Inside the Collection

Arts

Stoneware bowl made by Peter Rushforth, Sydney, NSW, c.1964

Vale Peter Rushforth, a great Australian ceramicist

August 4, 2015

Anne-Marie Van de Ven
Peter Rushforth was one of Australia’s great ceramicists. Along with a number of his contemporaries, including his early mentor Allan Lowe, Rushforth shared an abiding interest in Asian, especially Chinese and Japanese ceramic aesthetics, philosophies and traditions.
Photo of Japanese ceramic bowls presented to the New South Wales Collection of Applied Art by Charles F. Laseron in 1927. Japan, 17th Century, MAAS collection

The Many Sides of Charles Laseron, Part III

April 24, 2015

Powerhouse
Charles Laseron was an early collector at MAAS and formative influence upon our applied arts collection. He was also present during the Gallipoli landings in 1915. In the week leading up to the ANZAC Centenary, we are publishing a series of posts detailing Laseron’s life.
A page from an AEG catalogue showing variations on a theme – consumers were able to customise their kettle purchase by choosing from three shapes, sizes and finishes. (from T. Buddensieg, ed., Industrie-kultur, courtesy Gebr, Mann Verlag, Berlin.)

Form Without Ornament: A New Industrial Design Process

March 25, 2015

Tilly Boleyn
Our Interface exhibition unpacks some strategies employed by designers to simplify the way we use information technology (IT) tools. But surprisingly, the earliest objects in the exhibition are not IT artefacts at all but come from our decorative arts collection.
2000/28/1 Sculpture, 'China.China' series, Bust 28, porcelain body-cast, with hand painted over-glaze enamel in polychrome landscape design , made by Ah Xian (LIU Jixian) in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, China in 1999.

The Chinese Collection at MAAS (Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences)

February 18, 2015

Min-Jung Kim
The Museum holds extensive Chinese collections including ceramics, bronze ware, lacquer ware, carvings in jade and ivory, textiles, dress and dress accessories. The Chinese collection has been shaped by a number of significant donations from collectors throughout the last 135 years.
Photograph of Scrimshaw

Treasures from the collection: Scrimshaw

January 23, 2015

Anni Turnbull
Scrimshandering, Schrimshonter, schrimshander or scrimshaw as we know it, is the art of carving or decorating whale bone, whales teeth and walrus tusks. The Museum has eclectic and fascinating collections from parasols to fans, netsuke and scrimshaw.
Photograph of Stonehenge 1936

Portrait of the artist

December 29, 2014

Anne-Marie Van de Ven
This rather majestic black and white photographic portrait of Australian artist, designer and photographer Dahl Collings (Dulcie May Wilmott 1910-1988) was shot by her husband Geoffrey Collings (1905-2000) during a trip to Stonehenge around 1936.
Illustration of George Wirth performing as a clown, from his scrapbook

The Wirth brothers — from band to circus

December 22, 2014

Peter Cox
After leaving Ridge's Royal Tycoon Circus in 1880 the Wirth brothers established themselves as the Star Troupe of Varieties. With just six artists, including Japanese acrobats and a German comedian, they assembled a program of acrobatics, clowning, contortion, spinning hats, boxing and comic songs.
Photograph of Wirth Brothers

Wirth’s Circus — musical beginnings

December 3, 2014

Peter Cox
Johannes Wirth (1835-1880) was a young immigrant from Bavaria who arrived in Australia in 1855 with his three younger brothers. They were musicians who performed as a German brass band. Johannes took to the life of an itinerant gold seeker, travelling with his wife and infants, following rush after rush to the gold fields, all the way from southern Victoria to the north of Queensland.
Australian AIDS Memorial Quilt

World AIDS Day 2014

December 1, 2014

Anni Turnbull
“Unless we tell their stories, they are not there.”* Since it began on 1 December 1988, World AIDS Day has put strong focus on the global fight to remove the threat of HIV and AIDS. First diagnosed in 1981, the HIV and  AIDS epidemic remains one of the most significant public health issues, particularly in less affluent countries.
Photograph of Ornament for headdress

Asian jewellery at the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences

November 27, 2014

Min-Jung Kim
The exhibition A Fine Possession: Jewellery and Identity (24 September 2014 – 20 September 2015), currently showing at the Museum, is a wonderful opportunity to showcase our previously unseen Asian jewellerry.