William Furness and Hiram Hiller

Drs. William H. Furness and Hiram M. Hiller were a pair of Harvard-educated physicians who traveled to Borneo, Amami, and Okinawa in 1895-1896, obtaining artifacts which they then donated to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

Following their graduation from Harvard University, they departed for Borneo in 1895, stopping in Yokohama, Amami, and Okinawa on their way there. After a journey of roughly eight months, and a stay in Borneo of four months, they returned to the United States, donating 57 Amami and Okinawan objects and 3 diaries, along with objects from mainland Japan and Borneo, to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

References

• Takayasu Fuji, "Provenance of Okinawan Artifacts in the United States," American View, 23 Jan 2008.