East Asia in the Highlands and Islands
Find our more about East Asian collections in Argyll and Bute, Eilean Siar, Highland, Orkney and Shetland.
Highland
Dingwall Museum
The East Asian collection at Dingwall Museum is very small, comprising a kimono and three swords (possibly Japanese).
Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, Highlife Highland
Inverness Museum and Art Gallery does not hold much East Asian material, and it is believed the traditional ethnographic collections were transferred to National Museums of Scotland in the 1980s. There are 20 items of East Asian origin in the collection. These objects include half a dozen costume items and some decorative art items, which include Chinese shoes and Japanese ivories.
Nairn Museum
There is a small collection of Chinese items at Nairn Museum, comprising embroidered shoes for bound feet, chopsticks, a kettle, tea, pipes, an abacus, and wooden figures. These objects were donated by Mr William Gordon of Ivybank, Nairn in the late 19th century.
Orkney
Stromness Museum
Stromness Museum has an interesting collection of Chinese objects, including Manchu footwear, bronzes and a divination compass. The provenance of most of the objects in the East Asian collection at Stromness Museum is not known. Captain Jobson donated several Chinese objects, and Jean Crichton presented the museum with gifts of Japanese bone china in 1996.
Shetland
Shetland Museums and Archives
Shetland Museums and Archives have ceramics of Chinese origin from an 18th-century wreck.