The Leonhard Adam Collection of Indigenous Cultures includes items from Australia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Asia, America and Africa. It was formed largely by Dr Leonhard Adam, a distinguished scholar and lecturer in the Department of History at the University of Melbourne during the 1940s and 1950s.
Leonhard Adam was born in 1891 in Berlin, where he studied ethnology, law and Sinology, joined the bar and served as a judge. After fleeing Germany, he was deported from England during the Second World War. He arrived in Victoria aboard the Dunera in 1940 and, after a period of internment at Tatura, joined the staff of the University. An important group of 36 painted barks from Groote Eylandt, collected in 1945 for an exhibition in Melbourne and given to the University in 1946, is one of the highlights of the Leonhard Adam Collection.
Leonhard Adam Collection snapshot
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Leonhard Adam Collection of Indigenous Culture - Bark bucket decorated with red and white pigment, not dated -
Leonhard Adam Indigenous Collection - Basket decorated with geometric design in red white and blue. -
Leonhard Adam Collection of Indigenous Culture - Stitched Bag, Incomplete-loop-stitched-bag-decorated-with-red,-brown-and-natural-stripes -
Leonhard Adam Indigenous Collection - Kimberley Point, Kimberley point: bifacially trimmed spearpoint made from fine grained black stone, not dated, stone -
Leonhard Adam Indigenous Collection - Loop stitched bag decorated with red and yellow stripes, not dated, vegetable fibre string, natural pigment -
Leonhard Adam Indigenous Collection - Polished pearl shell disc pendant, not dated, pearl shell -
Leonhard Adam Indigenous Collection - Shield, late 19th/early 20th century, wood, natural pigments, paint -
Leonhard Adam Indigenous Collection - Untitled [Spear-thrower with incised design], 20th century, wood; resin; tooth or claw? -
Leonhard Adam Indigenous Collection - Fish trap, funnel section,, not dated, bark, cane, natural pigments
