Oriental Museum Publications 

Find out more about the Oriental Museum, our collections and influential donors who have helped to shape the collections.  

All of these publications are available to purchase at the museum gift shop.  

Durham University is developing a new online store.  Our books will be available to purchase online via this shop in the near future.  

Lapwing: the life of Bishop Richard Rutt

By the Right Reverend Richard Rutt, edited by Lauren Barnes (2024)

Richard Rutt led an extraordinary life.  He was a bishop in both Daejeon, South Korea and in Leicester, an historian and advocate of hand knitting, and a gifted linguist and literary scholar contributing to the development of Korean Studies.  An Anglo-Catholic all of his life, Rutt was received into the Catholic Church in 1994 and ordained as a Catholic priest the year after.  

This book is an edited version of Rutt's own unpublished autobiographical manuscript.  It is a journey through Rutt's life, from his childhood in 1930s Bedfordshire, to his life in South Korea from the 1950s to 1970s, and his return to England.  

Rutt's autobiographical account is accompanied by contributions from curators Lauren Barnes and Rachel Barclay exploring the importance of the Rutt Collection at the Oriental Museum, Peter and Stephen Rutt sharing family memories, Prof Keith Pratt, former Head of East Asian Studies at Durham University, discussing Rutt's publications and Helen Wyld of National Museums Scotland on knitting.  

Monogatari; the art of storytelling in Japanese Woodblock Prints

Edited by Rachel Barclay, Gillian Ramsay, Yoshi Miki, Junichi Okubo and Craig Barclay (2022)

Monogatari are a traditional form of Japanese literature.  Some are stories of romance and fantastical events, others are tales of intrigue or war, often drawing on historical events. 

The art of woodblock printing has been practiced in Japan since the 8th century CE but during the peace and prosperity of the Edo Period (1603-1867 CE) the art form flourished.  The creators of woodblock print art shifted from their traditional focus on religious texts and images to celebrate popular art featuring beautiful women, famous actors, travel scenes, landscapes and celebrated tales.  The monogatari and other epic tales were recreated, giving them a new lease of life.  

This catalogue accompanied the exhibition held at the Oriental Museum between 28 January and 15 May 2022.  The exhibition and catalogue were co-created by specialists from the Oriental Museum and the National Museum of Japanese History as part of an ongoing partnership between the two institutions.  

The Pleasures and Pains of Collecting 

By Malcolm J MacDonald, edited by Alexander Nicholas Shaw (2018) 

Malcolm MacDonald was a politician, cabinet minister and Cold War diplomat.  From the 1940s to the 1970s, he lived and worked in locations as diverse as Canada, Singapore, India, Switzerland and Kenya.  

First written in 1972 but never before published, this is Malcolm's own story as told through the lends of his most passionate hobby.  Malcolm amassed an eclectic range of collections, from European furniture and paintings to the 600 pieces of Chinese ceramic art and Asian antiquities now in the Oriental Museum.  

This is just as much a story of the people behind the collections: the antique dealers, indigenous craftsmen, royalty, statesmen, diplomats and head-hunters who Malcolm befriended during his remarkable career.  Collecting was not just a hobby, but an expression of political values and often acted as the cornerstone of Malcolm's unconventional diplomacy.  

This book is edited by Alexander Shaw: a Cold War historian and the curator of the 2017 exhibition Beauty and Diplomacy: The Malcolm MacDonald Collections.  The book also includes a foreword by Malcolm's niece Victoria Bagshaw and an introductory essay about the MacDonald Collections at the Oriental Museum by Curator Rachel Barclay and Head of Museums, Craig Barclay. 

Treasures of the Oriental Museum

Edited by Craig Barclay, Rachel Grocke and Helen Armstrong (2010) 

Published to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Oriental Museum, this volume presents fifty of the museum's treasures in short essays written by forty different authors. 

Ranging from a fine Egyptian stone vessel dating back to the 3rd millennium BCE to a Chinese woodblock print created in the late 20th century, the objects featured in the book provide a glimpse into the breadth of the collections.  Contributors include current and former curators, students, conservators, artists, academics and Friends of the Museum with each writer bringing their own perspective.