Event archive
5 Decades in 5 Objects: A History of The South Asia Collection
- 27 March 2024 3.00pm - 5.00pm
- The South Asia Collection, 34-36 Bethel Street Norwich NR2 1NR
- Exclusive to EAAF Members - if you're not a member and would like to attend this event Join Now.
Event Sold Out! To join the waiting list, please email info@eastangliaartfund.org.uk
Housed in a Victorian roller-skating rink in Norwich, The South Asia Collection is home to over 10,000 examples of architectural pieces, furniture, textiles, sculpture and over 2000 paintings and prints that date from the 18th century to the present day.
The origins of the collection begin with a journey in 1979 when the founding trustees, Philip and Jeannie Millward travelled to Lahore, Rawalpindi and along the Great Trunk Road to Peshawar and the Khyber Pass then on to the Swat Valley and along the Karakoram Highway. As they travelled, they met local craftspeople making and selling embroidered textiles, rugs, furniture, and everyday objects. Always collectors, they decided to put together a shipment of smaller items to sell in their shop in Norwich, which they opened in 1981. Over the next two decades, as items were acquired for the shop, Philip and Jeannie Millward had the foresight to retain objects they felt were particularly good examples of South and South-East Asian art and craft. In 2010 the South Asian Decorative Arts and Crafts Collection Trust (SADACC) was founded as a UK registered charity to care for and manage the collection which forms the basis for The South Asia Collection.
Join us to listen to this fascinating story of a private collection contributing towards research of material culture of South Asia. Philip and Jeannie Millward along with the Collection Curator Mansi S Rao and Collection Manager Hannah Bentley will share stories of five decades of travelling, collecting, and conducting research in South Asia through the lens of five important objects in the collection. There will be a walkthrough of the current exhibitions and an insight into the on-going research projects.
| 3.00pm | Arrivals, tea and coffee |
| 3.30pm | Talks |
| 4.30pm | Time to browse |
| 5.00pm | Event close |
- South Asia Collection
