An Illustrated Catalogue of the Ethno- 

 graphical Collection of the 

 Sarawak Museum. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The nucleus of the ethnographical collection of the Sarawak 

 Museum is a collection made by Mr, Hugh Brooke Low, during 

 the greater part of his service under the Sarawak Government 

 (1869-1886); Mr. Low made full use of his opportunities and 

 got together nearly 500 different objects of ethnographical 

 interest chiefly from the natives of the Rejang and Batang 

 Lupar rivers. The collection was sent to England and for some 

 time was exhibited at the South Kensington Museum. In 1887, 

 however, His Highness the Rajah of Sarawak purchased the 

 collection, and in 1891 it was deposited in the newly-opened 

 Sarawak i Museum. To this nucleus have been added by con- 

 stant additions nearly 1,500 specimens and so recently as 1899 

 a competent critic was able to assert that the Sarawak Museum 

 contained " the best and most instructive collection of Sarawak 

 ethnography extant" (''Nature" Aug. 31st 1899, p. 415.) 



Unfortunately the Museum is but rarely visited by serious 

 students of anthropology and as with the exception of Ling 

 froth's " Natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo " and 

 one or two papers by Hein (Vienna, 1890), the culture-history 

 of the Borneans has never been adequately pictured, it seemed 

 advisable to compile an illustrated catalogue of this fine 

 ethnographical collection, so that those interested in the 

 natives of Borneo might have some sort of picture of them even 

 if a more personal acquaintance was out of the question. 



Even in Sarawak, well-protected as it is against European 

 exploitation, great changes have taken place amongst the natives 

 within the last thirty years ; the great incursion of Chinese has 



R. A. Soc, No, 40, 1904. 



