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Scholar Robert Duff discusses a framed burial mantle with Senior Curator Wendy Blazier of the Boca Raton Museum of Art.

Robert Duff has spent much of his life in South America collecting native textiles, ceramics and stone bowls. His scholarly acumen in regards to all things Pre-Columbian comes from his many years as a collector and exporter of South American artifacts. It is our great pleasure to welcome him to the Museum as an expert volunteer.   

Examining 19 of our Pre-Columbian textiles, Duff identified the culture, place and time period for many of our pieces. He explained things like, why a particular entity is depicted as wearing ear plugs, or how a Chimu feather mosaic band fragment is woven.  

The process takes time, as Boca Raton Museum of Art Senior Curator Wendy Blazier discusses the merits of each piece with Mr. Duff. It is not uncommon for museums to look to experts, leaders in their respective fields, for insight into the collection.

The Museum is a guardian of knowledge and culture as well as a repository for artifacts.  We welcome outside scholars with critical insight in regards to their chosen subject of study.

We will be showing about 40 amazing donations gifted to the Museum by collectors from all over the world in the upcoming African, Oceanic, and Meso-American Treasures: Selections from the Permanent Collection. The exhibition opens November 17 and remains on view through January 10, 2010, here at the Museum.

Not all of the pieces that Mr. Duff is researching appear in African, Oceanic and Meso-American Treasures, but if you visit us you will still get to see a remarkable cross-section of the gifts we have received over the years from these wonderful places.