This display case tells the remarkable story of how The South Asia Collection began with a journey by our lead Trustees, Philip and Jeannie Millward, in 1979. This display follows their journey, in their own words, and is taken from the photographs and journals they kept of their travels from Karachi to Lahore, Rawalpindi and along the Great Trunk Road to Peshawar and the Khyber Pass. Learn how they were so inspired by the art and crafts of South Asia it eventually led them to establish the South Asian Decorative Arts and Crafts Collection Trust.
- 1979January
First visit to Pakistan by Philip and Jeannie Millward
- 9th April
Tin trunk of small goods sent to Waterworks road in Norwich. This small trunk was to form the beginnings of the shop Country and Eastern.
1979 - 1981
First shop in Redwell Street, Norwich opened selling a few rugs, old textiles, copper and brass from Lahore Bazaar and the contents of the tin trunk from Swat.
Second shop in Bridewell Alley, Norwich opened. This shop sold ceramics, lamps, silk and paper goods from Thailand.
1984- 1990
Third shop in Holland Street, Kensington opened.
The Grade II listed former Victorian roller skating rink in Bethel Street, Norwich was purchased. Built in 1876, it was a dilapidated building that had been used as a builders merchant's warehouse for over 100 years. It took 18 months to restore but allowed more space for the Millward's personal collection to be displayed publically.
1993
- 2006
From 2006-2011, assessments of the collection undertaken by museum professionals and specialists from the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, and the University of East Anglia. It was deemed to be 'the pre-eminent collection of its type in the UK.'
- The South Asia Collection
The South Asian Decorative Arts and Crafts Collection Trust (SADACC) was founded as a UK Registered Charity to record, conserve and promoted the arts, crafts and cultures of South Asia predominantly India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Thailand, Burma and neighbouring countries.
2010 - 2015
SADACC actively began collaborative research projects with universities and institutions in India. This marks the beginning of SADACC as a research centre.
Re-branding as The South Asia Collection Museum and Shop, The South Asia Collection museum is cared for and managed by SADACC. The South Asia Collection Shop is managed by Country & Eastern.
2018- 2019
The South Asia Collection and Country and Eastern celebrate 40 years of success. Today, the collection Philip and Jeannie Millward began on that first journey in 1979 has become a significant record of the arts and crafts of South Asia.
