Bowers Museum Spirit Lives On : Shop Lets Patrons Buy Mementos of Collection During Renovation

There are, doubtless, a lot of fanatical museum-goers who still haven’t gotten over the closing of Bowers Museum last Dec. 31. But the need for extensive renovation could not be put off, and the county’s largest museum temporarily shut its doors to the public.

But for those who couldn’t get enough of the museum’s collection of American Southwestern, African and Pacific Rim items, relief is only a short walk away. For although the museum is shut tight, the museum shop remains open five days a week, offering would-be museum visitors a chance to, in effect, take home a bit of Bowers Museum in lieu of actually wandering around in it.

The shop, just up Main Street from the museum’s principal complex, is a cheery street-side bazaar containing what might be called take-home examples of many of the items that were on display in the museum. While the museum was open for business, the shop was located just down the hall from the main entrance.

Two of the museum’s permanent collections--of traditional African pieces and of various dolls--are represented in the shop, as is a wide selection of pieces from the American Southwest, mostly from Arizona. Several shelves hold various items of Indian and Southwest jewelry, and just above are rows of African ceremonial headdresses, pottery and Mexican baskets.

One display case is currently stocked with distinctive black Indian pottery from Arizona. And nearby is a table supporting ornate Oriental wooden vessels and highly detailed brass statuary.

“We’re sort of free-standing,” said shop manager and buyer Nancy Longbine, “but we try to keep the museum and the museum’s mission before the public. The museum represents all sorts of cultures, and we try to do that, too. People come here to learn, hopefully, as well as buy. We want people to come in here and touch everything and ask questions.”

Some of the more touchable items are located in one back corner of the shop. It is there that children’s items--books, cloth dolls and toys from around the world--are on display. Notable are small wooden dancing bears from Russia, a wooden twirling Maypole with carved characters of children, and Guatemalan “worry dolls” (“They come in a little wooden box,” said Longbine. “You whisper your worries to them at night and put them under your pillow and they’ll take your worries away.”).

“So many kids come in with maybe 20 cents or a dollar,” said Longbine, “and they want to go home with something. Here, they can do that.”

Of course, their parents can part with a bit more, if they choose. Longbine said that the current high-ticket item is an African yucca initiation mask priced at $3,000. The average item, she said, costs about $25, however, and a distinctive piece of Indian pottery can be had for an average price of around $100.

And for adults on a child’s budget, there are distinctive greeting cards and stationery from around the world.

The shop’s hours can be as flexible as its inventory is varied, said Longbine.

“We have set hours,” she said, “but I don’t mind opening up the doors (at other times). That’s what we’re here for.”