the tourist market. Although such tourist items were not present in the traditional Native world, Iroquois artists quickly adapted traditional beading methods and techniques to create objects specifically for sale to … [Read more...] about Iroquois Beaded Pincushion: Researched, Conserved, and Reconstructed by Vinita Williams
The portable medical kit is not a recent invention, as ancient Egyptian and Greek physicians used medical chests to hold their tools and medicines, and Hippocrates even wrote about a medical bag in detail. Medical kits have also been found in shipwrecks dating back to 1000 BCE. Early European physicians used boxes and chests to store their medical supplies, but the medical bag … [Read more...] about Physician’s Medical Bag: Researched and Conserved by Sarah Teel
Storyteller figures are popular collector’s items that are made by potters from a variety of different pueblos of the American Southwest. Helen Cordero of the Cochiti Pueblo has been credited with originating the concept and design of the storyteller figure. The seated form of the storyteller was inspired by the “Singing Mother” effigy—the figure of a seated mother with a … [Read more...] about Jemez Culture Storyteller Figure: Researched, Conserved, and Restored by Whitney Mosley