Ethnographic Collections

The Haffenreffer Museum's holdings, representing human cultures worldwide, total more than 110,000 items, of which 15,000 are ethnographic, all of which are catalogued. While strongest in Native North American materials, the HMA also contains significant material from Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. including:

• 6,000 objects from North America, including striking artifacts from the Plains tribes
• 3,000 items from South and Central America.
• 3,000 items from Africa, some of them by contemporary artisans
• 400 items from Europe
• 1,100 items from Asia
• 1,500 items from Oceania

While current facilities in Bristol limit the number of objects on display at any one time, the collections are available to qualified researchers. The collections are catalogued onto a computerized data base, allowing for easy search and reporting on the collection. Please contact Thierry Gentis with questions concerning specific items or about the extent of our collections relevant to your research. For access to the collections, please contact Kevin Smith at (401) 253-8388.