Oriental Collection

A Oriental collection of considerable rarity and value was presented to the Dartmouth College Museum in August by Robert L. Ripley, Honorary '39, of Mamaroneck, N. Y. Made up largely of carvings, tapestries, porcelain, brass work and temple items, the collection was assembled by Mr. Ripley in his wide travels in search of material for his "Believe It or Not" series. A special room in the College Museum has been given over to the permanent display of the Ripley Collection, which represents the first major step in building up the Oriental side of Dartmouth's rapidly expanding museum exhibits.

Among the major items in Mr. Ripley's gift are a large Red Kutani porcelain temple vase, six feet high; an Indian elephant robe of gold cloth; an ancient Japanese sedan chair of lacquered wood and bronze; a number of hand-embroidered tapestries depicting Oriental life; a Buddhist shrine, complete in every detail; a large temple gong; a Tibetan prayer wheel; various examples of Oriental carving from China, Japan and Java; and an unusual collection of brass workmanship from Benares, representing insects, snakes and lizards of that region.

In addition to the large number of Oriental items, Mr. Ripley also presented the Dartmouth Museum with some rare zoological specimens and several valuable items from Alaska. Among the latter are a totem pole and a Chilkat ceremonial robe.

A number of examples of the ingenious craftsmanship of the Orient are included among the carvings presented by Mr. Ripley. One of these, an exquisite ivory carving from Canton, is a series of eighteen filigreed ivory balls, carved one within the other from single piece of solid ivory.