colour scheme
Significant Donors
Significant Donors
The relationship between the donor and the object has never been more
important to the study of ethnography. The role of museums as ‘houses of
curiosity’ is rapidly disappearing and being replaced by active centres of
lifelong learning. One way in which this is evident is through the use of
objects as learning tools rather than as objects of curiosity. In order for the
objects to be used to their full potential, a provenance and a date to which the
object can be placed is fundamental. With this small amount of information,
accurate interpretation of the object within the society from which it originated
can then be utilised in providing accurate information about world cultures to
those who come into the museum, and in outreaching projects to various
elements within the community.
There are many donors to the Burmese collection, and there are unfortunately
many pieces where the donors are unknown. Of those donors that are known
two people are significant in their contribution to the collection and their
contribution to Burmese colonial history as a whole: William Ninnis Porter and
Richard Waterfield.
Richard Waterfield
Richard Waterfield donated 96 objects originating from India and Burma to the
ethnographic collection in September 1945. Richard Waterfield was the
eldest son of Sir Henry Waterfield born December 12th, 1874. He was a
Queen’s Scholar at Westminster School, and then an Exhibitioner of
Christchurch College, Oxford. His involvement with the collection stems
from his history in India (Burma was considered part of British India until
1947), which begun in 1897 when he enrolled in the Indian Finance
Department. Between 1913 and 1920 he rose from being Deputy Accountant
General in Punjab and Bengal, to Officiating Accountant in Bombay. In 1922
he became Deputy Auditor General for the United Provinces. He also worked
in Poona (now Pune) for a period during his time in India. (Career details
from G.F.R. Barker, ‘Old Westminsters’, 2 Vols. (London 1928), vol.2 p.970)
From the 1920’s onwards Waterfield lived in Exeter and then Teignmouth. He
was obviously a very proactive man becoming President of the Devonshire
Association in 1946. In a letter from Mr Bruce Peeke dated 27th April 2002 he
quotes Mrs Ursula Radford in saying ‘Mr Waterfield’s enquiring mind, varied
interests and industrious habits qualified him for the work he undertook, and
his genial personality helped to make him an excellent secretary’.
It is unknown whether the Waterfield family originated from Devon, but
Richard Waterfields contribution to the collection of India and Burma is
evidently significant.
William Ninnis Porter
Information about William Ninnis Porter was obtained from Who’s Who of
1920. William Ninnis Porter was the son of Commander William Porter
(Indian Navy), and mother Lydia Sophia. He was educated privately, then
studied at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge. He entered the Burma
Service in 1870, and became District Superintendent of the Police in 1880.
By 1902 he was Commissioner of the Police in Burma. He also served as a
Political Officer in the 3rd Burma War (1885-1895), and was mentioned in
despatches. He retired from government service in 1905.
William N. Porter donated approximately 40 Burmese objects to the collection.
He is a significant donor in that many of the pieces he collected are from the
tribal areas in the North, and Northwest bordering Nagaland in India. Many
comparisons are drawn between the tribes of NW Burma and the people of
Nagaland India because little research has yet been conducted on the tribes
of NW Burma Jamie Saul who is currently at the forefront of this field is taking
images of some of the pieces in this collection (dance helmets, dao) to the
elders of those areas, whilst carrying out research in March 2006 in Burma.
Saul is following in many of Porters footsteps whilst researching in the West. It
is hoped that the elders can provide further insight into the exact provenance
and interpretation of these objects. Apparently, Porter maintained complete
diaries of this ‘promenades’ to the areas and the people he visited whilst living
in Burma. Much information was lost during the war of 1939-45 in Rangoon
where many of the records were kept, however a recent visit to the India
Office Library, British Library, London has revealed that there is a diary of one
of his major trips into the Naga area (Jamie Saul, Pers Comm. 2006).
Apparently, ‘he visited villages on the Nantaleik River, which no longer exist
as they were broken up by marauding Kuki (Kuki-Chin) group around the early
1900s and the inhabitants dispersed’ (Jamie Saul Pers Comm. 2006).
Further research is being carried out into Porter. Links have been established
with his great-grandson who revealed that Porter had two families, one in
England and a Burmese family in Burma. In 1999 the two families became
acquainted. This type of research takes time and is on-going.
