In this biography
Quick facts
- Born
- 1936
- Died
- 2018
- Birthplace
- Not independently established
- Country
- Brunei
- Nationality
- Not independently established
- Known for
- A Bruneian museum leader and historian who helped build the institutions and skills needed to preserve a national collection.
Why this life matters
A Bruneian museum leader and historian who helped build the institutions and skills needed to preserve a national collection.
Timeline
Key moments
Training for a museum still to come
Pengiran Shariffuddin, often known in publications as P.M.Shariffuddin, became a central figure in the development of the Brunei Museum. In 1957 he went to the Sarawak Museum in Kuching to learn museum work under Tom Harrisson. He later pursued diploma studies in anthropology and public administration through the Museums Association in Britain. This preparation linked the study of collections with the practical organisation required to maintain an institution. His later leadership grew from training undertaken before Brunei’s permanent museum building was ready.
Building an institution through people
A 1967 report in Pelita Brunei quotes him discussing a planned building at Kota Batu and the preparation of specialist staff. It describes overseas study in taxidermy, library and archival work, and anthropology. The report shows museum development as more than construction. Collections needed people able to document, preserve and interpret them. Shariffuddin’s role connected those different requirements, helping turn a proposed public building into an institution with the professional capacities necessary to carry out its purposes.
Sources for this section: [1]
Publishing history alongside collecting
The Brunei Museum published Donald E.Brown’s study of the sultanate as a special monograph in 1970. The museum building was officially opened in 1972, and later scholarship remembers Shariffuddin as its founding director and an important authority on Brunei’s history. He died in 2018. His legacy includes a collection-based institution, historical publishing and the development of museum skills. Those contributions made it possible for objects, research and public education to support one another, giving the museum a role in producing knowledge as well as displaying it.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions about Pengiran Shariffuddin
- What is Pengiran Shariffuddin known for?
- A Bruneian museum leader and historian who helped build the institutions and skills needed to preserve a national collection.
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Sources and further reading
Explore the evidence
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