Living in the Malay Achipelago

Lucinda, Ts’ai Chiun, Yixin

This online exhibition features a selection of 25 historical photographs by explorer William L. Abbott, an American naturalist and field scientist who spent 10 years living and collecting in the Malay Archipelago from 1896–1909, using Singapore as his base. Between 1900–1090, he donated a series of photographic documentation of his trips to the Raffles Library and Museum, including two albums which was noted in the museum’s Annual Report (1904) as an “exceedingly valuable donation.” 

This exhibition features photographs from the Singapore collection, grouped into 3 themes: 

1) Biodiversity features natural environment and wildlife in the Malay Peninsula and West Sumatra,

2) Home and Living showcases the way of life of the Dayaks of the Malay Peninsula, focusing on their architecture and tools, and

3) Fashion highlights their everyday and traditional wear, objects for ornamentation and daily rituals.

 

View extracts of this project at this link→