Empire of Nature
The William Farquhar Collection of Natural History Drawings
donated by GK Goh
National Museum, Exhibition Galleries
7 Sept – 21 Oct 2007
10am – 9pm
$5.00 per adult
$2.50 for seniors, children, students and NSF
Free admission from 6pm – 9pm, and for children below 6 years

National Museum Reveals The Entire Collection Of William Farquhar’s Natural History Drawings

“Popularly known as the Rajah of Malacca, William Farquhar had his Life and Interest in Natural”

For the first time ever, the complete collection of William Farquhar’s natural history drawings will be showcased in a special exhibition to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the National Museum of Singapore. Entitled Empire of Nature, The William Farquhar Collection of Natural History Drawings donated by GK Goh, the exhibition of 477 drawings will be on at the National Museum from 7 September to 21 October 2007.

Explaining its importance to Singapore’s history, the Museum’s Curatorial Head Mr Iskander Mydin said, “Farquhar’s collection stands as one of the only significant documentations of the biodiversity of early Malacca and Singapore.”

"When Raffles’ ship caught fire on his final journey home, most of his personal effects including his own collection of natural history drawings perished, so Farquhar’s collection is something very precious that we are left with,” he said.

This exhibition also sees the return of some natural history specimens which originally belonged to the Museum when it was still known as the Raffles Library and Museum. In 1972, it was decided that the Museum would focus on Singapore’s history and the specimens were donated to what is now the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity at the National University of Singapore. As part of the Museum’s anniversary celebrations, they will make an appearance in a special section of the exhibition alongside the corresponding paintings.

The man behind this milestone exhibition, first Resident and Commandant of Malacca (and later, Singapore) William Farquhar, commissioned the drawings between 1819 and 1823. The 477 drawings depict the diverse flora and fauna of the Malacca and Singapore regions, and played a vital role in bringing the native biodiversity to the attention of Western naturalists. The pieces were drawn by anonymous Chinese artists and reveal a struggle between a highly-stylised Chinese treatment of the subject and a Western demand for realism. Look out for unique, almost surreal perspectives and animals that seem to smile back at the viewer.

The collection was a gift to the National Museum in 1996 from philanthropist and recently appointed Chairman of the National Museum Board Mr GK Goh. Mr Goh had purchased the drawings, bequeathed to the Royal Asiatic Society by Farquhar, at a Sotheby’s auction in 1993.

In conjunction with the exhibition, the Museum has also organised a host of activities and workshops inspired by the spices depicted in the drawings. Learn how to spice up homemade cocktails using local herbs and spices at a workshop entitled Beyond the Singapore Sling: Creating Cocktails with Local Herbs and Spices. Or learn to identify and use local spices in your favourite recipes in Discovering Local Herbs and Spices: A Mortar and Pestle Master Class.

Replicas of these drawings are already on a colourful display of jars containing the corresponding herbs and spices in the Museum’s Food Gallery. Here, visitors will be able to experience a very different dimension of the spice drawings by actually smelling the spices!

In addition, the Museum, together with the National Parks Board, has produced an activity booklet to guide visitors on a Spice Trail starting from the Empire of Nature exhibition, then to the Spice Garden at Fort Canning Park, the National Philatelic Museum (to view stamps featuring herbs and spices), and finally back to Muse Bar at the National Museum for a refreshing spice drink.

For more information on the exhibition and the integrated programme details, please visit www.nationalmuseum.sg.