Paul Donnelly
Deputy Director
BA (Hons) PhD Syd. MA UTS
As Deputy Director, Paul Donnelly works with the curators and broader team in developing the exhibition program for the Chau Chak Wing Museum. Prior to this, he was a curator of decorative arts and design at the Powerhouse Museum (Museum of Applied Art and Sciences) where his curatorial responsibilities expanded across many collections including numismatics, ceramics, furniture, and design.
Concurrent with his museum career, he continued his archaeological research at University of Sydney excavations including Pella in Jordan which was pivotal for his doctorate on the Bronze Age fine ceramic, Chocolate-on-white Ware. He is co-director of the Zagora Archeological Project on Andros, Greece.
Paul is an honorary associate of the Department of Archaeology. He is a founding member and vice president of the Near Eastern Archaeology Foundation and a governor of the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens, both at the University of Sydney.
- Ancient Mediterranean material culture
- Bronze Age ceramics of the Eastern Mediterranean
- Excavation and research involvement at Pella, Jordan and Zagora, Greece
- Numismatics, in particular, repurposed coinage as love tokens and political tokens
- History of architecture
- History of design, in particular, furniture
- Museum collections
2014
- Curator, ReCollect: Architectural models, Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney, September 2014 – February 2015
- Contributing curator, A Fine Possession: Jewellery in Australia, Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney, December 2014–16
2013
- Curator, Seven Australian Designers, (with Anne-Marie Van de Ven) Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney, July–November 2013
- Coordinating curator, George Nelson: Architect, Writer, Designer, Teacher, from Vitra design Museum for Sydney Design 2013, Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney, July – December 2013
2007
- Contributing curator, The Great Wall of China: Dragons, Dynasties, Warriors, Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney
2006
- Coordinating curator, Other Histories: Guan Wei’s fable in a Contemporary World, Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney
2005
- Curator, Greek Treasures from the Benaki Museum at Athens, Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney
2003
- Curator, Beirut to Baghdad: Communities, Collecting and Culture, Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney
2000
- Curator, 1000 Years of the Olympic Games: Treasures of Ancient Greece, Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney
1998-2005
- Curator, Wattan, Australian-Arabic Community Program funded by ICE and PHM (run by Alissar Chidiac), exhibitions and programs, Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney
1998
- Curator, Convict Love Tokens at the Hyde Park Barracks Museum, Sydney
2015
- Donnelly, P.F. (in press 2015). ‘Repurposed love’ in: B. Andrew and K. Dyer (eds.) Evidence, New South Books
2012
- Donnelly, P.F. (2012). Foreword in Artware to Utility: MCP & Mingay ceramics, by T. Impey, Sydney
2011
- Donnelly, P.F. (2011). Coordinator and contributor ‘The 1960s chairs of Olivier Morgue and Pierre Paulin’; ‘Crown Corning 1970s-80s domestic glassware’; ‘The “Saco” bean bag and other anti-design furniture’; ‘The Braun SK4 “Phonosuper”’ in: A. Franklin, Retro: a Guide to the Mid-20th Century Design Revival, New South Books/PHM, Sydney
- Donnelly, P.F. (2011). The State of Collecting in a State: Numismatics in NSW, Journal of the Numismatic Association of Australia, 21: 73-90
2010
- Donnelly, P.F. (2010). Contributor in: A. Franklin, Collecting the 20th Century, New South Books/PHM, Sydney
2009
- Donnelly, P.F. (2009). ‘In the public domain: an Iznik tile in the Powerhouse Museum’, The Asian Art Society of Australia Review, 18:2
- Donnelly, P.F. (2009). ‘Alan Peascod: Influences & Dialogue’, Art Monthly Australia, 218. pp 35-37
2008
- Donnelly, P.F. (2008). ‘Col Levy’; in: John McPhee (ed.) Great Collections: treasures from Art Gallery of NSW, Australian Museum, Botanic Gardens Trust, Historic Houses Trust, MCA, Powerhouse Museum, State Library NSW, State Records NSW, Museums and Galleries, Sydney
- Donnelly, P.F. (2008). Foreword in More People’s Potteries Stories, by D. Johnston, Sydney
2005
- Donnelly, P.F. (2005). ‘The 1938 London Guildhall Gift of Romano-British Antiquities’, in: G. Davidson and K. Webber (eds), Yesterday’s Tomorrows, PHM Publishing, Sydney
2004
- Donnelly, P.F. (2004). ‘Introduction: The Proclamation Era’ in: A. Crellin, The Proclamation Coinage of NSW, Monatarium/David Ell Publishing, Sydney, pp. 8-15
- Donnelly, P.F. (2004). ‘Reorienting the Orient’, The Asian Art Society of Australia Review 13:3
- Donnelly, P.F. (2004). ‘Chocolate-on-White ware: tomb and tell vessel typology at Pella’, Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan, 8:97 pp. 97-108
2003
- Donnelly, P.F., Fewster, K.) (2003). ‘1000 Years of the Olympic Games Exhibition’, in D. Pritchard (ed.) Sport and Festival in the Ancient Greek World, Classical Press of Wales. pp 365-76
2001
- Donnelly, P.F., Maxwell-Stewart, H., Millett, T. (2001). ‘Dr Martin and the Forty Thieves’, in: L. Frost, H. Maxwell-Stewart (eds.) Chain Letters: Convict Narratives, Melbourne University Press. pp. 177-89
- Donnelly, P.F. (2001). ‘Chocolate-on-White Ware: towards a definition fifteen years on from Hennessy’, in A. Walmsley (ed.) Australians uncovering ancient Jordan, Sydney University & the Department of Antiquities of Jordan. pp. 249-58
- Donnelly, P.F., Measham, T., Spitari, E. (2000). 1000 Years of the Olympics: Treasures of Ancient Greece, PHM Publishing, Sydney
1999
- Donnelly, P.F. (1999). ‘Egyptian Faience Amulets in the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (Powerhouse Museum), Sydney’, Mediterranean Archaeology, Vol 12. pp. 75-88
1998
- Donnelly, P.F. (1998). ‘A Bracelet of Bright Haire”: Memory and Tokens’, in Michelle Field & Timothy Millett (eds.), Convict Love Tokens, Wakefield Press. pp. 53-66
1997
- Donnelly, P.F. (1997). ‘”When this you see, remember me”: Convict Love Tokens & Related Keepsakes’. Australasian Victorian Studies Journal, 3:1. pp. 22-37
1995
- Donnelly, P.F. (1995). ‘Tarnished Silver: Depicting Aborigines in Colonial Silver’, in E. Czernis-Ryl (ed.), Australian Gold and Silver, Powerhouse Publishing, Sydney1995 pp. 54-67