Tozzer Library
Past Exhibitions
Feeding the Ancestors: Tlingit Carved Horn Spoons
April 2007 – March 2008This exhibition presented a selection of carved spoons made and collected in the 1800s. At the time, the Tlingit elite used spoons like these to serve food at ceremonies, simultaneously sustaining themselves and the ancestral beings carved on the handles. The interpretations and stories presented derive from collaborations among scholars, tribal historians, carvers, and other students of Tlingit material culture. Bibliography.
Codices, Chimpanzees, and Curanderas: From the Field to the Shelf
September 2006–April 2007An exhibition in celebration of Tozzer Library's quarter millionth volume.
A Noble Pursuit: The Duchess of Mecklenburg Collection from Iron Age Slovenia
April 2006–September 2006Exhibition featured 34 selected items from the Peabody Museum's Mecklenburg collection, the only excavated European Iron Age (800 B.C.–A.D. 1) collection located outside of Europe. It also highlighted the extraordinary woman who excavated it in the early decades of the 20th century, Duchess Paul Friedrich of Mecklenburg, a pioneer in European archaeology who used her imperial connections, family wealth, local knowledge, and personal charm to overcome the prejudices of her age and win the respect of her male colleagues. Bibliography
Gifts of the Great River: Arkansas Effigy Pottery from the Edwin Curtiss Collection
June 2005–March 2006Exhibition featured examples of Arkansas effigy pottery collected by Edwin Curtiss in the 19th century. Bibliography
Bringing Japan to Boston: The Edward S. Morse Collection
May 2004–April 2005Exhibition featured pottery from the Heian through Edo periods, hats, shoes, Ainu prayer sticks, noh masks, and architectural models—items collected specifically for Harvard's Peabody Museum during the years 1877–79 by Edward S. Morse. Bibliography
These Shoes Were Made for... Walking?
Feb 2003–April 2004Exploring footwear across cultures and ages, this exhibit featured a selection of 60 pairs of shoes, sandals, and boots from the Peabody Museum's extensive ethnographic collections, from the original sensible shoe to the heights and lengths of fashion. Bibliography
