Ethiographic Museum and Library. l^^S 



sent from the Sultan of Surakarta in the centre of Java to one 

 of the former governors of the island, who presented this fine 

 specimen of native art to the Museum. A large number of 

 Javanese and Sun da MSS., written on palm-leaves, have been 

 placed by, and at the expense of, the government in the hands 

 of Dr. Friedrich, a German philologist, to be deciphered and 

 translated. In the same apartment we saw a large number of 

 trachytes, with very beautiful sculptures and inscriptions, as 

 also several figures from the island of Bali, quite modern in 

 aspect, carved in wood and coarsely painted, representing 

 some beautiful female figures ; other hideous caricatures, 

 which are used by the natives as decorations of their house- 

 hold altar, but without any religious significance being at- 

 tached to them. The fact that these sculptures are no longer, 

 as formerly, executed in stone, but are carved in wood, may 

 be held to evidence the decay of this branch of art. A rather 

 considerable craniological collection, comprising some 60 

 heads of the various types of races inhabiting the Malay 

 Archipelago and the adjoining continent, was in the most 

 handsome manner presented to the Expedition, and must, 

 considering the many difficulties which stand in the way of 

 our acquiring correct scientific knowledge of this interesting 

 question, especially among races inhabiting uncivilized coun- 

 tries, be regarded as an exceedingly valuable addition to our 

 collections of objects of natural history at home. 



The Ethnographic Museum and the library attached are, 

 however, only branches thrown out by the indefatigable 



