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Solomon Islands Designs Attract American Scientist

TjWIDENCE of the useful function per £j formed in Sydney by the Pacific Is lands Club was the meeting arranged between Dr. Carl Schuster, of the Uni versities of Vienna and Harvard and Captain Arthur Middenway, formerly an official in the Solomon Islands, and one in Government Service in Fiji.

Dr '- Sc A luster ’ who P assed through Syd ney m October on his way to New Zea land,to study Maori designs, is assistant curator of Chinese Art at tbp PbiioHoi

authority on Chinese peasant embroid enes. His recent quest in China was

made possible by a grant from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation in New York.

His quest in the Pacific has been, how ever, primarily, a study of Melanesian designs. When in the Solomons recently he heard of the magnificent collection of Solomon Islands material which Captain

Middenway presented some years ago to the Suva Museum. As his time in Sydney was short, he was anxious to make contact with the former owner as quickly as possible. The Pacific Islands Club soon arranged the meeting.

Dr. Schuster subsequently remarked that Captain Middenway was of im mense help to him, as he made photo graphs of his former possessions avail able to him. Now the American scien tist is off to Suva to study them at first hand. Then he will continue his journey to Honolulu, to make researches in the Bishop Museum under the guid ance of Professor Peter H. Buck. The result of his work will be embodied in a book.

While in Sydney he took more than 200 photographs at the Australian Mu seum, mostly of Solomon Island arti facts. At the Auckland War Memorial Museum, which has another fine collec tion of Solomon Islands material, he hopes to make further discoveries, and he will systematically comb other New Zealand Museums before proceeding to Suva.

Incidentally, one of Dr. Schuster’s correspondents in the Pacific is Rev. Dr.

C. E. Fox, the Melanesian scholar. To Dr. Fox the American scientist has put some questions concerning tatau designs at Rennell Island and other places the New Zealander is familiar with, but which Dr. Schuster was unable to visit.

He is also planning to get in touch with Native Medical Practitioner Geoffrey Kuper, formerly of the Suva Medical School, who has been making a study of tatau designs in the Solomon Islands.

Dr. Carl Schuster, of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, C.S.A., who has been investigating Melanesian designs in the British Solomons Group. -Photo.: May Moore, Sydney