Leland Stanford Junior Museum - Stanford, California - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

The LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR MUSEUM, large neoclassic structure built of yellow sandstone. At the entrance doors are four tall Ionic columns; on each side of the facade is ornamented with large mosaics. Nucleus of the museum is the collection made by Leland Stanford, Jr., between 1880 and 1884, including Egyptian bronze treasures, Tanager figurines, Greek and Roman glass, armor, mosaics, Sevres and Dresden ware. In Stanford Memorial Room are collections of personal belongings of the founders of the University, views of its buildings in construction, and details of the mosaics used in the Memorial Church. Another room contains the “Governor Stanford,” the first locomotive used on the Central Pacific Railroad (1863), and cases of items related to early California history – song them practically all the implements extant of San Francisco’s Mission Delores.

Also housed in the museum are the Di Cesnola collection of Greek and Roman pottery and glass from the island of Cyprus; Indian mound relics and artifacts; rare are materials from the Orient (the Ikea Chinese and Japanese Collections); and Chinese and Japanese objets d’art, including the well-known De Long Collection of Japanese rarities. Among the rare objects in the Egyptian Room is a collection of Babylonian tablets.

Today this art museum on the Stanford University campus has the largest collection of Rodin bronzes outside of Paris, France.