The ‘MacKenzie Collection’ is the oldest and largest collection of ancient, South Asian art, collected by Colin MacKenzie from Stornoway, born in 1754. Mackenzie became an officer in the East India Company and eventually rose to the position of Surveyor General of India, travelling the subcontinent and building an extraordinary collection of objects.
The collection comprises a remarkable range of material, including beautiful figures intricately carved in stone, thousands of drawings and sketches from across India and Java depicting ancient monuments, people and customs, maps, coins and incredibly old and precious palm leaf manuscripts. Items from the Collection will be on loan from the British Museum, The British Library and the V&A, and exhibited at Museum nan Eilean at Lews Castle. This exhibition is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.