This August the museum opens its storerooms to let you encounter the weird and the wonderful as we celebrate 75 years of collecting at the Bowers. Never and rarely-before-seen objects from the museum's diverse collection will be on display.
In 1936 Bowers Museum opened its doors to the public. For the purpose of preservation, study and exhibition of history, a collection of objects, photographs and textiles relating to Orange County was started, and significant donations of first Native peoples of the area were cataloged. Through the years the museum broadened its collections and works of art from Africa and Asia; Egypt and the Mediterranean; Latin and South America and the Pacific began to fill its storerooms. Today nearly 130,000 objects are stored and preserved under the museum's roof.
This August the museum opens its storerooms to let you encounter the weird and the wonderful as we celebrate 75 years of collecting at the Bowers. Never and rarely-before-seen objects will be on display including: shrunken heads from the Amazon, an Egyptian mummy mask with an eerie surprise, the bear trap that snared the last grizzly bear of Orange County, a Peruvian headhunter's tunic, beautiful and curious objects from the African continent, a recently acquired female ancestor figure from Sulawesi, an early 19th century shawl embroidered along a voyage from Manila to California depicting exotic scenes from the East, the theatre costumes of Madame Modjeska, select paintings, dolls and many more surprises. Don't miss this rare opportunity to see the most celebrated and curious of objects collected over the years.