Page:American Anthropologist NS vol. 1.djvu/526

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dorse y] MUSEUMS OF CENTRAL EUROPE 467

The collection in Berlin is also very extensive, but is neither so well arranged nor labeled as that of the Vienna museum. It is of course especially rich in relics from northern Germany and the neighboring provinces. Here also is to be found the Schlie- mann collection from Asia Minor, of the greatest interest and value. In Hamburg there is a very good series of stone relics from the province of Schleswig-Holstein.

Naturally the fourth division of anthropology, namely, eth- nography, which treats of the different races of men, occupies the greatest amount of space in the majority of European museums. The ethnographic collections in both London and Paris are dis- appointing. The large hall devoted to this subject in the British Museum is not well adapted to the purpose for which it is used ; it is rather inaccessible, poorly lighted, and does not admit of ready scientific classification of the objects therein deposited. Naturally this hall contains many of the rarest and most valuable objects that have ever been obtained by any museum in the world ; but owing to causes already mentioned, and to the crowd- ing of the cases, it is practically impossible for the visitor in a short time to form any idea of the value of the collection. There are many rare and unique specimens, but the collection as a whole cannot be regarded as well illustrating the various fields of ethnography. Many of the objects exhibited are, I believe, the property of the London Missionary Society. It is to be regretted that the capital of a nation which embraces in its domain so many and such diverse peoples, should not possess a museum which shows the ethnic characteristics of some of these peoples in an adequate manner.

In Paris the confusion is, if anything, worse than in London. In the Louvre, in the so-called Mus£e de la Marine, are many valuable specimens gathered from various parts of the world, but they seem to be regarded merely as " curiosities," and many of them are used as wall decorations. As a scientific ethnological collection it is a failure. The collection in the Ethnographical

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