Museum Metadata Exchange

Names

Name PrimaryT.N. Mukharji Collection

IDs

ID Local4400

ID Urihttp://museumvictoria.com.au/collections/themes/1188/t-n-mukharji-collection

Descriptions

Brief DescriptionThe T.N Mukharji Collection sits within Museum Victoria's broader Economic Botany Collection and consists of over 1,000 samples of medicinal products, food substances, dyeing materials, fibres, minerals and oils.

Full DescriptionThe T.N. Mukharji collection was donated to the National Museum of Victoria in 1887 and was collected and prepared prior to this by the Bengali civil servant Trilokya Nath Mukharji (Trailokyanath Mukherjee 1847-1919). Many of the specimens in this collection were displayed in the 1888 Centennial International Exhibition at Melbourne's Royal Exhibition Building.Murkharji was employed as an exhibition official and collector for the Indian Courts in Colonial exhibitions for the British Raj. In addition to this, Mukharji was the assistant curator in the Art and Economics Section of the Indian Museum. He attended the 1883 Amsterdam Exhibition, 1886 Colonial and Indian Exhibition and the 1888 Glasgow International Exhibition. The T.N. Mukharji Collection consists of 1,114 raw materials categorised as medicinal products, food substances, dyeing materials, fibres, minerals and oily substances. The collection is part of Museum Victoria's Economic Botany Collection, developed to encourage trade and industry within and between the colony of Victoria and other parts of the British Empire. Mukharji created a number of valuable documents which assist in interpreting the collection. In his 1883 'Hand-Book of Indian Products', Mukharji gives the botanical and English common name for each specimen, followed by its Bengali, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and/or Burmese names, and a brief description of its use. He also produced a memoir of his time at the Indian and Colonial Exhibition in London in 1889 entitled 'A Visit to Europe'. References: McKeich, Cherie (2010). 'Colonial Objects: International Exhibitions, TN Mukharji and Melbourne's Indian Collections' in Transactions: Cross Cultural Linkages between Australia and India, Cambridge Scholars Press.

AccessPlease direct access requests via Museum Victoria's Discovery Centre http://museumvictoria.com.au/discoverycentre/ask-us-a-question/collection-access-/

Subjects

local1883-1887; Agriculture; Dyes & Dyeing; Economic Botany; Essential Oils; Eucalypts; Exhibitions; Exhibitions: Amsterdam International, 1883; Exhibitions: Calcutta International, 1883-1884; Exhibitions: Calcutta International, 1885; Exhibitions: London International, Colonial & Indian, 1885-1886; Exhibitions: Melbourne International Centennial, 1888-1889; Fertilizers & Manures; Fibres & Yarns; Fruits; Gums & Exudates; Horticulture; Medicinal Plants; Medicinals & Drugs; Museum History; National Museum of Victoria; Plant Dyes; Resins; Tanning Materials; Timbers; Tobacco; Vegetable Oils, Fats & Waxes

Coverage Spatial

TextGlasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom; India; Victoria, Australia; Amsterdam, Holland (The Netherlands)

Related Collections

Dates

Date Record Updated2012-05-30 23:42

Date Created in MME2011-03-31 18:32