These were given to J. Desmond Bernal when he was in China c.1960 [he visited, for the 2nd time, in 1959]. A letter from Eileen Bernal to Joseph Needham dated 23 July 1980 states ‘Expert’s verdict on the objects: “Not antiques – 18th cent. But nice”. So perhaps they’ll serve a purpose for teaching or display.’ The handwritten letter and a typed display caption are included.

These are objects collected by, given to, or worn by Joseph Needham, Dorothy Needham and Lu Gwei-Djen. Objects given to the Needham Research Institute are catalogued as NRI 1

One piece of glass is lightly tinted green, in a flat circular shape like a shallow dish. The other is a tube with iridescent glaze in pink and green shades.

These fragments are held in a round cardboard box with a note on the lid in Joseph Needham’s handwriting: ‘Fragments of floor-tile (K2) from CFT 1943’.

This is a square piece of wood with an inlaid pattern of lines, squares and diamonds coloured red, grey, light brown and dark brown. Includes a label with a note written in Joseph Needham’s handwriting: ‘Sample of cross-section of 3-dimensional standard component of pattern of Arabic mosaic-work for boxes, cases, etc. as still used by Spanish artisans in Andalusia. From Alhambra, Granada, Sept. 1959’.

The stones have Chinese characters on their flat surfaces coloured in red or blue. A note on the box in Joseph Needham’s handwriting states that they were ‘brought back by ∆’s [Dorothy Needham’s] Aunt Ethel via Jack 1959 Feb’.