The Namio Egami Collection - Part 2: Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials

Yoshihiro Nishiak
The University Museum
The University of Tokyo

This is the second part of the catalogue of the Namio Egami Collection of the University Museum, the University of Tokyo. It features all those items of the Professor emeritus Namio Egami (1906-2002) Collection donated to the University Museum between 2003 and 2007 not listed in Part 1.

Professor Egami was a distinguished archaeologist as well as an active fieldworker who spent more than 70 years travelling and studying around Eurasia. Through his work overseas, he was able to make important contributions to multiple fields, including not only archaeology, but also history, art history and ethnography, thereby establishing himself as an authoritative figure in the humanities of Asia. He was also an avid collector, who assembled a great volume of archeological and historical materials from all over the world. While he was still alive, Professor Egami's collection was divided among several museums, and after his death items from the collection were gifted to more institutions. The University Museum was gifted the part of the Professor's collection that he had kept with him until the very last. Those academic materials that were collected in Inner Mongolia were recorded in Part 1: Inner Mongolia. This second volume lists items of Professor Egami's personal and most treasured collection; around 4,000 items are listed in total.

This eclectic collection includes items acquired in various ways, such as scientific materials collected while on fieldwork at or work-related travel to archaeological dig and historical sites, items purchased at antiques markets, and gifts and mementoes accumulated over the course of his friendships with foreign dignitaries. Most of the items are related to the humanities, including archaeology, history, art history and ethnology, but there is no specific focus on any particular item type, period or region. The diverse nature of the collection is a true reflection of Professor Egami's boundless intellectual curiosity.