The Fort Collins Museum celebrated the opening of its new
“Bringing the World Home” exhibit last Friday. The new exhibit
features folk art pieces from all over the world that have been
collected by CSU faculty and staff during their experiences
abroad.
The exhibit was described by Beth Higgins, public relations and
development coordinator, as “a small glimpse into the experiences
and lasting impacts that CSU faculty and staff travel has had on
the Fort Collins community.” Among the objects included in the
display are Iranian weight lifting dumbbells, Tibetan dolls, prayer
rugs, a Noh mask, a Canadian Inuit print and Swazi beads.
Martha Denney, CSU director of international education, who
worked in Swaziland from 1978 to 1979, lent the Swazi beads, which
are one of the most rare pieces in the exhibit. The beads were made
by the nomadic Swazi women that grinded colored glass, mixing it
with saliva and gum Arabic and baking it.
“They are the cr�me de la cr�me of African beads,”
said Denney, whose two strands date back to the 1700s.
Also on display is Denney’s Swazi fighting stick, which
resembles a cane with intricate carving at the top and were used in
fights.
“When someone is hit with the stick, you can determine whether
or not the fight was fair by analyzing the markings on the person’s
flesh which shows you what part of the stick they were struck by,”
Denney said.
James Boyd, philosophy professor, and his wife Dr. Sue Ellen
Charlton, professor of political science at CSU also put on display
pieces from their vast collection, including a bone spirit boat and
Noh mask both from Japan. The pieces collected by Boyd and
Charlton, “reflect our experiences abroad as most of our pieces are
gifts from our host families,” Boyd said.
“It was really interesting to see and read about all the
pieces,” said Liz Zipse, senior history major who attended the
opening on Friday. “A lot of the stuff has great stories behind
their origin…the Tibetan dolls were gorgeous, plus I learned that
a nak is a female yak.”
The exhibit, which is free to the public, will run through April
25.
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